Thanks to Frances K: A case study for developmental biology

Abstract

Traditionally, developmental biology is taught as a stand‐alone, upper division course at most colleges and universities. General topics in development are briefly touched upon in introductory level survey biology courses. At Emory University, we currently teach a 6 week long developmental biology unit during the second semester of our introductory biology sequence, Foundations of Modern Biology. During the laboratory portion of the course, we strive to include new and innovative laboratory activities in addition to problem‐based learning (PBL) exercises. The use of case studies in the laboratory has helped students to relate the material they learn in class – which they often view as irrelevant – to a real‐life situation. Our case studies primarily center around medical topics, as the majority of our students declare themselves as intending to attend medical school in the future. For the developmental biology unit, the case study involves a topic with which students may have little previous knowledge – the use of thalidomide and its side effects. This poster describes the case study we have used and its assessments to show that difficult concepts in developmental biology can be taught in creative ways to introductory biology students.