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Research-based phylogenetics laboratory for introductory biology

Design · All designs
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description

A new 3-hour phylogenetics laboratory developed for the study, consisting of a student laboratory manual, an instructors' guide with answer key, and various specimens. The manual was "an 11-page, six-part booklet" in which students working in small groups examined members of nine major animal groups, mapped character states onto three alternative cladogram topologies, evaluated the topologies using parsimony and resolution, distinguished homologies from homoplasies, and practiced phylogenetic inference. All students in the course completed it, including the business-as-usual condition, and the revised version remains the primary hands-on phylogenetics teaching tool at the authors' institution.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

  • Specimens, a student manual, an instructors' guide with answer key, and a 3-hour lab period; lab instructors direct the activity

Constraints

  • Lab instructors reported student difficulties with part I due to unfamiliarity with some character states, which slowed completion of the character matrix; the revised version fills in some difficult character states and provides pictures

Target Learners

  • introductory biology students for science majors

Learning Goals

  • building and evaluating cladograms from character data; distinguishing homology from homoplasy; phylogenetic inference

Claims

Examples

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Key Sources

  • Laura R. Novick and Kefyn M. Catley. (2016). Fostering 21st-Century Evolutionary Reasoning: Teaching Tree Thinking to Introductory Biology Students. CBE—Life Sciences Education 15:ar66. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.15-06-0127
Page metadata
Field Value
type design
id research-based-phylogenetics-laboratory
title Research-based phylogenetics laboratory for introductory biology
description A new 3-hour phylogenetics laboratory developed for the study, consisting of a student laboratory manual, an instructors' guide with answer key, and various specimens.
status review
generated by process:settle-candidates on 2026-11-02
trust unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources 1 — laura-r-novick-and-kefyn-m-catley-2016

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