Peer Review

The Origin of Species: The Beak of the Finch

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Jan 11, 2025 by Biology

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

This film explores four decades of research on the evolution of Galápagos finches, which has illuminated how species form and diversify. Evolutionary biologists Rosemary and Peter Grant spent four decades tracking changes in body traits directly tied to survival in the famous Galápagos finches. They also identified behavioral characteristics that prevent different species from breeding with one another. Their pioneering studies documented natural selection in real time and revealed clues about how 13 distinct finch species arose from a single ancestral population that migrated from the mainland 2 million to 3 million years ago. This teaching, learning and assessment material is content rich to enhance evolutionary biology conceptual understanding and to deliver the information primarily on aspects of speciation.

Type of Material:

The main feature of this site is a video about finches, although additional text is provided for the learning experience.

Recommended Uses:

This material can be used as an in-class lecture, independent & group work to make notes, stump your partner, think-pair-share, write-pair share, and other learning activities.

Technical Requirements:

Technical requirements include access to the Internet and a browser such as Google or Firefox that can play videos.

Identify Major Learning Goals:

Students will learn about evolutionary biology
Students will be able to explore the effect of evolutionary biology
Students will be able to apply the knowledge and skills to compare different types of evolutionary processes
Students will be able to explain ancestory and speciation
Students will understand the role played by speciation in ecological regulation

Target Student Population:

The target population includes High School and College students.

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Some basic knowledge about evolution and ornithology will provide better understanding of the material.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

Fairly rich in content
Conceptual flow of knowledge and information
The information is accurate and complete
The sub-topics and topics are presented and well written for both ESL & non-ESL science students, i.e. in the video new topics are shared after some intervals
The video has content presented with images and text with sub-titles as when necessary
The content is also accessible on the website, YouTube and also can be downloaded

Concerns:

The lecturing material is primarily with text and images in the video
The addition of a few micro videos & Powerpoint slides will make the content more effective to teach
Some short documentaries clipping on roles of evolution in everyday life and its medical importance will encourage students to get involved in discussions

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

This is a good video about bird evolution to show during lecture
The learning experience is interesting
Users can view this video at home to explore related topics provided by the website
Information is from HHMI Biointeractive, which adds credibiltiy to the learning experience
Can be used for asynchronous, synchronous and in-person classroom environments (accessibility for different learning environments)

Concerns:

Additional videos wherever possible should be included
The webpage should include links to research articles for students to read and also may be a resource worksheet

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

Site is simple and straighforward
User friendly for all ages
No defective links were found
The information is well organized and easy to understand
The video about bird evolution runs smoothly
Can be used both at academic and non-academic institutions

Concerns:

Lacks inclusion of learning activities and assessments
Should also have one podcast for learning by listening

Other Issues and Comments:: Please include a video with images of historical scientists related to evolution for the purpose of motivation and then a video with slides & images in the beginning on how important evolutionary biology is in everyday life and in scientific research. Please also include a case study as a worksheet which students can answer while they watch the video and assessments (formative & summative) to enhance critical thinking towards end of the content.
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