We came up with the Hairy Tree Rat because it had become apparent from the original practical that the assessment on fruit fly genetics was 'compromised' as all the answers were available online, which meant that students could 'Google' a mark of 100%.
As it now says in the practical:
"You have been tasked with learning about a newly discovered mammal: the hairy tree rat. Found on a single island, it seems to bear a resemblance to the naked mole rat but lives mostly in tree canopies and is hairy! The coat colouration is unusual; most of the rats are rusty-coloured (like the tree bark), but some are brown, and others are tan-coloured. You need to work out the genetic relationships for colour; assume all rats are from true-breeding lines (unless the litter is specified)."
With the introduction of the Hairy Tree Rat, we now have the ability to control the genetics and adapt the parameters of the assessment. This empowers us to assess students against the learning outcomes with a high degree of confidence, knowing that the students haven't simply 'googled' the answers.
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