While not always the case, the experiences that students have had in
middle school with genetics can be limited to plug and chug Punnett squares
investigating traits in aliens, SpongeBob, and dragons. In an effort to help
students see how patterns of inheritance and gene expression can be more nuanced
than that and to connect to a real world example, I created a Genetic Counselor
project for the 9th graders at The Lawrenceville School (Lawrenceville, NJ). In
this session, participants will have the opportunity to work through aspects of
the project, specifically creating the pedigree and working with primary
literature and analyzing data. This project is great because it includes
representation of people of different backgrounds and identities, is based in
the real world, introduces students to a career path, and teaches about primary
literature. Please see the project launch pad here: https://tinyurl.com/GCPNSTA
--Thanks!
TAKEAWAYS:
Work through the genetic counselor project from a patient background, solving a pedigree, learning how to use NCBI, and interpreting primary literature. You will take home the student directions, exemplar projects, list of relevant primary literature articles, and teacher key.
SPEAKERS:
Ilana Saxe (The Lawrenceville School: Lawrenceville, NJ)