Week 10 - Methods 1

    

In this week's lab section, we continued to cover natural selection and mutations. First we began by talking about what to expect on Exam 3 and how our 5E lesson plan assignments went. Then we discussed our week 9 reading response at our tables and as a whole class. After that we played a halloween kahoot to study for Exam 3. Next we looked at the many DCI's in the life sciences. After this we dived into the investigation questions "How can technology help us learn?" and "What does natural selection look like?".  Before getting started with our investigations we talked about Go Guardian and the pros and cons of chromebooks and technology in general in the elementary classroom.

    To investigate this we first did a PhET interactive simulation about natural selection. We played around with bunny traits and environmental factors and watched how our bunny generations reacted on our computer. All my bunnies died because there was too limited of food and wolves ate them. 

    Then we did an online Peppered Moth Simulation. This website simulated changes in a moth population due to pollution and predation and allowed us to observe how species can change over time. Online simulations are great because they are safe, cheap, interactive, and widely available online. During my Peppered Moth Simulation, I ate more dark moths in the light forest and more light speckled moths in the dark forest. Through this activity we found out how speckled moths came to be during the industrial revolution time period.

    A remaining question I still have after this week's lab is what in-person simulations can we do with our elementary students if we cannot do online ones?