Teaching phylogenetics with DUPLO

I created a learning exercise for the MIT educational technique workshop. I wanted to chose a technique that activates the students and works as an introduction in an early class, and I picked the art and craft of making phylogenetic tree. I wanted to demystify what can be an abstract subject and give the students a tangible frame of reference.

My method of choice was DUPLO.

Intended learning objective: The student should be able to discuss basic principles for determining phylogenetic relationships based on quantifiable characters and be aware of the difference between core- and pan genome.

Method: The students are given photos of five DUPLO critters (or the critters themselves if you have enough pieces and they are not needed for a fire station). They work in groups with teacher available for questions to determine the phylogenetic relationship between five DUPLO critters. No additional information is given, and part of the exercise is for the students to discuss possible criteria for relatedness themselves. Hopefully they will realize that each column of blocks has two properties - color and frequency. After an hour the groups present their phylogenetic tree (for example by placing photos of the critters on a whiteboard with magnets). The results are discussed in full class.

Concepts to discuss:

Core genomes (colored blocks present in all critters)

Pan genomes (colored blocks present in only a subset of critters)

Choice of blocks to use for phylogenetics

Do order of blocks matter (chromosome rearrangement)

Construction of phylogenetic trees based on number of differences

Is there one correct tree? How do you know which tree is best?

Putting together this exercise I realized how important it is to keep your intended learning objective in mind while choosing the technique. It is easy to complicate matters, and when I put together the snails I had to restrain myself from adding levels of complexity and thereby obscuring the point I wanted to make. I also learned that education technique does not have to be high tech to be highly effective.

MIT's Diversity Summit 2015

Discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality and cultural background is a very real part of the academic culture. At the Annual Diversity Summit, MIT works to make visible both the diversity within the community and structures of discrimination. Under the banner "Hacking the community" panel debates and workshops invite to discussion and constructive problem solution. What are the problems and what can be done to address them?

I am impressed by the genuine effort MIT put into not only paying lip service to diversity issues but actually getting to the root causes and do something about them. This is a situation where MIT's can-do attitude is channeled in the right direction. It is clear that a lot of work remains to be done, but there is a real sense of increased awareness.

The most valuable part of the summit for me was the community workshop where we discussed how to construct a more respectful and aware community. We discussed how to challenge assumptions, how imposter syndrome hits harder at already marginalized members of the community, how different levels of networking- and mentoring organizations can counteract segregation and how discussion surrounding the #BlackLivesMatters movement still displays much ignorance about racial questions in the MIT community. We talked about how to be an active rather than passive bystander.

Keynote talk by institute community and equity officer Ed Bertschinger

#MITdiversity

Plickers as student activation technique

I tried Plickers for my latest virus lecture and I like it fine. It is like clickers without the need for extra hardware - a smartphone and an internet connected laptop is all you need.

You print a set of scannable cards and ask multiple choice questions. The students hold up the cards in one of four orientations and you scan it with your phone. The answers are tallied as a histogram and if you want you can keep track of individual answers.

Pros

Great activation technique, students pay attention and stay focused.

Free and easy to set up and use. Easy to control from the app without having to stay by the laptop.

Easy to train student to use.

Easy to get feedback.

A good alternative to powerpoint if you still want to show something on the screen.

Can also be used for quizzes by using personalized cards.

I've been told it is possible to use multiple devices to scan cards. I haven't tried it yet, but if it works that would make things much easier.

Cons

It's a hassle to scan all the cards. Especially if the students huddle in the back of the room like they always do. Consider having an assistant scan the cards for you.

You run the risk of punctuating your lecture with downtime while you scan the cards. Make sure you don't loose the thread. Practice.

The app lack some functions that should be pretty obvious, like the ability to rearrange the order of questions and an easy way to download the report histograms in bulk.

Tips and tricks

Make your first question for a new group "Can you figure out how to use the cards - the right answer is B or D". By the time I had walked the room to scan the cards all got it right. No further introduction of the system needed.

Wait at least a minut after displaying each question before you scan the cards. During that time I gave the background and led up to the question itself. While I scanned the cards I expanded on the subject, but without adding more vital information.

After each question, leave the answers on the screen and go through the alternatives in detail. Most of my questions were of the type ("spot the one wrong alternative") which meant that I had three true and one false bullet points to discuss.

Space the question so you spend time talking without fiddling with the app or having the students busy with the cards.

Use the last question as a summary. The question was "What confused you most this lecture" (could be expressed "What would you like to learn more about" if you're feeling less flippant). That gives you a handy way to get feedback, and ensures the students processes the main points of the lecture.

Collect and reuse the cards. You don't have to print them again for every lecture.

Plickers is not for every lecture - you would have a hard time to use them in a lecture hall sized room - but if you know your forum and want to have a handy activation tool I definitely suggest you try it out.