Assessment
Students will be assessed in a couple of ways. Since this project will be given a five-day period of research and organization, each student will be assessed daily. During each of the five days of research and organization, students will be briefed and reminded of the final objective for that day. Each objective will be a portion of the final goal of the project. The daily assessment will be based on the day's objective. The following assessments will apply:
Day 1: Participation for selecting topic and being introduced to a topic.
Day 2: Hand in proper bibliography for three internet resources.
Day 3: Hand in proper bibliography for two non-Internet resources.
Day 4: Rough outline handed in and compared to the rough draft outline rubric.
Day 5: Final outline presented in correspondence to the outline rubric.
Final assessment of this presentation will be 30% presentation and 70% written report. A rubric will be used to assess each of these portions individually.
Description
The purpose of this learning experience is to allow students to elaborate on the information they have been exploring that pertains to genetics. This information is based on the NYS Living Environment Core Curriculum.
This learning experience requires students to utilize Microsoft PowerPoint or Microsoft FrontPage to present their findings. The students have been finding and receiving information regarding the principles of genetics throughout the unit. The goal of this experience is to be able to take this new information and apply it to further their understanding of principles behind genetic diseases/disorders, as well as the pros and cons of genetic engineering that are associated with bioethics.
Duration
This learning experience will take a total of twelve to fifteen days to complete. This is based on one forty-minute period per day. The first five days of this learning experience will be for introduction, research and organization, and outlining a plan for the written report and presentation. Students will also be given a total of one full school week to finalize their papers and presentations. After this week of individual outside class work, students will give their presentations. It will take three to five days for students to present, depending on the size of each class and the time available for each class. The written reports and presentations may be posted on the web, depending on the teacher's technology skills and the availability of server space. It will take about a day to make these available to the public.
Essential Question
How does the technology of genetic engineering allow humans to alter the structure and replication of genetic material in a manner that curbs unfavorable results and enables favorable results expressed in offspring?
Instructional/Environment Modifications
Instructional modifications during this learning experience have occurred. The teacher is not going to be the provider of information - instead the teacher is a facilitator for students in finding and filtering their information. The teacher will also assist students with organization and deadlines throughout the project.
There are three basic environmental modifications.
1. Students will occupy and use a computer lab within the school.
2. Students will occupy and use the library within the school.
3. Lastly, the classroom will be arranged in an audience-friendly manner for the presentations.
If students are not familiar with the library and its services, or with Microsoft PowerPoint or internet publishing, the teacher needs to introduce this and arrange for a presentation by the school librarian or technology teacher/coordinator.
Procedure
Day 1: Introduction of criteria for written report and presentation, introduce topic choices, select choices.
Day 2: Research in computer lab or library. Collect bibliography for three Internet resources.
Day 3: Research in library. Collect bibliography for two non-Internet resources or evidence pertaining to a primary source contact.
Day 4: Create and hand in a rough outline of written report.
Day 5: Create and hand in a final outline of written report format.
Students will be allowed one week outside of class to write the report and to prepare a presentation based on the rubric that has been provided and explained to them.
 Following the work week, students will be randomly selected to give their presentations. Some students will present at a sooner or later date, but all students will hand in the written report on the same day (deadline determined by the teacher.)
Genetics Paper and Presentation Questions
Reflections and Feedback
Overall, this learning experience was very worthwhile. Not only were student able to make use of the information that they had learned from class, but they also were introduced to other interesting genetics topics and scientific procedures.
While this was a success, I would make the following changes in the future:
1. Consult the English department regarding students' research skills.
2. Check in with students during their week of research and paper writing. Also check on students during the week they are creating their presentations.
3. Model how to save and transfer files.
4. Modify the presentation and research paper percentages toward total grade.
Student Work
All students will be responsible for creating a presentation and a written report based on their research. Students will be given a five-day period to determine a topic, gather background information, organize their findings, create a rough draft outline for the written report, and then finalize their outline for the written report.
Students will then be given a period of one school week outside of the classroom to allow them to complete the written report and preparation for the oral presentation. The presentations and reports must have supporting graphics or images. The presentation must be in a Microsoft PowerPoint or web-based setting. At the end of the presentations, students will post their written reports as well as the corresponding presentations on the world wide web. They will be posted at mrfarrandonline.com or on Morristown Central School's server when space is accessible by teachers and students.
Related Resource
1. Students' in class textbooks may be used.
2. Internet
3. Primary sources such as an interview.
4. Databases that the library subscribes to, as well as any book, journal, newspaper or magazine article.
Website(s)
Genetic Disease Information--Pronto!
Genes and Disease
Medical Genetics, photographs
Medical Genetics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Genetics and Rare Conditions Site
MLA Citation Style
New York State Core Curriculum Connections
Untitled DocumentThis is a list of the NYS Living Environment Core Curriculum major understandings and performance indicators that students should have a basic understanding of to complete this experience.
Standard 4, Key Idea 2: Organisms inherit genetic information in a variety of ways that result in continuity of structure and function between offspring.
PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 2.1
Major Understandings: Explain how the structure and replication of genetic material result in offspring that resemble their parents.
2.1a Genes are inherited, but their expression can be modified by interactions with the environment.
2.1b Every organism requires a set of coded instructions for specifying its traits. For offspring to resemble their parents, there must be a reliable way to transfer information from one generation to the next. Heredity is the passage of these instructions from one generation to another.
2.1c Hereditary information is contained in genes, located in the chromosomes of each cell. An inherited trait of an individual can be determined by one or by many genes, and a single gene can influence more than one trait. A human cell contains many thousands of different genes in its nucleus.
2.1d In asexually reproducing organisms, all the genes come from a single parent. Asexually produced offspring are normally genetically identical to the parent.
2.1e In sexually reproducing organisms, the new individual receives half of the genetic information from its mother (via the egg) and half from its father (via the sperm). Sexually produced offspring often resemble, but are not identical to, either of their parents.
2.1f In all organisms, the coded instructions for specifying the characteristics of the organism are carried in DNA, a large molecule formed from subunits arranged in a sequence with bases of four kinds (represented by A, G, C, and T). The chemical and structural properties of DNA are the basis for how the genetic information that underlies heredity is both encoded in genes (as a string of molecular bases) and replicated by means of a template.
2.1g Cells store and use coded information. The genetic information stored in DNA is used to direct the synthesis of the thousands of proteins that each cell requires.
2.1h Genes are segments of DNA molecules. Any alteration of the DNA sequence is a mutation. Usually, an altered gene will be passed on to every cell that develops from it.
2.1i The work of the cell is carried out by the many different types of molecules it assembles, mostly proteins. Protein molecules are long, usually folded chains made from 20 different kinds of amino acids in a specific sequence. This sequence influences the shape of the protein. The shape of the protein, in turn, determines its function.
2.1j Offspring resemble their parents because they inherit similar genes that code for the production of proteins that form similar structures and perform similar functions.
2.1k The many body cells in an individual can be very different from one another, even though they are all descended from a single cell and thus have essentially identical genetic instructions. This is because different parts of these instructions are used in different types of cells, and are influenced by the cell's environment and past history.
PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 2.2
Major Understandings: Explain how the technology of genetic engineering allows humans to alter genetic makeup of organisms.
2.2a For thousands of years new varieties of cultivated plants and domestic animals have resulted from selective breeding for particular traits.
2.2b In recent years new varieties of farm plants and animals have been engineered by manipulating their genetic instructions to produce new characteristics.
2.2c Different enzymes can be used to cut, copy, and move segments of DNA. Characteristics produced by the segments of DNA may be expressed when these segments are inserted into new organisms, such as bacteria.
2.2d Inserting, deleting, or substituting DNA segments can alter genes. An altered gene may be passed on to every cell that develops from it.
2.2e Knowledge of genetics is making possible new fields of health care; for example, finding genes which may have mutations that can cause disease will aid in the development of preventive measures to fight disease. Substances, such as hormones and enzymes, from genetically engineered organisms may reduce the cost and side effects of replacing missing body chemicals.
