Glenn C. Markle

The need for worker training in advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) environments: A white paper

The international globalization of the World markets for manufactured goods, particularly consumer goods, has placed an emphasis on nations to improve manufacturing productivity. This need to improve productivity is further prompted by a potential loss of competitive edge in the global marketplace. The market competitiveness and e

Genetic Literacy of Undergraduate Non–Science Majors and the Impact of Introductory Biology and Genetics Courses

ciency of any nation is primarily dependent upon the economy, reliability, quality, quickness, and ease of its manufacturing processes and the resulting quality of outcomes (products). To a major extent, the skills of the workforce determine the e!ectiveness and the e

Genetics Content in Introductory Biology Courses for Non-Science Majors: Theory and Practice

ciency of the process of manufacturing and the quality of goods produced. And yet, there is a severe lack of standardized and consistent worker training programs for skills needed by workers in modern manufacturing organizations. This review paper shows that there is a dire need to train workers in manufacturing organizations and thereby improve the overall e!ectiveness and e

What Research Says: The Effects of Teaming and other Collaborative Arrangements

ciency of such organizations. Relevance to industry As technology changes, so do the skills workers need. In order to compete successfully in the global market, manufacturing organizations must aim at training workers in skills necessary to produce quality goods. ( 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

What Research Says: Cooperation, Collaboration, and the Professional Development of Teachers

ABSTRACT With the advancement of genetic information and technologies, there is an increasing need for a genetically literate public. This study looks critically at student learning and at the current instruction of genetics in introductory non–science major biology and genetics courses at the undergraduate level. A new diagnostic tool, the Genetic Literacy Assessment Instrument, was administered pre- and postcourse to more than 300 students in six introductory nonmajor courses that emphasize genetics to varying degrees. Current data from students in these courses show a precourse average score of 43 percent correct zn the inventory. Postcourse scores increased only modestly, to an average of 49 percent. In this article, we discuss the impact of teaching methods and course content on scores, as well as student learning in the different content areas of genetics. The results suggest that further studies in genetics education are needed to better understand the effect of teaching methods on achieving genetic literacy.

A framework for training workers in contemporary manufacturing environments

lives requires greater attention to the study of genetics in our educational system. To understand the significance of the rough draft of the human genome, the related benefits and risks of gene therapy, and the increasing complexity of gene–gene and gene–environment interactions, the public must understand basic principles of genetics, including human genetics.The National Science Education Standards, developed by the National Research Council, recommend that the concept of inheritance be introduced in grades kindergarten (K)–4 and the basic principles of heredity and genes in grades 5–8. The standards for grades 9–12 concentrate on the molecular basis of inheritance, including DNA structure and function, genetic change, and variation (NRC 1996). No similar benchmarks exist for the genetics and human genetics curricula offered at collegiate institutions. Medical schools have received more attention in this regard than have college and university undergraduate courses. Twenty years ago, a noteworthy study of 103 of the 107 medical schools then operating in the United States analyzed the medical genetics courses in terms of content, duration, responsible department, and primary discipline of the instructor (Childs et al. 1981). The authors concluded that human genetics had not found a comfortable niche in medical schools. Shortly thereafter, Goodman (1982) suggested implementation of a core curriculum in genetics and clinical genetics and further proposed establishment of a Genetics Education Task Group to coordinate the process. Much later, in 1995, the Information and Education (I&E) Committee of the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) submitted a report outlining a core curriculum in medical genetics for medical school (Friedman et al. 1995). Studies conducted at the precollege level and in medical schools left the undergraduate years unaddressed. In 1999, ASHG began to address this deficiency by offering a workshop on undergraduate genetics education at its annual meeting (Bender et al. 1999). Catalyzed in part by the positive reception of this workshop, the I&E Committee appointed a subcommittee on undergraduate genetics education to develop a set of content recommendations for institutions of higher education (Paula Gregory, ASHG I&E chairperson, personal communication, 1999). The committee, which comprises the first eight authors of this article, represents a wide variety of educational and professional backgrounds, including undergraduate biology education, clinical genetics, nursing, genetics education, and more than 100 years of cumulative teaching experience.

Gifted and Talented Education: Part I: Definition, Identification, and Rationale

For a long time, middle level teachers have not been perceived as a distinct professional group by the institutions that prepare them, the states that certify them or the researchers that study them. As a result, the effect of any school practice, organizational or otherwise, on the teachers in the middle level institution has not been adequately studied. Therefore, middle school research linked to teacher outcomes is very limited. Middle school research on the teacher

Gifted and Talented Education: Part II: Programs, Curricula, and Outcomes

Editors Note: This is the first of three columns dealing with interdisciplinary teaming. It considers the theoretical and empirical justification for interdisciplinary teaming that is found in the literature on teacher collaboration and cooperative learning. The second part will address the effects of interdisciplinary teaming on the way teachers teach: the last part will deal with the effects of teaming on students.

Development and Evaluation of a Genetics Literacy Assessment Instrument for Undergraduates

Manufacturing experiments with full automation for manufacturing of goods, developed, promoted and attempted in the 1980s, have failed for economic and technical reasons. It is now widely accepted ...

The Effects of Teaming on Students

There is probably no better way to launch an emotionally charged and acrimonious debate in education than by asking what kindsof gifted and talented education programs should be provided in middle level schools. Parents, teachers, researchers, school officials, state legislators and the U.S. Department of Education have joined in this debate at one time or another, and, as a result, the literature in the field is characterized by conflicting claims and conclusions, polarized political stances and impassioned rhetoric. For middle level educators, the task of trying to make sense of this vast and diverse body of literature can be most daunting. At the same time, issues about meeting individual needs, fostering maximum student development, and providing a rich environment for learning are fundamental to middle level professionals. Creating a school that achieves these goals requires that topics such as student grouping, specialized programs and responding to student diversity not be ignored. Thus, our purpose is to sift through the available literature and identify patterns, trends and common themes that will be helpful to school-based professionals as they begin to plan for meeting the needs of all their clients. There are few clear answers, but bringing the questions into sharper focus may help school people identify local answers and solutions that serve the best interests of youngsters in their own communities.