Week 10: Natural Selection and Evolution

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 What did you learn this week?

This week, I learned that about the various performance expectations related to evolution in the NGSS. We discussed how some of these performance expectations were broken down into the 3 dimensions of the NGSS. I also learned about migration and how it can lead to more genetic variation and diversity within populations. 

Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already know?

Yes, I already knew about migration, but I had never considered how this can impact a population's diversity, which I think is very interesting. This week, we also reviewed what we already learned about the 5 big ideas about natural selection, the causes of natural selection, and the drivers of evolution. We learned about genetic drift, which I have previously learned about, but learning about it again was very helpful, as I only vaguely knew what it was, but I have a much better understanding now.

How can you apply what you've learned to your future teaching?

I think the preying on beans activity would be great to use in my future classroom. It was a fun, hands-on, and educational activity, which I think kids would enjoy doing. I found the activity very informative and it helped to solidify the ideas of adaptation and selection for me. I liked that it was a group activity that was also competitive, which I think would help encourage students to do their best and participate in the activity. 

Comments

  1. Adrianna YoungApril 6, 2025 at 7:43 PM

    Hi Katelyn, I also didn't think to relate migration to diversity in a gene pool! I see your points about the bean activity eliciting competitiveness and thus engagement. I personally worry about the multiple layers that the activity covers, especially regarding younger grades, even though natural selection is multifaceted. Something to think about. Thanks for sharing :)

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