Exploring Difference in the Biology Classroom
‘Exploring Difference in the Biology Classroom’ is a series of virtual programs that brought together educators and researchers for conversations about the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of genetics.
Organized by Personal Genetics Education & Dialogue and the Center for ELSI Resources & Analysis, this series of ELSI conversations invited researchers to share their work with educators at the forefront of teaching science in middle schools, high schools, and undergraduate institutions. The Center for ELSI Resources & Analysis (CERA) is led by a multidisciplinary team with advanced expertise in genomics, bioethics, legal analysis, social science research, and related fields.
Past Events
How to represent wide-ranging family structures and personal identities using the latest pedigree nomenclature
Pedigrees are a widely used tool in medicine, research, and teaching. In the classroom, pedigrees are a helpful tool for students to learn about genetics and the various ways in which genetic traits can pass through families. Traditionally, what most people have learned about pedigrees in school is that squares are for males, circles are for females, and lines indicate connections between parents and children across generations.
Family structures and personal identities are wide ranging and so, for many people, this nomenclature will fall short. For example, people who were adopted or conceived by donor sperm may grapple with how to accurately portray their family relationships. And people whose gender identity does not align with their sex assigned at birth may find these symbols inadequate.
How can educators create an environment that is welcoming and inclusive for all students, while still being able to clearly convey genetic concepts?
How to represent wide-ranging family structures and personal identities using the latest pedigree nomenclature
Pedigrees are a widely used tool in medicine, research, and teaching. In the classroom, pedigrees are a helpful tool for students to learn about genetics and the various ways in […]
Engaging with Genetic Disability and Difference
Language in biology and medicine can frame disability as a deviation from what is normal, acceptable, and welcome–a framework that can extend into classrooms. However, importing terms like “disorder” or “mutation” from these fields can reinforce assumptions that disabled people are less capable, less valuable in society, and less independent compared to people without disabilities.
What ideas or messages are we sharing in our language about biological differences? Reflecting on this question is the first step toward addressing barriers to student engagement, preventing potential harms, and creating more inclusive classrooms.
In this session, two leading disability scholars provide an introduction to the evolution of disability language, discuss current trends, share insights from their work in clinical settings, and identify practices that can support inclusive education and engagement around disability and difference.
The program focuses on evidence-based, pedagogical approaches that affirm the dignity, humanity, and agency of disabled and neurodiverse people and support them to learn, grow, and flourish.
Engaging with Genetic Disability and Difference
Language in biology and medicine can frame disability as a deviation from what is normal, acceptable, and welcome–a framework that can extend into classrooms. However, importing terms like “disorder” or […]
What Genetic Ancestry Tests Mean (and What They Don’t)
Genetic ancestry testing is often framed as a means to understanding who we are and where we came from. But what, exactly, do the results of these tests mean? Why are genetic data from ancestry tests of interest to individuals, scientists, and companies? What important questions arise about the uses of these data?
Facilitating classroom conversations about genetic ancestry testing can be a powerful way to both connect scientific advances in the real world with lessons about human genetic variation and support students in becoming informed consumers.
What Genetic Ancestry Tests Mean (and What They Don’t)
Genetic ancestry testing is often framed as a means to understanding who we are and where we came from. But what, exactly, do the results of these tests mean? Why […]
Beyond Mendel: Leading with Complexity when Teaching Human Genetics
Teaching Mendelian patterns of inheritance is a useful way to introduce basic genetic concepts in the classroom. However, this framework can be unhelpful or even misleading if students do not first appreciate that most, if not all, traits in living organisms result from interactions among genes, and between genes and their environments.
Providing this full picture is particularly important in classroom discussions about human genetics. It is critical for instructors to avoid reinforcing or creating misconceptions about genetics and health. For example, the treatment of racial or ethnic group identity as representing discrete biological groups can hinder rather than advance impactful approaches for genomic medicine.
Beyond Mendel: Leading With Complexity When Teaching Human Genetics
Teaching Mendelian patterns of inheritance is a useful way to introduce basic genetic concepts in the classroom. However, this framework can be unhelpful or even misleading if students do not […]