Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Apr;1(2):48-60.
doi: 10.15695/jstem/v1i1.12. Epub 2018 May 3.

Teaching the Genome Generation: Bringing Modern Human Genetics into the Classroom Through Teacher Professional Development

Kelly M LaRue  1 , Michael P McKernan  1 , Kristin M Bass  2 , Charles G Wray  1
Affiliations

Teaching the Genome Generation: Bringing Modern Human Genetics into the Classroom Through Teacher Professional Development

Kelly M LaRue et al. J STEM Outreach. 2018 Apr.

Abstract

Teaching the Genome Generation (TtGG) is a teacher professional development program and set of high school biology lessons that support interwoven classroom instruction of molecular genetics, bioinformatics, and bioethics. Participating teachers from across New England implement the modular elements of program at a high rate in a variety of biology classrooms. Evaluation data collected over three academic years (2014/15 to 2016/17) indicate that TtGG has increased teachers' abilities to integrate complex concepts of genomics and bioethics into their high school classes.

Keywords: Bioethics; Bioinformatics; Genetics; Genomics; High School; Laboratory; Professional Development; Teacher.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
TtGG Lesson Offerings for Biology Teachers. The right-most column identifies the program category or protocol used with students by row. Options within rows represent lessons or exercises that teachers can select for implementation. The three dominant pathways implemented by teachers are displayed in colored vertical columns and are differentiated by recommended instructional level. Teachers follow the pathways along the vertical workflow from top to bottom. While most teachers follow the recommended pathways, lesson selection is completely customizable. Teachers commonly choose a pathway of cohesive bioethics lessons, laboratory assays and bioinformatics to satisfy the learning needs or grade band of their students.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Location and demographics of TtGG participant school districts. A. Map of New England that captures a majority of teacher-participant locations. Mortar boards indicate academic year implementers. Pins indicate members that have participated in PD only at the time of map generation. Map was generated using Google Maps. For an up-to-date interactive map visit http://tinyurl.com/ttgg-map. Distribution of participants’ school level (B) and school type (C) within PD course locations.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Coding of open ended responses on PD course evaluations of A) Things I learned as a result of this course, B) Specific content areas or techniques I plan to study further, and C) Things I didn’t entirely expect, but am pleased to have gained from this course.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Distribution of students impacted by TtGG by biology class type. Data represents academic years 2015–2016 and 2016–2017, n=3780 students.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bowling BV, Acra EE, Wang L, Myers MF, Dean GE, Markle GC, Moskalik CL, and Huether CA (2008). Development and evaluation of a genetics, literacy assessment instrument for undergraduates. Genetics. 178, 15–22. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chi M (1997). Quantifying qualitative analyses of verbal data: A practical guide. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 6(3), 271–315.
    1. Garber KB, Hyland KM, and Dasgupta S (2016). Participatory genomic testing as an educational experience. Trends in Genetics. 32(6), 317–20. - PubMed
    1. Goldstein JA, and Blaisdell J (1996). Genetic tests which identify the principal defects in CYP2C19 responsible for the polymorphism in mephenytoin metabolism. Methods in Enzymology, 272, 210–8. - PubMed
    1. Green ED, and Guyer MS (2011). Charting a course for genomic medicine from base pairs to bedside. Nature, 470(7333), 204–13. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources