Evolutionary timescale is an obvious barrier for inquiry-based learning of evolution. We present an exercise for
senior undergraduate biology majors to enable them to formulate and test their own hypotheses of
evolutionary changes in real time. Students use Avida-ED (avida-ed.msu.edu) evolution modeling software to
design and execute experiments to visualize evolutionary changes in in silico organisms over thousands of
generations in a matter of minutes. The exercise guides students from exploring the impact of mutations on
phenotypes to testing how mutations can affect the outcome of competitive interactions. Thereafter, students
are prompted to design their own experiment to test the evolution of a population. Learning outcomes include
describing how characteristics of a population change over time and how population changes are related to
characteristics of individuals, as well as how changes in the environment affect the fitness of different
phenotypes. We have also created a rubric for evaluating student submissions. The exercise relates to a wide
variety of laboratory topics such as antibiotic resistance in bacteria, ecological interactions among organisms,
and diversity of organisms. While we use one-hour blocks of time over two different weeks, the exercise is
flexible in terms of how it can be integrated into laboratory periods. The exercise stimulates critical and
creative thinking in students, and enables student-driven inquiry into evolution, a core concept in biology.
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