pgEd’s goal is to engage students in the exciting and complex issues in personal genetics. We create curriculum and develop workshops to bring the cutting edge of genetics and the associated ethical, legal, and social implications into classrooms. With an emphasis on social justice, our materials are relevant to multiple subjects, including biology, health, social studies, law, physical education and psychology.
Curricula on genetics and ethics
We have developed a set of lesson plans that are ready to use – complete with background reading, classroom activities, and, in many cases, PowerPoint slides – to help students explore some of the big ideas and controversies. Current topics include Introduction to Personal Genetics, Genome editing and CRISPR, Reproductive Genetic Testing, DNA, Crime, and Law Enforcement, Genetics, History, and the American Eugenics Movement, and many more.
As the pandemic transitioned many classrooms into the virtual space in early 2020, we knew that many of the teachers who use our materials were preparing to make this shift with their students. To help with this transition, we made available recorded presentations of our most popular lessons and developed a library of short, student-facing lessons called SNAPSHOTS. These resources are tailored for use in distance learning as well as in-person classrooms.
Professional development
pgEd organizes interactive professional development workshops that explore the content and activities within our lesson plans. We offer workshops, ranging from a 1-2 hour session to a 3-day course, for which we award professional development points. Check out the sidebar or our events page for a list of upcoming events. To arrange a workshop in your district, please email Robin Bowman at rbowman@pged.med.harvard.edu.
Classroom visits
We are based in Boston, Massachusetts and we may be available to visit your classroom in person or via videoconferencing. If you’d like to discuss the possibility of a pgEd visit, or are looking for support to use our curriculum in your classroom, please email Robin Bowman at rbowman@pged.med.harvard.edu.
