Arend Jan Waarlo

Design Criteria for Learning and Teaching Genetics.

While learning and teaching difficulties in genetics have been abundantly explored and described, there has been less focus on the development and field-testing of strategies to address them. To inform the design of such a strategy a review study, focus group interviews with teachers, a case study of a traditional series of genetics lessons, student interviews, and content analysis of school genetics teaching were carried out. Specific difficulties reported in the literature were comparable to those perceived by Dutch teachers and found in the case study and the student interviews.The problems associated with the abstract and complex nature of genetics were studied in more detail. The separation of inheritance, reproduction and meiosis in the curriculum accounts for the abstract nature of genetics, while the different levels of biological organisation contribute to its complex nature. Finally, four design criteria are defined for a learning and teaching strategy to address these problems: linking the levels of organism, cell and molecule; explicitly connecting meiosis and inheritance; distinguishing the somatic and germ cell line in the context of the life cycle; and an active exploration of the relations between the levels of organisation by the students.

Systems Modelling and the Development of Coherent Understanding of Cell Biology

This article reports on educational design research concerning a learning and teaching strategy for cell biology in upper‐secondary education introducing systems modelling as a key competence. The strategy consists of four modelling phases in which students subsequently develop models of free‐living cells, a general two‐dimensional model of cells, a three‐dimensional model of plant cells, and finally they are engaged in formal thinking by modelling life phenomena to a hierarchical systems model. The strategy was thought out, elaborated, and tested in classrooms in several research cycles. Throughout the field‐tests, research data were collected by means of classroom observations, interviews, audio‐taped discussions, completed worksheets, written tests, and questionnaires. Reflection on the research findings eventuated in reshaping and formalizing the learning and teaching strategy, which is presented here. The results show that although acquiring systems thinking competence at the metacognitive level needs more effort, our strategy contributed to improving learning outcomes; that is, acquisition of a coherent conceptual understanding of cell biology and acquisition of initial systems thinking competence, with modelling being the key activity.

The feasibility of systems thinking in biology education

Systems thinking in biology education is an up and coming research topic, as yet with contrasting feasibility claims. In biology education systems thinking can be understood as thinking backward and forward between concrete biological objects and processes and systems models representing systems theoretical characteristics. Some studies claim that systems thinking can be readily introduced at the level of primary-school education; other studies claim that even in upper secondary-school education the introduction of systems thinking requires a carefully outlined approach in order not to strain students’ capacities too much. In order to explain these contrasting claims a procedure of analysis was used to map and compare the conceptual frameworks of the various studies, focusing on the selection of systems, references to systems theory and definitions of systems thinking. The analysis demonstrates that the frameworks include different elements of systems thinking. In particular, the analysis shows that the studies recommending the introduction of systems thinking in primary- or lower secondary-school education did not measure students’ ability to think forward and backward between concrete objects and systems models. The analysis contributes to a discussion about useful preparatory learning and teaching trajectories, preceding the formal introduction of systems thinking.

Genomics education in practice: Evaluation of a mobile lab design

Dutch genomics research centers have developed the ‘DNA labs on the road’ to bridge the gap between modern genomics research practice and secondary‐school curriculum in the Netherlands. These mobile DNA labs offer upper‐secondary students the opportunity to experience genomics research through experiments with laboratory equipment that is not available in schools and place genomics research in a relevant societal context. The design of the DNA lab ‘read the language of the tumor’ is evaluated, by clarifying the goals and choices in the design, and the effects of the DNA lab are presented. Based on the analysis of the design of the DNA lab and supported by the results of the evaluating studies, we consider this module to be a good example of relevant and up‐to‐date genomics education.

Genomics in school. Science & society series on convergence research.

School curricula always lag behind scientific innovations; modern science has made so many great advances that the quantity of ‘basic’ science to be taught in the classroom increases year on year. Major breakthroughs and new research are obvious in a range of scientific disciplines, including medicine, forensics, biofuels, vaccine research and the mitigation of pollution (NGI, 2006). Moreover, fundamental biological concepts and practices have themselves advanced and school curricula need to be revised; for example, in evolutionary biology (Moore, 2007), probable evolutionary relationships are now being constructed by comparing proteins and genome sequences between organisms, rather than by searching for similarities in anatomy, embryology and physiology. > …modern science has made so many great advances that the quantity of ‘basic’ science to be taught in the classroom increases year on year The conceptual and practical changes that have taken place in scientific theory and research in relation to genomics have also not yet found their place in the science curriculum, at least not in the Netherlands. It is now a few years since the publication of the human genome, and genomics research is continually generating large and complex data sets that have transformed the study of virtually all life processes (Collins, 2003). Despite this, and although a range of outreach programmes offer a temporary solution, such as the Dutch ‘mobile DNA labs’ (van Mil, 2007), greater efforts are needed to embed genomics into the standard science curriculum. Two important characteristics of genomics are immediately apparent for inclusion in new educational materials. First, genomics combines the expertise and techniques of many disciplines—for example, molecular biology, physical sciences and bioinformatics—in order to study genome–environment interactions in relation to phenomena at many biological levels from the molecular up to that of patient communities or ecosystems. Second, genomics research programmes are often accompanied by studies …

Participatory evaluation of a Dutch warning campaign for substance-users

This article shows an approach in evaluating and simultaneously furthering the implementation of a national warning campaign using participatory research. The campaign was a response to contaminated cocaine that appeared on the European drug market in 2004, causing extraordinary health risk for drug-users. To counter this, an elaborated warning campaign was conducted by the Drug Information and Monitoring System, a toxico-epidemiologic monitor of drug markets in the Netherlands. The process of this intervention was evaluated by a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods to acquire valid and useful results. A concluding Delphi-technique resulted in shared proposals for improvement of future warning campaigns and the monitoring process. Amendments in the protocol for warning campaigns were made to facilitate the communication between different actors and to clarify responsibilities. Problems of information provision were tackled by the development of a reporting system of drug incidents. Further, the national coverage of the monitor was ensured by inviting new participants and the structure of the monitor was improved by setting up a monitor of drug incidents. The Delphi-technique also contributed to mutual understanding and common ground, and thus to optimising the conditions for further implementation.

Good Intentions, Stubborn Practice: A critical appraisal of a public event on cancer genomics

Science communication has shifted considerably in Europe over the last decades. In the theoretical realm, one-way information has been replaced by models of science communication that stress public engagement and public participation in science and technology. Dialogue seems to have become a communication target on its own, beside such things as public understanding or awareness of science. This article articulates different notions of science communication and explores to what extent they can coexist in practice by presenting an empirical analysis of a public event on cancer genomics. The event brought together cancer patients, scientists and (para)medical professionals. Data on the intended and actual communication at the event were collected by document-based research, interviews, observation of communication processes and a written questionnaire. The results show that the event proved to be successful in terms of creating awareness and understanding of cancer genomics research and its implications for diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The results also illustrate that despite the intentions of those organising public communication activities, achieving the ideal of a two-way public dialogue in practice is not self-evident. This is partly due to a lack of commitment to societal issues at the institutional as well as the (inter)personal level. Drawing from our experiences and literature, we suggest that in science communication literature the role of dialogue moderators is underexposed. We argue that in doing and evaluating science communication, analytical attention should be focused on the interaction among the public(s) and invited experts and the opportunities for empowering both for decision-making in their everyday lives.

Expertise for Teaching Biology Situated in the Context of Genetic Testing

Contemporary genomics research will impact the daily practice of biology teachers who want to teach up-to-date genetics in secondary education. This article reports on a research project aimed at enhancing biology teachers’ expertise for teaching genetics situated in the context of genetic testing. The increasing body of scientific knowledge concerning genetic testing and the related consequences for decision-making indicate the societal relevance of an educational approach based on situated learning. What expertise do biology teachers need for teaching genetics in the personal health context of genetic testing? This article describes the required expertise by exploring the educational practice. Nine experienced teachers were interviewed about the pedagogical content, moral and interpersonal expertise areas concerning how to teach genetics in the personal health context of genetic testing, and the lessons of five of them were observed. The findings showed that the required teacher expertise encompasses specific pedagogical content expertise, interpersonal expertise and a preference for teacher roles and teaching approaches for the moral aspects of teaching in this context. A need for further development of teaching and learning activities for (reflection on) moral reasoning came to the fore. Suggestions regarding how to apply this expertise into context-based genetics education are discussed.

Learning Biology by Designing.

According to a century-old tradition in biological thinking, organisms can be considered as being optimally designed. In modern biology this idea still has great heuristic value. In evolutionary biology a so-called design heuristic has been formulated which provides guidance to researchers in the generation of knowledge about biological systems. We developed and tested a teaching/learning method based on this idea. We call this approach ‘learning biology by designing’ because students develop knowledge about the function and mechanism of biological systems by redesigning them. The three main components of the learning by designing approach are described in this article: (1) the design heuristic; (2) the main characteristics of the teaching-learning process; and (3) guidelines for developing lessons with the desired characteristics.

Moral reasoning in genetics education

Recent neuropsychological research suggests that intuition and emotion play a role in our reasoning when we are confronted with moral dilemmas. Incorporating intuition and emotion into moral reflection is a rather new idea in the educational world, where rational reasoning is preferred. To develop a teaching and learning strategy to address this moral reflection, a developmental research project aimed at empowering biology teachers for moral education in context-based genetics was started. The initial focus was on how intuitive and emotive considerations are dealt with in current moral education. Fifteen pre-university students were interviewed on their way of reasoning by confronting them with real-life situations. Next, eight experienced biology teachers were interviewed about their approach to moral education, and about their views on student reasoning. These findings were contrasted with suggestions found in literature on moral reasoning. All students used intuitive, emotive, and ‘rationalistic’ considerations during the interviews. Teachers reported that they observed, students using intuition and emotion in their reasoning. However, the conceptual distinction between emotive and intuitive reasoning proved to be difficult for students and teachers. Neither the educational literature nor the interviews yielded an clear pedagogical approach in which such considerations played a role in moral reflection.