Association for Biology Laboratory Education

Be a Paleoanthropologist for a Day!
 



Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2019, Volume 40

Chris N. Bayer & Michael Luberda

Abstract

The subject of human evolution is rarely taught with a lab, which leaves many high school students without a solid “grasp” of the subject. To fill this gap, this inquiry-based lab has students empirically measure three variables of hominin evolution. Hominin skull in hand, students take measurements on bipedality, prognathism/orthognathism, and encephalization. The lab’s learning path of facts to data, information to knowledge, and knowledge to acceptance empowers students to themselves execute part of the science that underpins our understanding of hominin evolution. The result is a formative experience with a high degree of retention and epistemic depth.

Keywords:  human evolution, Inquiry-based learning, hominin evolution, paleoanthropology, cranial capacity, bipedalism, maxillary angle

The Ohio State University (2018)