The first module of the course introduces Charles Darwin’s revolutionary concept of a “tree of life” depicting the evolution of all life from a common ancestor; how evolutionary trees depict relationships among organisms; and how new species are formed. You will explore resources for discovering and addressing student misconceptions about evolution.

You will learn about Darwin’s second breakthrough: that adaptation via natural selection is the basic mechanism of evolution. You’ll go behind the scenes with Dr. Cracraft to see how evolutionary biologists use the Museum’s collections. Lastly, you’ll choose a topic from the course and explain how to use it as empirical evidence that supports common ancestry and biological evolution.

You will learn about the role of extinction in evolution, and find out what the relatedness of major groups of living things reveals about the history of life. You’ll also watch videos of scientists at work and learn how to use them in your classroom.