Lab-evolution of Yeasts – an online inquiry activity
Leading team:
- Prof. Anat Yarden
- Dr. Bat Shahar Dorfman
Project team:
- Dr. Orna Dahan
Brief
An interactive activity based on a real lab-evolution experiemnt. The students follow the stages of experiment, analyze the results and formulate conclusions, thus learning about evolution and the process of scientific research.
The processes involved in acquiring resistance to different environmental conditions, based on evolution and natural selection, are taught as a part of the Israeli high-school Biology curriculum. Various students’ difficulties in understanding these processes, particularly evolution and natural selection, are described in the literature. A preliminary survey among biology teachers, showed that one of the major difficulties in teaching these concepts is lack of opportunities for hands-on experiments in schools, and paucity of relevant instruction materials. These further inhibit students’ understanding of evolution and natural selection.
Therefore, in this project, we develop teaching and learning materials, including an interactive on-line activity, inquiring the development of heat resistance in yeasts. The activity is based on a study performed by Prof. Pilpel’s group in the department of molecular genetics at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Through the activity, the students follow the stages of the research study, analyze the results and formulate conclusions. The aim of this project is to promote students’ understanding of evolution and natural selection and to expose students to the way a life science research is carried out.