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Abstract
Improving primary and secondary (K12) science education is of great interest and sustained qualified K-12 education has been described as key in preparing the next generation of scientists. Genetics is one of the major disciplines to be taught in K-12 and recent evidence suggests current educational approaches may be promoting student misconceptions and misunderstandings. Here we describe the experience of developing a specific lecture/activity to provide information on patterns of genetics inheritance to 12th grade students in an elective Advanced Biology course from a senior high school in western Pennsylvania. Observations allowed the identification of specific misconceptions and topics of the curricula that may need to be re-evaluated.
Highlights
Open AccessCitation: Finch, R and Vieira AR
They were informed about the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/), the central repository of the sequence they were working on
In the first course section of the day, teacher and students were confused at some point by the description of the DNA sequence, which was defined in the NCBI as mRNA
Summary
According to the Academic Standard for Science and Technology of the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PA Department of Education, 2002), by grade 10, students should be able to describe how genetic information is inherited and expressed (Table 1). Pennsylvania obviously follows the National Science Education Standards that come from the National Academies of Science and Project 2061 which suggest that as a result of their activities in grades 9–12, all students should develop understanding of the molecular basis of heredity. The explicit requirement in these national standards of teaching basic Mendelian genetics was proposed to be a factor contributing to confusion regarding the deterministic nature of a single gene in phenotype control (Shaw et al, 2008). It is evident that the state standards in Pennsylvania emphasize Mendelian forms of inheritance (Table 1). Most of the traits are consequence of the influence of many genes with or without environmental factors (multifactorial or complex inheritance), one can assume teachers are not necessarily going to explore this topic if it is not explicitly included in their state content assessments
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