Using Aliens to Teach Evolution

Two of my General Education classes discuss biological evolution. “Life in the Universe” has a large section on the history of life on Earth, and “Science in Science Fiction” has a segment on aliens. I’ve noticed less hostility in the room for discussing evolution on alien planets than for evolution of life on Earth, so in the spring semester, I will be adapting my “Build Your Own Alien” project from the Science in Science Fiction class for use in Life in the Universe to see if that makes a difference. In the science fiction class we start by reading short stories and discussing what makes an alien plausible, which leads to a discussion of evolution and specifically on convergent evolution. We end the section with a reading of Survival by Julie E. Czerneda and look at how biology affects the cultures portrayed in the book. The students then work in groups using the principle of convergent evolution to come up with an alien distinct from Earth life, and its culture, distinct from our own. The Life in the Universe version will emphasize ecosystems over culture so the students can use all the things—convergent evolution, co-evolution and common ancestors—to create their creatures. I will talk about this paper and how the experiment went.