Hermaphrodites & Reproduction Group Activity

Hermaphrodites & Reproduction Group Activity guides students in overcoming a common misconception about hermaphroditism and self-fertilization. Students explore definitions of meiosis and sexual reproduction, and apply these definitions to categorize an example of reproduction in banana slugs. Students then analyze the selection pressures of sexual reproduction further, and apply these selection pressures to understand several mechanisms that have evolved to prevent self-fertilization. This activity for General Biology courses involves (1) recalling prior knowledge about sexual vs. asexual reproduction, (2) a jigsaw activity to refresh understanding of meiosis and sexual reproduction, (3) a fill in the blank activity, (4) videos on the selection pressures for sexual reproduction and mechanisms in plants of preventing self-fertilization, and (5) an arrangement activity where students move the s-alleles genotypes into a diagram of self-incompatible plants.