Evolution

1. Nature of Science/Evolution



[|Delaware Science Coalition] Nature of Science Evolution Standards Crosswalk Document

[|Summative Assessment part 1 natural selection] includes rubric

[|Summative Assessment part 2 Why Evolution Matters Now] also includes rubric

[|KUDs]

Special note about Antibiotic Resistance activity with //Pseudomonas fluorescens://

The first few years of Nature of Science/Evolution featured an activity where biology students cultured the bacteria Pseudomonas fluorescens in the presence and absence of the antibiotic kanamycin, with the purpose of demonstrating that antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations is an example of natural selection. In Red Clay, this investigation has been discontinued for the following reasons:


 * The preparation of bacterial growth media, bacterial cultures, and antibiotic solutions is extremely labor intensive, especially when a teacher has to prepare for 150 students. Preparations must ensure sterility of growth media and antibiotics--this condition is difficult to maintain in a high school setting. Many of the teachers who have attempted this investigation had to discard over 50 % of their prepared work because of contamination.


 * After completion of the activity, all materials need to be sterilized by steam under pressure. The devices that create this condition (autoclaves) are generally too small to be worthwhile in a high school setting. Larger autoclaves are too expensive for most schools and require specialized facilities to operate.


 * This activity had a very low success rate. Even in the absence of contamination, many teachers reported that students were unsuccessful in culturing kanamycin resistant Pseudomonas fluorescens.

Teachers are therefore encouraged to explore other activities to deliver these content standards.