Study Pack

Population change: drift, movement, and changing structure.

This first high-school study pack ties together variation, drift, migration, and population structure through guide-led app work, comparison across runs, and evidence-based explanation.

Allele Tracker guide Gene Flow Mapper guide Student handout High-school pathway

Primary fit HS-LS4-1, HS-LS4-2, HS-LS3-2, with emphasis on models and explanation from evidence.

Core tools Allele Tracker and Gene Flow Mapper, with optional extension into Life Cycle Modeler.

Pack Sequence

1. Frame the problem

Use the Notebook to establish variation, inheritance, and mechanisms of population change.

2. Run the first model

Use Allele Tracker to compare drift, selection, and migration across repeated runs.

3. Add spatial structure

Use Gene Flow Mapper to connect movement and barriers to changing pattern across space.

Pack Materials

Student handout

A printable sequence for prediction, run comparison, evidence capture, and explanation.

Open handout

Teacher notes

Facilitation guidance, pacing, and what to listen for in student explanations.

Open teacher notes

Expected Student Work

Evidence products

A prediction about how one mechanism should change the outcome.
A comparison of at least two runs from each app.
A short explanation that distinguishes observation from interpretation.

Didactopus-style prompts

What evidence changed your conclusion?
What competing explanation did you have to rule out?
What additional run would best test your current claim?

Extensions

Life Cycle Modeler

Add demographic structure after the core pack if you want to extend from allele change to population trajectory.

Open guide

NGSS mapping

Use the NGSS page to tie this pack explicitly to performance expectations and science practices.

Open NGSS mapping