Course BIOL 897A:
Evolution: How important is it to a good science education?
July 13-18, 2008
With all the media and cultural noise surrounding evolution, it sometimes seems easier to ignore the teaching of evolution. But is this short-changing our students? This workshop explores the importance of teaching evolution to middle and high school students by addressing the following questions:
- What is our current understanding and evidence for the theory of evolution?
- How is evolution central to scientific research?
- Why is understanding evolution important for a scientifically literate society?
- How should teachers address challenges to teaching evolution?
Scientists and educators from diverse disciplines will discuss the central role of evolutionary theory in their fields, the scientific evidence supporting evolution, provide examples from their own research, and share activities to facilitate the teaching of evolution and the nature of science in the middle and high school classroom.
Educators will receive a variety of resources to support teacher and student understanding of evolution and the nature of science. They will also explore a variety of hands-on classroom activities, Internet resources, scientific publications, as well as video/DVD and literature that explore evolution and the nature of science.
Who Should Attend:
- Science educators (middle/high school) that want to brush-up on or expand their understanding of evolution.
- Science educators (middle/high school) in search of activities and ideas to help in the teaching of evolution.
- Interdisciplinary teams (including Science, Language Arts, and History Teachers) that want to develop units that draw on the rich and diverse resources that are available for teaching about evolution and the nature of science.
Tentative Schedule
Sunday: Orientation
Monday: Introduction to the challenge of teaching evolution, the nature of science, and Evolution of the Universe
Tuesday: Molecular evolution, micro- and macro-evolution, speciation, and classification of life
Wednesday: Evolution of Pandemics, adaptive radiation, co-evolution, and understanding natural selection
Thursday: Human Evolution and introduction to the importance of fossils
Friday: Exploring Fossil Evidence
Facilitators: James L. Larsen and Dr. Charles “Chuck” Fisher
PSU Researchers: Dr. Charles Fisher, Dr. Alan Walker, Dr. Eddie Holmes, and others.
National Science Education Standards
• Science as Inquiry
5–8 and 9–12:
Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
Understandings about scientific inquiry
• Life Science
5–8 Grade:
Structure and function in living systems
Reproduction and Heredity
Diversity and adaptations of organisms
9–12 Grade:
Molecular basis of heredity
Biological evolution
• Earth and Space Science
5–8 Grade:
Earth's History
9–12 Grade:
Origin and Evolution of the earth system
Origin and Evolution of the universe
• Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
5–8 Grade:
Earth's History
9–12 Grade:
Origin and Evolution of the earth system
Origin and Evolution of the universe
• History and Nature of Science
5–8 Grade:
Science as a human endeavor
Nature of science
History of Science
9–12 Grade:
Science as a human endeavor
Nature of scientific knowledge
Historical perspectives
Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Science and Technology with Assessment Anchors
• Unifying Themes
Grade 7
3.1.7.C: Identify patterns as repeated processes or recurring elements in science and technology.
Grade 10
3.1.10.C: Identify patterns as repeated processes or recurring elements in science and technology..
3.1.10.E: Describe patterns of change in nature, physical, and man made systems.
Grade 12
3.1.12.C: Assess and apply patterns in science and technology.
3.1.12.E: Evaluate change in nature, physical systems, and man made systems.
.3.1.12.E: Evaluate change in nature, physical systems, and man made systems.
• Inquiry and Design
Grade 7
3.2.7.A: Explain and apply scientific and technological knowledge.
3.2.7.B: Apply process knowledge to make and interpret observations.
3.2.7.C: Identify and use the elements of scientific inquiry to solve problems.
Grade 10
3.2.10.A: Apply knowledge and understanding about the nature of scientific and technological knowledge..
3.2.10.B: Apply process knowledge and organize scientific and technological phenomena in varied ways.
3.2.10.C: Apply the elements of scientific inquiry to solve problems.
Grade 12
3.2.12.A: Evaluate the nature of scientific and technological knowledge.
3.2.12.B: Evaluate experimental information for appropriateness and adherence to relevant scientific processes.
3.2.12.C: Apply the elements of scientific inquiry to solve multi-step problems.
• Biological Sciences
Grade 7
3.3.7.A: Describe the similarities and differences that characterize diverse living things.
3.3.7.C: Know that every organism has a set of genetic instructions that determines its inherited traits.
3.3.7.D: Explain basic concepts of natural selection.
Grade 10
3.3.10.A: Explain the structural and functional similarities and differences found among living things.
3.3.10.C: Describe how genetic information is inherited and expressed.
3.3.10.D: Explain the mechanisms of the theory of evolution.
Grade 12
3.3.12.A: Explain the relationship between structure and function at all levels of organization.
3.3.12.C: Explain gene inheritance and expression at the molecular level.
3.3.12.D: Analyze the theory of evolution.
• Environment and Ecology
Grade 7
4.7.7.B: Explain how species of living organisms adapt to their environment.
Grade 10
4.7.10.B: Explain how structure, function and behavior of plants and animals affect their ability to survive.
Grade 12
4.7.12.B: Examine the effects of extinction, both natural and human caused, on the environment.
Lead Instructors
 |
Dr. Charles "Chuck" Fisher is a professor of biology in the Eberly College of Science at Penn State University. His research focuses on the physiology and ecology of hydrothermal vent and cold-seep animals. His research interests range from host-symbiont interactions at the molecular and cellular levels, to life histories of the animals and ecology of the communities. Dr. Fisher has participated in more than fifty oceanographic expeditions over the last twenty-three years and served as chief scientist on 23 cruises. He has made 122 dives in research submersibles like Alvin, and has spent over two months at sea with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). He has published widely, including articles in general-public magazines such as National Geographic. He helped establish a teacher-at-sea program, REVEL, and personally hosted the participation of nine secondary school teachers and over 20 undergraduate students on his cruises. He was awarded Penn State's C. I. Noll Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2001 and the Faculty Scholars Medal in 2004. |
 |
Jamie Larsen is an educator and curriculum developer with experience teaching and developing curriculum in grades K-12. He has taught science in both public and private schools and developed curriculum for Scientific American Frontiers, NOVA, as well as through various grants and awards from NSF, NSTA, the Wright Center for Science Education and for other foundations and schools. His most recent publications include co-authoring Astrobiology: An Integrated Science Approach and a contributing author on Earth Science by Design: Handbook for Professional Developers. He has worked with scientists engaged in both pure and applied research and enjoys translating this work to make the science interesting and relevant to students and teachers through workshops and hands-on, standards-based activities and projects. |
 |
Eddie Holmes is an evolutionary biologist and virologist. His
research focuses on RNA viruses and uses them as a study system to examine
viral evolution and emergence. He is particularly interested in the genetic
diversity of dengue virus, influenza virus and HIV, and the evolutionary
forces that gave rise to it. Dr. Holmes is recognized as one of the world
experts on the emergence of viral diseases and transmission of viruses
between species and has published over 150 scientific papers about his
research as well as several book chapters, popular science articles and book
reviews. He received a bachelor's degree in anthropology from University of
London and a doctoral degree in zoology from the University of Cambridge. He
became a Penn State faculty member in 2005.
|
 |
Dr. Nekrutenko's Dr. Nekrutenko's laboratory works on a variety of problems that can be
formulated and solved within the framework of comparative genomics.
Part of his research includes the Galaxy Project. With new genomes
coming out of sequencing centers every week, comparative analysis
becomes the most powerful approach to unraveling the biological meaning
of genomic sequences. Comparative genomics relies heavily on algorithms
developed by evolutionary biologists. The Galaxy project is developing
a computer-based, graphically intuitive interface that allows for the
quick comparison of different genomes to look for evolutionary
relationships. Once this project is complete, complex analyses, such as
analyzing patterns of nucleotide substitutions in a sample of
sequences, will be done as easily as typing Galaxy.
|
 |
Alan Walker is one of the world's foremost experts on the
evolution of primates and humans. His research involves searching for
primate and human fossils in rocks dated from about 30 million to 1 million
years ago. He pioneered the study of living primates as a basis for the
analysis of fossils and was one of the first to use scanning electron
microscope studies of enamel microwear on teeth to understand the diets of
extinct mammals. His most prominent books include "The Nariokotome Homo
erectus Skeleton," "Structure and Function of the Human Skeleton," and "The
Wisdom of the Bones." He earned a bachelor's degree with honors in geology
and zoology at Cambridge University, United Kingdom and a doctoral degree in
anatomy and paleontology at London University. After holding positions in
multiple countries, he joined the Penn State faculty in 1995.
|
The workshops are an outreach program of NASA's Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium, the Eberly College of Science, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, the Penn State Astrobiology Research Center, NASA Astrobiology Institute, the NSF-funded Penn State Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).