STEM Applications
STEM education allows students to combine the different aspects of various subjects and put them together for some healthy cross-curricular learning.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math are linked in many ways, so it only makes sense to allow students access to theses other fields of study and to engage in learning experiences that will allow them to understand real life applications of these subjects.
Following are a few examples of how STEM can be incorporated into the evolution unit.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math are linked in many ways, so it only makes sense to allow students access to theses other fields of study and to engage in learning experiences that will allow them to understand real life applications of these subjects.
Following are a few examples of how STEM can be incorporated into the evolution unit.
1. Students can attempt a lab on Finches which is an in-depth study of Darwin's observations. Students are able to recreate and act out a simulation as well. Students are able to engage in this activity and discover Darwin's observations first hand.
Students are able to learn first hand the ways in which natural selection occurs. There are extensive mathematical operations that must be performed as well to compare the changes in the environment to the evolution of the species. The technology and engineering aspects are evident in the construction and development of the lab.
As an extension activity students can make a blog page to demonstrate their understanding of the content and to present their findings in creative ways.
CLICK HERE to view the full lab.
2. The Conflicting Selection Pressures Lab, allows students to play with different factors that could impact evolution. Students are able to explore the changes of sheep and grass populations under different variations of the respective species. Factors that can be changed include the energy sheep gain from the grass, the sheep's birthrate and the rate at which the grass re-grows. Students are then able to make predictions about other instances of natural selection.
Students are able to engineer different types of specie combinations as they assess the different impacts it has on the sheep and grass. Graphic models are present to allow students to see the changes in population of the species.
As an extension of the STEM lab, students can be encouraged to write a letter to a farmer after doing ample research, as to the best way to maintain a population of sheep on their farm. The students must attempt to perform research to allow them to determine the ambiance of farms in the area of choice as well as different conditions that can impact the growth and development of the species.
CLICK HERE to view the full lab.
3. The Build a Dam lab allows students to observe the impact that is evident on plants and animals in a simple ecosystem when a dam is built. The lab allows students to see how the human footprint affects species that live in different areas. By building a dam there are a lot of implications that could change the ways in which animals and plants live there.
Students have a chance to engineer the dam on this virtual platform that allows students to develop a greater understanding of the different types of human pressures that also contribute to natural selection and evolution.
An extension of this lab would be for students to send a letter to a member of parliament supporting another source of energy and to try and eradicate the use of dams in energy production.
CLICK HERE to see the full lab.