Premium
Crossing over: An undergraduate service learning project aimed at creating instructional materials for genetics education in high school classrooms
Author(s) -
Hark Amy T.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a296-e
Subject(s) - service learning , class (philosophy) , service (business) , work (physics) , mathematics education , medical education , pedagogy , psychology , sociology , engineering , medicine , computer science , mechanical engineering , economy , artificial intelligence , economics
The importance of engaging students in science and helping them to become informed citizens has been highlighted by many groups invested in science education. Here I describe a project that furthers both academic and civic goals through the integration of a service learning component into an undergraduate course. This nonmajors class covers the biology underlying the use of genetic information in today's society and provides students with the opportunity to discuss related ethical and political issues. The service learning project itself involves the creation of instructional materials dealing with the above topics/issues for use in area high school classrooms. Students are creating these materials in a digital media format to allow for revision in response to community and other feedback. Outcomes of our pilot project, in which five teachers from four local high schools serve as reviewers of the undergraduate students' materials, will be discussed. Interdisciplinary collaborations and local educational partnerships have been developed through this work; future undergraduate classes or independent study students may work more closely with college faculty and high schools to revise the materials.