Knowledge:
Learning objectives (knowledge, skills and competences to be developed by students)
Knowledge: a) Know the history of evolutionary thought; b) Understand the importance of the study of evolutionary relationships between living beings; c) Enumerate the main methods of phylogenetic inference; d) Know the main stages of the evolution of life on Earth; e) Enumerate the main evolutionary forces and understand their action at several levels; f) Consider human evolution in a modern context.
Skills and competences: g) Critically analyze published case studies; h) Actively participate in group work; i) Orally present published case studies in a scientifically correct and visually appealing way; j) Critically analyze scientific views on the evolution of modern humans.
Syllabus
1. Introduction
1.1. The concept of evolution
1.2. The history of evolutionary thought; Darwin’s contribute; criticism and evidences of evolution
2. Evolutionary relationships between organisms
2.1. Phylogenetic trees and phylogenetic inference methods; taxonomy in a phylogenetic context
2.2. The origin of life; the importance of the fossil record; main evolutionary events in Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes
3. Evolutionary forces: mutation; sexual reproduction; genetic drift; migration and geographical isolation; natural selection and adaptation
4. Evolution at different levels: from genes to species
5. Evolution in modern humans
Demonstration of the coherence of the syllabus with the objectives of the course
The basilar concepts in evolution (1 to 4) correspond to objectives a) to f). We aim at the development of the skills and competences g), h) and i), through the analysis of scientific articles published in the field of evolution, which will be case studies related to contents 1 to 4. Content 5 corresponds to objectives f) and j).
Demonstration of the coherence of the teaching methodologies with the learning objectives of the course
Considering that student-centred active learning methodologies are known to promote more efficiently the development of skills and competences by students, and also improve their global achievement, we will use these strategies in this discipline. Within these strategies, case study analysis is extremely useful for the acquisition of skills and competences since the student is confronted with the reality of scientific research and scientific publication. The implementation of this type of activities will allow for the students to attain objectives g) to i). The proposed tasks will be conducted in a collaborative way, in groups of 2-3 students, and each student within a group will be responsible for a part of the analysis and their explanation to the class, cohesively with the rest of the group. Activity j), thought the use of a “learning by discovery” strategy will allow that the students acquire knowledge of the state-of-the-art of evolution studies in modern humans (content 5). The activities to attain objectives g) to j) will be conducted during the theoretical-practical classes so that students may benefit from the presence of the teacher, which will guide the students whenever deemed necessary. Lecturing the theoretical-practical classes in a room equipped with access to the World Wide Web and video projection technology, will allow the students to develop the skills and competences described in the objectives. The criterious use of databases of scientific articles such as Google Scholar, which is open to consultation, and the Web of Knowledge, accessible through the portal of the Documentation Services of the University of the Azores will be encouraged. It is not intended that student-centred teaching strategies totally substitute direct transmission of theoretical content, because teacher-centred teaching, particularly at this level of learning, which require the acquisition of complex concepts, is essential to achieve conceptual goals such as objectives a) to e). The importance of direct theoretical contents transmission through lectures conducted by the teacher and complemented by visually engaging presentations is well known. This strategy is particularly advantageous in the case of disciplines where it is necessary that students acquire a set of a priori basilar concepts from which student-centred enrichment and consolidation activities, can be proposed.
Main bibliography
Bell G., 2015. The Evolution of Life. Oxford University Press.
Darwin C., 1873. The origin of species by means of natural selection: or, the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. 6th Edition. John Murray, London. John Murray, London.
Futuyma D.J., 2013. Evolution. Sinauer Associates.
Ridley M., 2003. Evolution, 3rd Edition. Wiley-Blackwell.
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