Assignment Preview
Title: BIOL409 Assignment 1: Darwin's Discovery

NOTE: This is preview of what you will see in CPR 1.

Assignment Goals
Source Material
Student Instructions
Guiding Questions
Writing Prompt
Calibrations, Average Word Count, and Answer Keys

Assignment Goals

Only part of our scientific legacy of ideas on evolution came from Darwin. What was Darwin's discovery about evolution? What scientific ideas that were around before Darwin's discovery did he use for his work? In other words, what ideas provided Darwin with a foundation for new discoveries about evolution? Was Darwin's discovery fact, theory, or hypothesis? In this session and those that follow, you will use the 5E's (engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate), a constructivist approach to explore these questions.

At the end of this session you will know:

You will be able to:

Use information you gather as you complete Sessions 1 and 2 of the Online Evolution Course for Teachers along with assigned textbook readings. You may find it helpful to complete the following optional assignments as described in the Online Course.

  1. Session 1 Engage Part C Build a Concept Map Teachers can download the CMAP software from http://cmap.coginst.uwf.edu/ to create interactive digital concept maps.
  2. Session 2 Explore: Create your own timeline of evolutionary thought from the ancient Greeks to the present. Teachers should learn to use MSExcel according to the instructions at http://www.microsoft.com/education/?ID=CreateTimeline or get the software program TimeLiner 5.0 Program to create, illustrate, and print timelines. (Available from Tom Snyder Productions at 1-800-342-0236.) On the other hand, you may also want to use the Timeline of Evolutionary Thought at http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/evotmline.html

Source Material

Use your textbooks and the Web resources to prepare and write your answer using a word processor!

Use sessions 1 and 2 of the Evolution course for teachers web site. (Interactive Web: © 2001 Teaching Evolution: Online Course for Teachers is a co-production of WGBH/NOVA Science Unit and Clear Blue Sky Productions, Inc.) Copy and paste these URLs into your browser, because you will use them frequently. Make a habit of accessing these Web pages and then open another browser window for CPR. Two sources you should bookmark are

http://scied.fullerton.edu/biol409/intro.html and

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/educators/course/

Textbooks

Required

Zimmer, Carl. Evolution, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY, 2001. ISBN 0060199067, chapters 1 and 2.

Optional

Volpe, E.P. & Rosenbaum, P.A. Understanding Evolution, McGraw Hill, 2000. ISBN 0697051374. Chapters 1 and 2.

When you are ready, write and save your essay on your desktop computer and then copy it and paste it into the CPR text box. Access the tutorial link and learn to use html to indicate paragraphs. You must meet the deadlines!

Source Material Resources:
Evolution course links - Bookmark this page!
URL: http://scied.fullerton.edu/biol409/schedule.html
IHMC CMAP version 2.9.1 - assignment resource
URL: http://cmap.coginst.uwf.edu/
HTML commands - This page explains how to use simple HTML commands to format your essay. It includes such formatting items as subscripts, superscripts, and line returns.
URL: http://www.molsci.ucla.edu/source_mat/htmlprompt.htm
Create a Timeline - assignment resource
URL: http://www.microsoft.com/education/?ID=CreateTimeline
Online Sessions - Use Online Sessions 1 and 2.
URL: http://scied.fullerton.edu/biol409/intro.html

Guiding Questions

  1. Outline at least five scientific ideas that preceded Darwin's work on Evolution.
  2. Show how these ideas lead to Darwin's discovery about evolution.
  3. Distinguish fact, theory, and hypothesis, and then use evidence to explain which term best matches Darwin's ideas on evolution.
  4. Write your answer in an essay of less than 750 words. Use up to 100 additional words to list your references.
    • Example: (Volpe & Rosenbaum).
    • Use quotes sparingly. Example: (Zimmer, p. 6)
  5. Be clear and succinct.
  6. Check your spelling and grammar.
  7. Add html flags to format your answer into paragraphs.

 

Writing Prompt

Only part of our scientific legacy of ideas on evolution came from Darwin. What was Darwin’s discovery about evolution? What scientific ideas were around before Darwin's discovery, and how did he use these for his work? In other words, what ideas provided Darwin with a foundation for new discoveries about evolution? Was Darwin’s discovery fact, theory, or hypothesis?

Write your essay using a word processor to take advantage of the spell check/grammar and word count functions. Pay attention to the CPR word limit. Be brief and make your points in as few words as possible. Your references must fit within the maximum word count.

Add the appropriate HTML bracket codes before copying and pasting your text into CPR.

ALWAYS check your formatting with the "Preview Text" button. This will show you exactly how your essay will appear to the reviewers.

[Note: The text entry field will be here.]

Submit your essay by the deadline at http://cpr.molsci.ucla.edu!