With support from an IES grant, Kefyn Catley and I developed a variety of instructional materials for teaching tree thinking to undergraduates. A self-study instructional booklet (e.g., can be assigned for homework) has been found to be effective for (a) students of varying backgrounds recruited from a psychology subject pool (Novick, Schreiber, & Catley, 2014), (b) students enrolled in an introductory biology course for science majors (Novick & Catley, 2016), and (3) biology majors enrolled in an upper-level biology class (Novick & Catley, 2017). A phylogenetics laboratory activity has been found to be effective for both introductory and advanced biology students (Novick & Catley, 2016, 2017). These materials can be downloaded from the links below. Contact me to obtain a copy of the assessment instrument.
Tree-Thinking Instructional Booklet:
Novick, L. R., Catley, K. M., & Schreiber, E. G. (2012, August). Understanding Evolutionary History: An Introduction to Tree Thinking (Version 3.2). Unpublished instructional booklet, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.
Also available from:
Catley, K. M., & Novick, L. R. (2016, June). Phylogenetics Laboratory: Reconstructing Evolutionary History (Version 3.3). Unpublished student laboratory booklet, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.
Catley, K. M., & Novick, L. R. (2016, June). Phylogenetics Laboratory: Reconstructing Evolutionary History. Instructors’ Guide and Answer Key (Version 2.3). Unpublished instructor’s laboratory guide, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.
Also available from: