(update: what do teachers think of the PGEP?)
Dana Waring and colleagues at the Personal Genetics Education Project have put together an excellent set of resources for teachers and professors. The first few lesson plans are freely available for download at http://genepath.med.harvard.edu/WuLab/pgEd/curricula.html.
For example, the first lesson plan is geared toward a general discussion of ethical questions regarding genetic testing and possible consequences. Discussion centers on the story of a young girl who, after watching her grandfather’s decline due to Huntington’s, decided to get herself tested and the fallout that ensued upon learning she tested positive.
There has been much media hype lately about genetic tests and genome wide SNP tests from companies such as 23andme and Navigenics, yet, many do not have a working understanding genetic testing and its implications. Waring does a good job discussing the possible negative outcomes of having a genetic test, and she demonstrates why it’s so important to consult with a physician or genetic counselor before getting a high penetrance genetic test such as the one for Huntington’s. Students are forced to think about the issues at hand and how genetic testing will play a large role in not only their medical futures, but also their day to day lives.
I’m looking forward to reviewing more of Dana and her team’s material, and I hope professors and teachers who read Think Gene will consider taking advantage of this educational resource and integrate it into their curriculum. This generation of students will be the first to have to make decisions about genetic tests, and I feel it’s our duty to properly educate them so they are prepared.
Andrew says:
UPDATE: What do secondary education teachers think about Waring’s Personal Genetics Education Project?
Jane Yates, a veteran teacher (and my mother) writes:
The Personal Genomes 101 summary is a great quick resource. The lesson plans could be helpful to a teacher, but they should list which national and state standards to which it relates. Teachers probably would not use the PowerPoint slides. I don’t think that the lessons would be used much by High School teachers, however, it is a great resource for a student who would be assigned a biology research paper or an English position paper.
This is a timeline of major events in the science of genomics: the science of DNA encoding and how genes work. Part 2 begins from genetic science at the “Fly Lab” inspired by the theory Mendelian inheritance and concludes with the discovery of the double helix model of DNA.
1900 to 1920: The Physical Gene
1902: British physician Archibald Garrod identifies the first human genetic disease.
Garrod was investigating a rare disease called alkaptonuria when he realized that the disease must be passed genetically in families. This insight suggested to Garrod that many other rare diseases could be understood by inheritance.
1903: American Graduate student Walter Sutton discovers the mechanism of meiosis while studying the sperm cells of grasshoppers and proposes that heredity factors are located in chromosomes.
This was Sutton’s last work in genetics literature. Why? Sutton never finished his PhD. Instead, he earned his M.D. and became a surgeon. Thinking of going ABD to pursue more practical employment? See 100 Years Ago: Walter Sutton and the Chromosome Theory of Heredity if you feel guilty about not feeling guilty enough.
… Continue Reading »
This is a timeline of major events in the science of genomics: the science of DNA encoding and how genes work. This introduction is my personal statement about the importance of science history in science education and how we learn to do great science.
Introduction: Why History is Important in Science Education
History is the context from which modern scientific ideas have originated. Without an awareness of the progression of scientific thought, how can one expect to continue that progression?
These ideas were conceived and pursued by people like us, and they, like us, ultimately must have aspired to have been appreciated for their contributions to human understanding. We owe it to ourselves to honor them, and if we do not, how can we expect the future to honor us?
And after all, since I assume self-education motivates the reader, we need not bother ourselves with the “facts-only factory-floor efficiency” by which we indoctrinate our American public school children. Without context, there is fundamentally no empirical difference between a book on biology and a book on religion. History is the origin of that context. By history, we can learn the process by which ideas are explored and validated, specifically, explored and validated not by mythical heroes, but by people quite like us.
I think it’s time that the scientific community, rather than lamenting the encroachment of peasant-thought in our society, should instead assume responsibility and more aggressive cultural leadership. … Continue Reading »
Think Gene at Technorati
