Abstract
This flipped case study examines the selective pressures that have affected the evolution of diverse human skin pigmentations. To prepare for the case, students begin by watching videos and doing research on their own. In class, students use the information they have learned to answer questions that follow the research of Penn State anthropologist Nina Jablonski. As students work through the case they alternate between reading sections of the case study handout and viewing short video segments that reinforce concepts and engage students in the story of the real-world protagonist. At the end of the 90 minutes, students realize that several opposing pressures can act on one trait and that evolution can be a balancing act. This case is appropriate for AP and freshmen biology students who are completing a unit on evolution. It is adapted from an earlier case by the same author, “The Evolution of Skin Color.”