Teacher's Guide for ODYSSEY^TM Stephen J. Gould: The Voice of Evolution

Format:
      Article / Page
      Summary
      Skills

"Stephen Jay Gould: A Life in Science," pg. 6

• From a modest childhood in Queens, New York, to recognition as "one of America's 80 Living Legends," Steven Jay Gould communicated science to us all.
• History of Science as Inquiry, Careers in Science

"Swim With the Fishes: A Primer on Evolution," pg. 8

• Take a dive in waters hundreds of millions of years ago to discover evidence of macro- and microevolution. A sidebar (pg. 10) describes the plentiful, diverse, and sometimes strange fossils of the Burgess Shale.
• Deductive Reasoning, Vocabulary

"The Tortoise or the Hare? How New Species Evolve," pg. 13

• The fossil record shows times of relatively rapid change followed by long periods of stability. The theory of "punctuated equilibrium," formulated by Gould and Niles Eldredge, may be controversial, but it fits the facts.
• Deductive Reasoning, Vocabulary

"What Should Schools Teach?" pg. 16

• The question of whether schools should teach religious accounts of creation as an alternative to evolution has challenged courts to clarify the separation of church and state. Gould said that science and religion are "distinct and fully separate" fields of inquiry and should complement, not compete.
• Science in Society, Analytical Thinking

"Baseball & the Theory of Evolution," pg. 20

• No professional baseball player has achieved a .400 or higher batting average for a season since Ted Williams in 1941. Gould used some savvy statistical reasoning to explain why. He showed how baseball compares with life's history on Earth.
• Mathematical Reasoning, Analogy

"A Passion for Writing," pg. 24

• Like science writers of the Victorian Era, Gould used analogies and anecdotes to explain science to the public.
• Communication, Methodology

"Making Magic with Metaphors: Good as Gould!" (Activity to Discover), pg. 24

• Gould developed complex concepts through easy-to-understand metaphors, and so can you. Use the power of metaphor to prepare for an upcoming test.
• Making Connections, Following Directions

"Pandas, Piggies, & More" (Activity to Discover), pg. 26

• Read the brief descriptions of 11 of Gould's books and match them with 11 of his most creative book titles.
• Context Clues, Critical Thinking

"Testing . . . Testing: The IQ, the SAT, and SJG," pg. 28

• Gould argued that IQ and standardized tests are misused and their scores misapplied. A sidebar (pg. 21) shows how the bell curve, while correct, neither defines intelligence nor reveals its source.
• Inductive Reasoning, Drawing Conclusions

"A Student's Appreciation: Gould as Teacher and Mentor," pg. 32

• The memories of one of Gould's graduate students give an insider's view of teacher, researcher, and thinker Stephen Jay Gould.
• Science as a Social Endeavor

"Farewell, Fossilface: A Memoir of Stephen Jay Gould (1941 - 2002)," pg. 34

• The author became friends with Gould in junior high school. After a 25-year separation, the pair renewed their friendship. This memoir, while describing "a lifetime of shared interests," also offers a glimpse of Gould's lighter side.
• Biographical Analysis

"Archaeological Puzzle" (Brain Strain), pg. 39

• To push or to pull? It's the age-old question, and it's time to answer it.
• Problem-solving

"What's Up (including Planet Watch)," pg. 40

• January is the month of the Quadrantid meteor shower and the Full Cold Moon. Mercury, Saturn, and Jupiter are visible in the evening, while Venus and Mars appear before dawn. An accompanying activity invites would-be meteorologists to predict the weather on the other planets of our solar system.
• Observation, Following Directions

1. Stephen Jay Gould has been called "a legend." What does that mean? What would someone have to accomplish to be known as a legend? Make a list of legendary people, and decide what accomplishments earned them that status. After reading the magazine, summarize how Gould became legendary.
2. How necessary is it that a scientist communicate with the public? Is it important? What problems might a scientist face in doing so? How could a scientist learn communication skills if they don't come naturally? What other professionals might have trouble communicating with the public?

Pg. 8 - "Swim With the Fishes: A Primer on Evolution"

• Talk It Over:
  1. How is evolution both fact and theory? On the chalkboard, make two lists, and enter as many items in each as you can. Add to the lists as you read the issue.
  2. How are macroevolution and microevolution different? Give examples of each.
• Connections:
  1. History: Research the life of Charles Darwin. As you research, identify which of his ideas became widely accepted and which proved incorrect as more evidence was gathered. Are there any connections with your fact and theory lists from "Talk It Over"?
  2. Language Arts: Pretend you are the first paleontologist to discover the Burgess Shale. After several weeks of digging and classifying, record your thoughts, findings, and emotions in a journal entry. Describe the fossils you have found and the puzzles they present. Predict the new discoveries you anticipate in weeks to come.
  3. Visual Arts: Beginning with information from the article, make a colorful, illustrated time line showing evolution of the fishes from the Devonian period to the present. Label your poster with possible explanations for some of the changes you depict.
• Student Assessment:
  1. Select one of Gould's two "big ideas" from the introduction to the article. Explain the idea in a well-constructed paragraph. Then, in a second paragraph, develop a clear and specific example that supports the idea.
  2. Explore the Web site mentioned at the end of the article. Then teach other members of your class how to use it, explaining how the site relates to the article. Devise and use a visual aid in your presentation.

pg. 28 - "Testing. . .Testing: The IQ, the SAT, & SJG"

• Talk It Over:
  1. What was the original purpose of the IQ test? How has that purpose changed? Why? What about the original purpose of the SAT? How has that test changed?
  2. Do you think IQ and SAT tests are being misused today? Why or why not? If SAT scores are rejected, what tools do you think colleges should use to select from among the thousands of students who apply each year?
• Connections:
  1. Mathematics/Statistics: Have each student in the class flip a coin 10 times. Record the number of heads. Repeat until you have data for 50 trials. Now plot your results on a bar graph, showing how many times each possible result occurred. Compare your graph to the classic bell curve (pg. 31). Flip coins and make graphs for 100, 500, and 1,000 trials. How does the curve change as more results are included?
  2. History: Research the life of Alfred Binet. Discover his reasons for developing what became the IQ test, and find out what he said about his "invention." Discuss how you think Binet would react to today's use of IQ tests. Support your opinions with quotes from Binet's writings.
  3. Analytical Writing: Collect questions from sample "intelligence tests" you find on the Internet, in books, and in popular magazines. Classify the items in categories, e.g., spatial reasoning, analogies, problem-solving, and so on. In an article, explain the types of skills the questions are meant to measure. Critique questions you think are weak or ambiguous or might discriminate against people who grew up in another culture or speak another language.
• Student Assessment:
  1. Summarize Gould's main criticisms of IQ and SAT tests. Paraphrase his arguments and reasons, and then finish with a statement of your own opinion.
  2. Write a proposal to submit to a college admissions department. In your proposal, argue for the methods you think you should be used instead of SAT scores - or in addition to them - for predicting students' chances of success in higher education.

"There are no shortcuts in evolution." - Louis D. Brandeis

Small-Group Collaboration: Ask each student to find and bring to class newspaper or magazine articles that use statistics. Then ask students to work in pairs or teams of three to discuss and evaluate the articles. How clearly are the statistics explained? How valid are the conclusions drawn from them? Are the data accurate and complete? Each team can write a summary of findings and make an oral presentation to the class.

"One of the odd things about evolution is why it has gone on so long, because you would have thought that any decent world would have stopped with the amoeba." - Kenneth Boulding

Community Connection: Find out if your local newspaper has a reporter who specializes in science-related stories. Arrange a classroom visit or a telephone interview. Ask about what training a science writer needs. What unique problems does a science writer face? What was the writer's most difficult story? Most fulfilling?

"If it is true that we have sprung from the ape, there are occasions when my own spring appears not to have been very far." - Cornelia Otis Skinner

Whole-Class Project: Celebrate Gould Day! Plan a Stephen Jay Gould party for another class. Make your party both educational and entertaining, just as Gould would have done. Challenge one committee to develop and lead two party games that relate to Gould's life and work. Charge another committee with presenting a skit about him. The music committee can sing the Gould song (pg. 36), and the decoration committee can draw pictures of unusual fossils to display around the room. For snacks, how about rock candy, mud pie, and (what must have been Gould's favorite) escargot?

"Science . . . is one of the glories of the human intellectual tradition." - Stephen Jay Gould

Individual Project: Write a brief article about someone you admire for teaching you something. Your subject can be anyone except a teacher or parent. Make a copy to give to the person you admire. Keep the original, and compile articles from all class members into a classroom booklet of "Our Living Legends."

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Updated: 2/11/12 09:48 am
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