Confronting Student Misconceptions
in a Large Class - by Dan Udovic
A General Description
After reviewing the concepts in the beginning of the session students are asked to break into small groups (3-4 students/group) and a handout is distributed. The handout has a question about bat wing evolution and six possible responses--each displaying at least one misconception about natural selection. The six options that students are asked to evaluate are actually slightly edited student responses to the same question taken from old exams. The groups are asked to select the answer that they think is most correct and to identify specific problems with each of the other answers.
After the small-group discussions we come back together as a large group. I usually start by polling the groups to see which answer they felt was best. We then follow up by having different groups share the problems they identified with other answers. Because they have just worked as a group it is generally not difficult to get a discussion started.
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Small group evolution handout
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