Module 2: Groups to individuals
The goal of this module is for students to cooperate to complete a task as a group rather than alone (finding the best band for homecoming, best way to spend a defined amount of money, etc.). One student must be elected as a secretary to take notes on all group actions, decisions, and progress. The group’s actions should mimic what we see in the evolution of biological group formation. Initial forming of the group leads to a brainstorming session or competition for ideas, leadership, and confrontation. Beyond storming, a norming stage will evolve leading to agreement, trust, and potential participation by all parties. Lastly, the group should perform and work as an efficient individual unit and students should be able to perform the task at hand and complete the assignment and defend their results.
Supplementary activity
In this module, students will examine the slime mold Physarum polycephalum. Different chemicals may be tested to examine the organism’s cooperative abilities and preferences. If a food source or favorable chemical signal is detected, P. polycephalum will form a large group of many individual cells aggregating together. This level of cooperation demonstrates that the potential for group benefits can be larger than that of the temptation for individual gain. By combining efforts through cooperative behavior, tasks thought to be impossible by one individual can be achieved by the group. It has also been shown that through cooperative efforts of individual cells the slime mold can navigate through, or around, an obstacle in search of food. Creating a maze or labyrinth on a Petri dish would be an intriguing class demonstration for further discussion.
Materials for the supplementary activity: