Beyond the Central Dogma: Model-Based Learning of How Genes Determine Phenotypes

Autor/inn/en	Reinagel, Adam; Speth, Elena Bray
Titel	Beyond the Central Dogma: Model-Based Learning of How Genes Determine Phenotypes
Quelle	In: CBE - Life Sciences Education, 15 (2016) 1, Artikel 4 (13 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1931-7913
DOI	10.1187/cbe.15-04-0105
Schlagwörter	Science Instruction; Genetics; Biology; Introductory Courses; Models; Concept Formation; Scientific Concepts; Case Studies; Scaffolding (Teaching Technique); Molecular Structure; Learning Processes; Teaching Methods; College Science; College Students; Pretests Posttests; Scoring Rubrics + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Humangenetik; Biologie; Einführungskurs; Analogiemodell; Concept learning; Begriffsbildung; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Learning process; Lernprozess; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Collegestudent; Scoring formulas; Auswertungsbogen
Abstract	In an introductory biology course, we implemented a learner-centered, model-based pedagogy that frequently engaged students in building conceptual models to explain how genes determine phenotypes. Model-building tasks were incorporated within case studies and aimed at eliciting students' understanding of 1) the origin of variation in a population and 2) how genes/alleles determine phenotypes. Guided by theory on hierarchical development of systems-thinking skills, we scaffolded instruction and assessment so that students would first focus on articulating isolated relationships between pairs of molecular genetics structures and then integrate these relationships into an explanatory network. We analyzed models students generated on two exams to assess whether students' learning of molecular genetics progressed along the theoretical hierarchical sequence of systems-thinking skills acquisition. With repeated practice, peer discussion, and instructor feedback over the course of the semester, students' models became more accurate, better contextualized, and more meaningful. At the end of the semester, however, more than 25% of students still struggled to describe phenotype as an output of protein function. We therefore recommend that 1) practices like modeling, which require connecting genes to phenotypes; and 2) well-developed case studies highlighting proteins and their functions, take center stage in molecular genetics instruction. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01