Evolution 101: How Does Natural Selection Make New Species?
In this one-time class, students will learn how factors in the environment interact with genetic mutations to drive evolution and create new species. #academic
Stacy Stevenson
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:(158)
What's included
1 live meeting
55 mins in-class hoursClass Experience
US Grade 6 - 9
The single concept underpinning all of life science is that new traits and new species arise through a process of natural selection -- but how exactly does that work? In this one-week class, through a combination of lecture and discussion, students will learn that genes serve as an instruction manual for how to make an animal's body, and will come to understand how gene mutations can act like typos or edits in the instruction manual, changing how the body functions. Then, students will use critical thinking to analyze how certain mutations might benefit or harm an animal and how this means that nature is selecting certain physical traits over others. Also, we will analyze and discuss how changes in environment can seem to produce de-evolution, such as flightlessness in birds, and how a force closely related to natural selection -- sexual selection -- can produce characteristics that might seem to reduce an organism's chances of survival, such as bright coloration in some species of birds. At the end of the class, students will be given examples of physical traits in a few species and asked to work together and apply their critical thinking to come up with explanations for why that trait was selected by the animal's environment. After taking this class, students will have a foundational understanding of the processes of evolution by natural selection.
Other Details
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined August, 2020
4.9
158reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
Hello there! Thanks for coming to my profile.
Things I love to teach: science, particularly life-sciences, natural history, and evolution; and art, ranging from simple drawings for beginning artists to advanced oil-painting techniques for advanced learners.
Personally, I'm also just a huge fan of science, and I love learning about it, talking about it, and teaching it, particularly focusing on life sciences. As an undergrad at Penn State University, I took as many science classes as I could, dealing with biology, anthropology, psychology, and sociology, and I graduated with high honors with a social-science degree. (Then I got a JD (law degree) from University of Florida.)
When teaching science, I like to use stories, analogies, and graphics to make complex scientific concepts come alive for students. Also, I encourage students to use critical thinking and creativity to work out answers to questions. I believe that not only helps students to understand more difficult topics, but also helps them to retain the information longer.
I was once certified to teach middle school science, high school biology, and middle school social science in Florida, USA, though I never used those certifications in a classroom.
Regarding art, I've been a part-time, professional artist for almost 20 years. I began watercolor painting at the age of 4, switched to oil painting at 9, and have been at it ever since. My art hangs in homes (and some businesses) around the country and on three continents. My typical subjects are landscapes, wildlife, and figures, often covering subjects like predator-prey relationships of natural history and human cultural developments.
Having been home-schooled myself when I was a child, I'm a real fan of that educational style (I plan to home school my daughter), and I'm excited to help other home-schooling parents and their kids to learn.
Have an art, science, or science-art request or idea? I'd love to hear it!Reviews
Live One-Time Class
$17
per classMeets once
55 min
Completed by 100 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 11-16
3-10 learners per class
