Natural selection


how variation among individuals of a population can be advantageous to survival and reproduction (fitness) of that population.9 Variants with traits that are more fit


for their environment have a greater chance of surviving and reproducing, so their genes are progressively


passed on to successive generations of offspring. Over time, individuals with the beneficial traits comprise an increasingly large proportion of the population


(microevolution), making the entire population more fit for its environment.


to a climate-change-influenced natural disaster. Birds with these poorly-adapted beaks, then, may eventually go extinct, whereas birds with beaks that are well-adapted to a changing environment will have better chances to survive. This lesson is designed for a classroom of ideally 24 sec- ondary education students14-15


(grades 9–12) enrolled in a


Life Science course with an emphasis on ecology, conserva- tion, and/or climate change. Students will be placed into six groups, each composed of three to four students. Placing stu- dents in groups for a portion of the time in class allows them to learn interactively and allows the teacher to act as a facili- tator so that students can develop their own knowledge of the information.16 your own use.


Feel free to replicate or modify this lesson for Next Generation Science Standards:


Kirsten Bartlett teaches at Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein, Illinois. She completed this lesson plan as part of her graduate work with Project Dragonfly at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She would like to acknowledge her col- league, Marcella Linahan, for inspiration and implementation of this lesson. She would also like to thank her Professional Media Workshop instructor, Dr. Rachel Yoho, as well as fel- low peers at Miami University for reviewing this article.


Endnotes:


1. Malcolm, J. R., & Pitelka, L. F. (2000, December). Ecosystems and Global Climate Change: A Review of Potential Impacts on U.S. Terrestrial Ecosys- tems and Biodiversity (Rep.). Retrieved March 17, 2019, from https://www. c2es.org/site/assets/uploads/2001/12/env_ecosystems.pdf


2. Ciais, P. et al. (2014). Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Inter- governmental Panel on Climate Change, T. F. Stocker et al., Eds. (Cam- bridge Univ. Press, 2014), pp. 465–570.


3. NASA. (2019, February 12). Scientific consensus: Earth's climate is warm- ing. Retrieved March 17, 2019, from https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-con- sensus/


4. Wise, S. B. (2010). Climate change in the classroom: Patterns, motivations, and barriers to instruction among Colorado science teachers. Journal of Geoscience Education, 58(5), 297-309.


5. Next Generation Science Standards. (2019). Retrieved from https://www. nextgenscience.org/


6. Wilson, B. G. (1996). Constructivist learning environments: Case stud- ies in instructional design. Retrieved from https://books.google.ca/ books?hl=en&lr=&id=mpsHa5f712wC&oi=&redir_esc=y


7. Dewey, J. (1938). The school and society. Dewey on education. New York: Teachers College Press.


Green Teacher 121 Page 15


High School-Earth Science (HS-ES) • HS-ESS3-3: Create a computational simulation to illus- trate the relationships among the management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity. [The sustainability of human societies and the biodiversity that supports them requires responsi- ble management of natural resources. (HS-ESS3-C-1)].


High School-Life Science (HS-LS) • HS-LS4-2: Construct an explanation based on evidence that the process of evolution primarily results from four factors: (1) the potential for a species to increase in num- ber, (2) the heritable genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction, (3) competition for limited resources, and (4) the prolifer- ation of those organisms that are better able to survive and reproduce in the environment.


• HS-LS4-4: Construct an explanation based on evi- dence for how natural selection leads to adaptation of populations.


• HS-LS4-5: Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in the following: (1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species.


• HS-LS2-6: Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.


Natural selection is the mechanism which explains


8. Krajcik, J. (2015). Project-Based Science. Science Teacher, 82(1), 25. https:// doi-org.proxy.lib.miamioh.edu/10.2505/4/tst15_082_01_25


9. Brenner, S. (2002). Encyclopedia of genetics. San Diego: Acad. Press.


10. Sandel, B et al. (2011). The influence of Late Quaternary climate change velocity on species endemism. Science. 334, 660–664.


11. Daly, B., & Suggs, S. (2010). Teachers experiences with humane edu- cation and animals in the elementary classroom: Implications for empathy development. Journal of Moral Education, 39(1), 101-112. doi:10.1080/03057240903528733.


12. Stern, R. (2014) Change in the Environment? Ask an Indicator Species | DW | 21.10.2014. Retrieved from https://www.dw.com/en/change-in-the-environ- ment-ask-an-indicator-species/a-18009616


13. Fine, A. H. (2006). Handbook on animal-assisted therapy: Theoretical foun- dations and guidelines for practice (2nd ed.). Academic Press. 59-78. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012369484-3/50006-2


14. Stephenson, A. L., West, S., and Westerlund, J. (2003). An Analysis of Inci- dent/Accident Reports from the Texas Secondary School Science Safety Survey, 2001. School Science and Mathematics, 103(6), 293-303.


15. West, S. and Kennedy, L. (2014). Safety in Texas Secondary Science Class- rooms. Texas Academy of Science, (58).


16. Lyman, L. & Foyle, H.C. (1990). Positive Interaction Among Older Stu- dents. Cooperative Grouping for Interactive Learning: Students, Teachers, and Administrators. NEA School Restructuring Series (pp.76-78).


17. Miller, K. R., & Levine, J. S. (2019). Biology.


18. Trujillo, A. P., & Thurman, H. V. (2017). Essentials of Oceanography. Bos- ton: Pearson.


19. Warwick, P. (2016). An Integrated Leadership Model for Leading Education for Sustainability in Higher Education and the Vital Role of Students as Change Agents. Management in Education, 30(3), 105-111.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52