Caging the Blob: Using a Slime Mold to Teach Concepts about Barriers that Constrain the Movement of Organisms

Cindy E. Bohland; David G. Schmale; Shane D. Ross

doi:10.1525/abt.2011.73.9.6

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1 November 2011 Caging the Blob: Using a Slime Mold to Teach Concepts about Barriers that Constrain the Movement of Organisms

Cindy E. Bohland, David G. Schmale, Shane D. Ross

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The American Biology Teacher, 73(9):537-541 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2011.73.9.6

Abstract

Few laboratory exercises are designed to teach biology students about barriers that may constrain the movement of organisms. We describe a unique inquirybased exercise involving Lego mazes (the barrier) and the plasmodial slime mold, Physarum polycephalum (the organism). During guided inquiry, students construct mazes using Lego brand building blocks and the slime mold is allowed to “navigate” through the maze and “respond” to the barrier. Students then generate and test hypotheses about the movement of the slime mold in response to different barriers in the open-inquiry phase of the investigation.

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Cindy E. Bohland, David G. Schmale, and Shane D. Ross "Caging the Blob: Using a Slime Mold to Teach Concepts about Barriers that Constrain the Movement of Organisms," The American Biology Teacher 73(9), 537-541, (1 November 2011). https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2011.73.9.6

Published: 1 November 2011

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