Mendelian or Multifactorial? Current Undergraduate Genetics Assessments Focus on Genes and Rarely Include the Environment

Autor/inn/en	Schmid, Kelly M.; Lee, Dennis; Weindling, Monica; Syed, Awais; Agyemang, Stephanie-Louise Yacoba; Donovan, Brian; Radick, Gregory; Smith, Michelle K.
Titel	Mendelian or Multifactorial? Current Undergraduate Genetics Assessments Focus on Genes and Rarely Include the Environment
Quelle	In: Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 23 (2022) 3, (11 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Schmid, Kelly M.) ORCID (Smith, Michelle K.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1935-7877
Schlagwörter	Undergraduate Students; Genetics; Science Instruction; Models; Thinking Skills; National Standards; Science Tests; Test Items; Item Analysis; Textbooks; Scientific Concepts; Concept Formation; Physical Characteristics; Environmental Influences; Course Content + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Humangenetik; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Analogiemodell; Denkfähigkeit; Test content; Testaufgabe; Itemanalyse; Textbook; Text book; Schulbuch; Lehrbuch; Concept learning; Begriffsbildung; Körperliche Erscheinung; Environmental influence; Umwelteinfluss; Kursprogramm
Abstract	Undergraduate genetics courses have historically focused on simple genetic models, rather than taking a more multifactorial approach where students explore how traits are influenced by a combination of genes, the environment, and gene-by-environment interactions. While a focus on simple genetic models can provide straightforward examples to promote student learning, they do not match the current scientific understanding and can result in deterministic thinking among students. In addition, undergraduates are often interested in complex human traits that are influenced by the environment, and national curriculum standards include learning objectives that focus on multifactorial concepts. This research aims to discover to what extent multifactorial genetics is currently being assessed in undergraduate genetics courses. To address this, we analyzed over 1,000 assessment questions from a commonly used undergraduate genetics textbook; published concept assessments; and open-source, peer-reviewed curriculum materials. Our findings show that current genetics assessment questions overwhelmingly emphasize the impact of genes on phenotypes and that the effect of the environment is rarely addressed. These results indicate a need for the inclusion of more multifactorial genetics concepts, and we suggest ways to introduce them into undergraduate courses. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	American Society for Microbiology. 1752 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-737-3600; e-mail: journals@asmusa.org; Web site: https://journals.asm.org/journal/jmbe
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01