Rosie Redfield has written a thought-provoking perspective for PLoS Biology about revamping genetics curricula. Her article, focused on college courses, has clear implications for high schools as well. She argues that the emphasis on Mendel and the historical perspective is propagating misconceptions about genetics and the connection between genotype and phenotype. Indeed, this was a a concern raised at GETed 2012.
Redfield advocates for radically changing how genetics is taught to emphasize the concepts that 21st century students truly need to know to prepare them for the inundation of genetics into our daily lives. She highlights some of the ethical questions raised by recent developments in genetics, in line with our work at pgEd to encourage discussion about the choices that we, as individuals and a society, are increasingly facing.