Modeling Meiosis - AKA My Least Favorite Activity All Year

Back in the old days before the AP Biology rewrite there was a lab on Mitosis and Meiosis.  It involved a section on modeling the phases of meiosis.  Most teachers used a kit that included pop beads and magnets that students used to demonstrate and then draw the phases of meiosis (I am oversimplifying, there are questions that go with it too).

Seems easy enough right?  Except that even after sitting with students and demonstrating meiosis they still couldn't really explain the differences between homologous pairs and sister chromatids.   Metaphase I almost always looked wrong even after they copied it out of a book or off the web.  Crossing over?  That was frequently a lost cause leading to another 2 days cutting and taping paper chromosomes to teach crossing over and how it leads to genetic diversity.

Several years ago I made the decision that instead of having students draw the phases of meiosis they needed to video themselves moving the bead chromosomes through each phase while they described them.  While that made it very easy for me to identify exactly where students were confused, it didn't really help them think through the process in depth that I had hoped.  Rather than identify gaps in their personal understanding and ask questions, they just made videos with misconceptions.

When the redesign was announced I was pretty excited about the possibility of a more student centered, inquiry type approach to the dreaded Meiosis Modelling Madness (M^3).  Alas, the new student lab manual still includes M^3, in a modified format, but still there.

This year students are using the same beads and magnets to create videos that demonstrate all of the steps of meiosis one by one.  Instead of them just skipping from Prophase I to Metaphase I they have to show and explain (in captions, labels, or with audio) how the homologous pairs form, how crossing over occurs, and how the homologous pairs migrate to the center of the cell.

The order has become important.  They are paying more attention.  "Do I need spindle fibers yet?"  "Does crossing over occur between sister chromatids?"  I am getting good questions.  Yes they are questions about learning the steps of a process, but they are owning that process and starting to see that the machinery for Meiosis evolved out of Mitosis.    They are starting to understand that crossing over and independent assortment lead to genetic diversity, and thus phenotypic variation in populations. 

Writing on and sitting on the lab benches

Taking pictures for the animations requires being a few feet away.

The floor was a viable option to write on but they really like the
neon expo markers on the black tables

Check out the engineering on their "tripod."  That is a ring stand, iron ring
a paper towel roll (to keep it from tipping over), and a squashed cardboard paper towel
insert (to get the angle of the iPad camera just right). 

I don't know if they are engaged because they are interested in the process or if they are just motivated to produce a good video.  The grade isn't valuable enough for most of them to put in the effort I am seeing.  Regardless they are engaged and I am enjoying watching them work on something that I normally dread.

Anybody have any other ideas on modeling meiosis?  I am open to suggestions for next year!