Translating Research on Evolutionary Transitions into the Teaching of Biological Complexity

The hierarchical organization of life is a unifying principle in biology. However, its existence is taken for granted in K–12 biology curricula and students do not learn why and how it evolved. Hierarchical organization was not present when life originated and students should understand how it evolved. Doing so is critical to prevent nonscientific thinking from filling the gaps in student understanding of biological complexity. The scientific field of evolutionary transitions in individuality, or ETIs, explains how the hierarchical organization of life evolved. The translation of research into the classroom requires the development of suitable teaching tools and their integration into lesson plans. We describe four general teaching tools that allow students to learn about the evolution of the hierarchical organization of life and illustrate these by providing a middle school activity. These teaching tools are cooperation games, the volvocine algae model system, tree thinking, and guided discussions about individuality and social behavior in groups. The tools and the associated lesson aim to leverage students’ intuitive understanding of social behavior to increase student engagement. The tools address a major gap in the teaching of biology: hierarchical organization is assumed but its origin and evolution are not being taught.