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

2. From Classification to Relationship Building

In this section, students move from learning about evolutionary concepts to actively applying them. Instead of memorizing classifications, learners analyze shared traits and evolutionary evidence to build relationships between organisms.

2.1 From Theory to Practice: Understanding Relationships in Nature

The evolutionary Tree of Life demonstrates how nature organizes diversity through branching relationships and shared ancestry. In this section, students move from theoretical concepts to practical application, exploring how scientists use evidence to determine evolutionary relationships between organisms.

Rather than memorizing classification systems, learners adopt a bio-inspired perspective, viewing evolution as a dynamic process where simple biological traits generate complex relational structures. This approach reflects how natural systems inspire modern methods of organizing information in science, technology, and design.

2.2 How Augmented Reality Supports the Learning Objective

The main objective of this unit is to help students understand phylogeny as a system of relationships, not a linear hierarchy. Augmented Reality (AR) supports this objective by allowing learners to construct, manipulate, and visualize phylogenetic trees in three-dimensional space.
Through AR-based activities, students can:

• place organisms relative to one another,
• visualize branching points as common ancestors,
• test different tree configurations based on evidence,
• observe how changes in data affect the overall structure.

This transforms phylogenetic trees from static diagrams into interactive scientific models.

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.

2.4 Bio-Inspired Learning in Practice

The construction of a phylogenetic tree reflects a core bio-inspired principle: complex systems emerge from simple, repeated rules. By organizing organisms based on shared traits, students experience how nature generates structured diversity without central control.
This principle is directly relevant to:

• systems thinking,
• data organization,
• network design,
• artificial intelligence and bio-inspired computing.

2.5 Collaborative and Inquiry-Based Learning

During the Execute phase, students engage in:

• discussion and debate about evidence,
• hypothesis testing by rearranging branches,
• collaborative decision-making when building the shared tree.

This inquiry-based approach mirrors real scientific practice and supports the development of critical thinking, communication, and teamwork skills.