Dr. Morty Slater, Director of the Gateway Institute. © AMNH

Some of the teachers came to the study group through the Gateway Institute for Pre-college Education, and others were Museum workshop participants or teachers who had conducted genetics-related activities in their classrooms. The Gateway Institute is a set of minischools in nine New York City public schools targeted at minority and low-income students interested in careers in medicine, science, engineering, and health care. Gateway's affiliation with the Museum has been growing for several years. They are also longtime partners with the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Cold Spring, New York.

Dr. Morty Slater, Director of the Gateway Institute, declares that "a knowledge of the genome is essential for people to make decisions about their lives. Without a basic education in genomics, we're leaving people unprepared for the future. We're committed to making this material available to high school students on a high-quality level, but we still need to figure out how to get these ideas into the curriculum in at least the next couple of years." So many of the major advances in genomic science have occurred since the new National Science Standards were developed that teachers have been left to wrestle with the related pedagogical and content issues on their own. These challenges range from how to teach genomics to students of different ages to how to integrate the subject across the curriculum. Here are some of the approaches two participants in the Genomics Study Group used when presenting the subject of genetics to their high school students.

Where to begin?
"Admit that genomics is a very complex subject, and have the students research recent advances in order to elicit discussion," suggests Grace Lee, who has a background in molecular pharmacology and teaches chemistry and biology to ninth and 11th graders at Trevor Day, a private school in New York.

Grace Lee, a ninth and 11th grade teacher, at Trevor Day school in New York. © AMNH

She recommends that teachers familiarize themselves with the basic chemistry involved in molecular genetics, and with the basic biochemical techniques used to analyze genes: DNA extraction, PCR (polymerase chain reaction—the amplification of a DNA sample), and sequencing. "These techniques are being mentioned more and more in the popular press. For example, PCR was used in the analysis of blood samples collected in the O.J. Simpson trial," Grace points out.

"Genetics is my favorite topic to teach," says Carmen Simon, who teaches biology at South Shore High School in Brooklyn, New York. However, she thinks the vocabulary is a particular stumbling block. "Students must learn that 'heterozygous' and 'hybrid' mean the same thing. 'Diploid,' 'monoploid,' 'haploid,' 'homozygous,' 'gametes,' 'zygotes,' 'genotype,' and 'phenotype' are just a few of the words that must be introduced before students can understand the patterns of heredity," Carmen points out. "Even though I've taught genetics, the human genome is a whole new realm. There's nothing wrong with suggesting books to read as alternative sources of information," she adds, recommending Gina Kolata's Clone: The Road to Dolly and the Path Ahead.

Grace finds that discussing Mendelian genetics still makes a good starting point, since "some of the kids may have learned a bit about it before. Also, it's a good way to make the connection between traits and genes," she explains. Her students began the unit on classical genetics by conducting a survey of the class "to see which characteristics they had in common in order to determine the phenotype and genotype of those characteristics." Next, the students learned about molecular genetics. "There's a lot of chemistry involved, so we spend quite a bit of time learning about the chemical composition of DNA." Grace makes sure her students understand the structure of the basic components of DNA, and "how these nucleotides ultimately link together to form the double helical structure." She relies on molecular modeling activities to show students how this happens.

What kind of equipment do you need?
One high-end possibility is building a DNA lab in your school, at a cost of around $30,000. That's without a sequencer, but Dr. Slater points out that "in DNA extractions, you're pulling out a part of the gene, and the sequence doesn't matter." The Gateway Project has put genetic labs into 12 New York City high schools, all modeled on the one at Cold Spring Harbor's DNA Learning Center; the Project set the labs up so that other schools can share them. "There is extra time for schools in the area to use the labs," Dr. Slater explains. "Our DNA lab curriculum can be implemented in a week or less with key activities—just the way they are in a visit to the Museum's lab that lasts only a few hours—so one lab could serve as many as 40 schools."

Building a DNA lab is way out of reach for many teachers and schools, but not all hands-on activities are prohibitively expensive. "Two hundred dollars doesn't go a long way, and we're limited on how we can spend our money," Carmen admits. "However, many affordable lab activities can be purchased, and you can buy kits from popular science suppliers. One is a forensic-science who-done-it kit; using DNA clues you find the culprit, and it's fun." Another kit contains dyes that can be loaded into the wells of an agarose gel, which separates out the different components of the dye. "It's chromatography, which is basically what gel electrophoresis is," Grace explains. "Separating the pigments of the dye like this is one way to demonstrate the principles of electrophoresis, a method used in the lab to separate different sizes of DNA for further analysis."

"Most recently, I tried to bring bioengineering into the classroom by using pipe cleaners," Carmen recounts. "To answer the question, 'How do we get a bacterial cell to make human insulin?' I created a rectangular-shaped bacterial cell for each student. I used a circular pipe cleaner to represent a bacterial plasmid isolated from the rectangular bacterial cell. The students cut open the 'plasmid' to form the letter C and attach a smaller piece of pipe cleaner to close the circle. The attachment of the smaller piece of pipe cleaner represents the insertion of the human gene for insulin into the bacterial plasmid. The students' hands throughout the activity represent the restriction enzymes that perform the task on the molecular level. The 'plasmid' then contains 90 percent bacterial DNA and 10 percent human DNA, and is an example of recombinant DNA. Finally, the students insert the 'recombinant DNA' into the rectangular host bacterial cell. I then explain that if this were a real bacterium, it would undergo its life processes and, as a result, produce human insulin that can be used to treat diabetics. That was their lesson on bioengineering."

Carmen Simon, a biology teacher at South Shore High School in Brooklyn, New York. © AMNH

Carmen also relies on case studies in her teaching, such as the story of the Lemba, a Bantu-speaking people of southern Africa. "They practice Judaic rites and claim to have Jewish ancestry. Mutations found on their Y chromosomes connect this tribe to Jewish priests that belong to the Cohanim, Ashkenazic, and Sephardic tribes," Carmen explains. Other DNA research traces the maternal and paternal lineages of the human family tree, using mitochondrial DNA and the Y chromosome, respectively. "Teachers may want to ask students about the various ways to trace human history," Carmen suggests. DNA is an excellent tool with which to authenticate peoples' oral histories. Other resources in teaching genomics include the Internet, newspapers, and films. Grace suggests the Genetic Science Learning Center online, a Web site that is sponsored by the University of Utah and the Utah Museum of Natural History. This site has a page entitled "How to Extract DNA From Anything Living". It includes a protocol for extracting DNA from green split peas using household items. She also recommends Access Excellence, a site originally developed by Genentech, Inc. and now sponsored by the National Health Museum. "It has a wealth of information, activities, and lesson plans for science teachers," Grace says. "One of the authors, Lana Hayes, has supplied protocols for extracting DNA from an onion, wheat germ, and thymus. On the homepage, click on 'Activities-To-Go' under 'Activities Exchange' on the right, then type 'Lana Hayes' or 'DNA extraction' into the search box to access the protocols."

Grace also suggests having kids present reports based on genetic topics in the news. "It's a good way to track vast amounts of information," she points out. She also recommends The Clone Age, a film available from Discovery Channel. Carmen recommends Andrew Niccol's film Gattaca. She suggests that before the students watch Gattaca, ask the students whether they believe that parents should have the opportunity to go to genetic counselors to correct any genetic disorders in their offspring—and then ask them the same question after they see the movie. "Students can discuss the term 'designer baby,' and whether internal fertilization in humans would become a thing of the past if all parents had the option of 'designing' their baby," Carmen suggests. Their opinions may change when they see a version of this scenario in the movie. "How would this affect our society, both the rich and the poor? How would people with disabilities be treated in such a society? How are they treated today?"

In the way of professional development, Grace recommends that teachers remain well informed about recent genetic advances and the different approaches to introducing molecular genetics in the classroom. This summer, Grace conducted a workshop on DNA molecular modeling at the Educators Institute on Genomics at the American Museum of Natural History.

Grace Lee and Carmen Simon at work in the DNA lab. © AMNH

There, teachers learned ways to utilize the computer and use simple materials to create models of DNA. Grace also points out that "institutions like Columbia University offer research experiences for teachers." Carmen is currently involved in the second year of such a program at Columbia. She notes that through her work there in the molecular lab, "I learn skills that I have only read about in textbooks. My experience at Columbia University makes me a more enthusiastic teacher. My students become excited when they learn that they are using the very same skills and tools in our classroom as the scientists in the research laboratory. I recommend the program to new as well as experienced teachers.

How do you handle bioethics in the classroom?
A thorny issue for teachers is handling the ethical implications of research into genetics, and into the human genome in particular. "If a parent has information about a genetic defect before the birth of a child, should it be corrected? Should they abort? What will happen to the variety of the species if people can tailor the genetic makeup of their children? Those are the kinds of questions that arise in my classroom," says Grace. "The students are very concerned about cloning, too. One of the questions that comes up often is, Has a human being ever been cloned?" She always discusses the ethical implications of genetic research, "because we're very interested in having kids make relevant connections between the real world and what's going on in the classroom. I bring it to the students' attention that whatever field they go into, these issues will be very relevant in their lives in ways we can't even anticipate." Carmen recommends always sending a letter home to the parents before beginning a lesson on the ethics of genetics. "I'm just very careful about how I approach controversial topics like abortion and genetic disorders," she says. "In my class, many children have sickle-cell anemia, or they carry the trait, so this kind of discussion touches pretty close to home."

Expert help on covering ethical issues and assessing the many sides to the discussions is available on the Internet. The National Institutes of Health have a database of bioethics-related sites. The ELSI Program, or Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Human Genetics Research, was established in 1990 to address the complicated issues that arise as the result of research into human genetics. The American Journal of Bioethics online offers a site called "Bioethics for Beginners" that offers educational tools.

Genetics across the curriculum
Dr. Slater considers the study of genetics to be an opportunity for teachers to work together on ideas that interrelate. "It combines many fields, including biology, ethics (which is a social science), and literature. You can assign readings and ask students to write about them from the science perspective, or to support an idea. In mathematics we have just developed a curriculum that allows people to look at the high-speed computing and pattern algorithms that are essential for figuring out the human genome," says Dr. Slater. "The genome is a wonderful area for teaching across the curriculum."

Grace suggests that science and history/social studies departments create interdisciplinary forums or debates in which students would address ethical questions such as: Who should have access to personal genetic information? Should law enforcement, employers, and insurers have this information? Do parents have the right to have an unborn child tested for certain genetic diseases, or traits such as eye color? Should parents have the right to have such traits altered with gene therapy when the technology becomes available?