Undergraduate elective course in paleontology (15-20 students)

- Ability to generate and fine-tune hypotheses (I use another class activity two days earlier to brainstorm and develop the specific hypotheses tested here)
- Understanding of escalation and the concept of evolutionary arms races

- As an in-class lecture or lab activity (2-3 hours)
- Activity can be expanded to include bulk sampling in the field, sorting/identification in the lab, and/or oral presentations of results.

- Escalation
- Evolutionary arms races
- Molluscan ecology

- Fine-tuning hypotheses
- Developing approach to data collection and analyses
- Collecting data
- Analyzing data
- Interpreting results

- Analyzing data using SPSS statistical software
- Graphing skills
- Writing skills

In this activity, students divide into groups of 4-5, choose a hypothesis relating to escalation, and fine-tune it for testing-- using bulk sampled material from the local Yorktown Formation (Pliocene). They select a study organism on which to focus, develop a sampling regime, and decide on approaches to data collection and analyses. As students collect and analyze data, I rotate around the classroom discussing hypotheses, answering questions, and assessing their progress. Students finish the data collection, analyses, and interpretation in class (or lab), then write up the results outside of class.

Students enjoy the activity because:
(1) it is essentially a mini research project-- including developing a hypothesis, collecting data, analyzing and interpreting data, and presenting it (either in writing or orally)
(2) it emphasizes the concept that paleontology can be a hypothesis-driven science,
(3) it provides students with additional experience applying a variety of basic statistical tests (e.g., t-tests, ANOVA, chi-square, regression)
and (4) it includes lots of hands-on experience with fossils.

The activity can be designed as either a lecture or lab activity, and can easily be expanded to include a field component (bulk sampling), additional lab component (sorting and identifying fossils), and/or oral presentation component.

I grade this assignment using a basic 10 pt rubric, assessing students on their ability to fine-tune the hypotheses, make decisions re. study organism and sampling, collect data, analyze and interpret data, and communicate it effectively.