Table 2 Summary of alignment of the key learning outcomes of cooperation in ETI theory to sample NGSS performance expectations along with key insights
Lower Anchor: Groups of individuals can do things that single individuals cannot. Individuals can benefit from participating in groups | ||
|---|---|---|
Upper Anchor: Cooperating in a group helps individuals with activities related to survival and reproduction, such as obtaining food, defending themselves, and coping with changes. However, cooperation creates an opportunity for cheating which can decrease the survival of cooperating group members | ||
ETI key learning outcomes | NGSS performance expectations | Key insights |
Cooperation occurs when two or more individuals benefit from working together | 3-LS2-1: Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive | • Cooperation is central to interactions among group members (3-LS2-1) |
Members of a group can cooperate with each other, but cheating can occur when individuals in a group benefit from the cooperation of others while not cooperating themselves | 3-LS4-2: Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing | • Interactions among individuals in a group, including cooperation and cheating, can affect individual survival. Survival doesn’t just depend on what morphological traits a given individual has (3-LS4-2; 3-LS4-3) |
Participation and cooperation in groups can increase the survival of group members. Too much cheating in a group can decrease the survival of group members | 3-LS4-3: Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all | • Individuals that live in groups in stressful or challenging environments may be more likely to survive than if they were alone (3-LS4-3) |