Teaching the Genome Generation: Bringing Modern Human Genetics into the Classroom Through Teacher Professional...

Area of Science:

• Science Education
• Genomics
• Bioethics

Background:

• High school biology curricula often struggle to integrate complex topics like molecular genetics, bioinformatics, and bioethics.
• Teacher professional development is crucial for effective implementation of new scientific concepts.
• The Teaching the Genome Generation (TtGG) program was developed to address these challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of the TtGG program on high school biology teachers' instructional practices.
• To assess the effectiveness of TtGG in enhancing teachers' ability to teach genomics and bioethics.
• To determine the rate of implementation of TtGG's modular elements in diverse classroom settings.

Main Methods:

• The TtGG program provided professional development and modular lessons for high school biology teachers.
• Teachers from across New England participated in the program.
• Evaluation data were collected over three academic years (2014/15 to 2016/17).

Main Results:

• Participating teachers demonstrated a high rate of implementation of TtGG's modular elements.
• The program was utilized in a variety of high school biology classroom settings.
• Evaluation data indicated a significant increase in teachers' abilities to integrate genomics and bioethics concepts.

Conclusions:

• The TtGG program is an effective model for teacher professional development in molecular genetics, bioinformatics, and bioethics.
• The program facilitates the integration of complex scientific concepts into high school biology education.
• TtGG shows promise for improving genomics and bioethics education nationwide.