2. Execute - Building Phylogenetic Relationships through Bio-Inspired Inquiry and AR

2.3 Practical AR Exercise: Building the Tree of Life

Activity example: “Constructing a Phylogenetic Tree”
Students work individually or in small groups to analyze a selected organism or group of organisms. Using AR tools, each learner creates a representation that includes key traits such as morphology, habitat, or genetic information.
These individual contributions are then combined into a shared class phylogenetic tree, where students collaboratively decide:

• where branching points should occur,
• which organisms share the most recent common ancestors,
• which traits provide the strongest evidence for relatedness.

This process emphasizes reasoning, comparison, and justification rather than correct or incorrect answers.