Unit 3 Reflections: Thirsty Bird Simulation Part 2

An example of some of our class data

Graphs for the first three conditions (different class).

You can definitely consider me "not a fan" of this activity.

Pro:  The data from the activity very clearly shows natural selection and genetic drift, and introduces the students to quite a few other terms and concepts.

Con:  The amount of effort and time that went into obtaining that wee bit of data for example did not seem worth it.

Pro:  The kids had a blast trying to "feed" with their forks.

Con:  By day 2, not only had we soaked the entire lab and gone through all of our paper towels, but many of the kids were beginning to get sick of doing it over... and over... and over...

The teacher notes recommend repeating every condition (no pressure, selective pressure, drought, no pressure with spoons, selective pressure with spoons, drought with spoons) for 4-6 generations.  Whoever came up with that idea must teach 18 hour days at a year round school.  At the rate my students were moving, which was pretty fast towards the end, we would have had to spend the rest of the month on this activity to acquire all of that data.

As seen in the photo above, we completed three generations of each of the following: no pressure (forks only), selective pressure (forks only), drought (forks only), and selective pressure with forks and spoons.  We were all spent after that much.  Not to mention that it took nearly 180 minutes to complete, graph, and discuss just those four conditions.

We still have not completed our consensus model in any of the classes.

There was a trifecta of time lost in: 1) the explaining, 2) the massing of cups/water, and 3) THE MATING.  By the end, there were still some students who didn't fully grasp the concept of exchanging genes during mating.  I explained it to them, I showed it to them, their friends explained it to them, their friends did it for them... and they'd still be confused the next time around.  Without having any formal genetics or cell reproduction instruction yet, they had little to fall back on.

This activity also tested my classroom management skills in a way they hadn't been tested yet this year.  I nearly lost my temper on one of my classes.  The students are constantly going from high energy feeding/mating to having to stop and listen carefully for lengthy instructions every couple minutes.  It's hard, especially in a big class.  I felt like I was shouting for 2 days straight.

While the simulation was a neat idea, and very entertaining at times, I still feel like the same concepts could have been introduced equally effectively in other (read: faster) ways.  There are some great computer simulations online.  I've also done similar activities using forks, spoons, knives, and Pepperidge Farm Goldfish.  Next time around, I may adapt one of those activities to meet modeling pedagogy.

On a more positive note, one observation I've made over and over through the past month is how fast the class periods fly by with the modeling curriculum.  And the students are working the entire class period-- right up to the bell.  While attitudes fluctuate, I've heard none of the usual end-of-the-class-period complaints. (Like:  "Do we really have to do this now?  We only have 10 minutes left!")  They're usually just as surprised by the bell as I am.