A Model General Education Science Course Involving Humanities and Sciences, Education, and Medical School Collaboration

Authors

J. P. Chinnici, Virginia Commonwealth University

Publication Date

2002

Abstract

This article described an innovative general education biology course for non-science majors, BIOL 102-Science of Heredity (SOH), stressing active student learning and collaboration [1]. The course has three components. The lecture is taught by J. P. Chinnici and several undergraduate "teacher apprentices"; students receive a classnotes packet, take in-class quizzes, and interact to work on genetic worksheets; incentives include reviewing books, visiting a science museum, and finding albino squirrels. Recitations are taught by graduate students in the Department of Human Genetics; student activities include preparing a family pedigree, writing a term paper, reporting orally and in writing on several media articles they find, and class debates on topics of societal importance. Laboratory exercises include working with "flightless" fruit flies to determine the mode of inheritance of a mutant trait, isolating and analyzing DNA using gel electrophoresis, and a forensics exercise using genetic clues to identify a suspect. Results of the Virginia Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers (VCEPT) assessment of the course are given and briefly discussed.

Volume

5

Issue

1

First Page

51

Last Page

58

Rights

© Virginia Mathematics and Science Coalition, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

DOI

https://doi.org/10.25891/R2VP-1F93

Recommended Citation

Chinnici, J. P. (2002) "A Model General Education Science Course Involving Humanities and Sciences, Education, and Medical School Collaboration," Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations: Vol. 5: No. 1, Article 8.
Available at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/jmsce_vamsc/vol5/iss1/8