Poster: Education & outreach

Abs # 928: An inquiry based approach to teaching developmental biology at the secondary level

Presenter:	Pulley, Matthew , puma@email.unc.edu
Authors	Pulley, Matthew  (A)   Haine, Dana B. (A)   Muth, Christine C. (A)   Bollenbacher, Walter E. (A)   Jones, Alan M. (A)
Affiliations:	(A): Dept. of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

All of the cells in a multicellular organism contain the same genetic code, yet their structure and function vary widely. To help high school biology students explore this concept, we developed an inquiry based, hands-on learning module. This module was designed using the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study’s 5E instructional model and is aligned with the National Science Education Standards. In this module, students progress through five stages designed to build their understanding about how cells become differentiated during development: Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation. Throughout the engagement and exploration activities, students work in small groups observing photographs of different human cell types and role playing developmental processes. During the explanation and elaboration stages, students learn the molecular basis for cell differentiation by discovering gene regulatory regions using transgenic Arabidopsis plants that have been modified to contain a reporter gene (GUS). By observing tissue-specific GUS expression through differential staining patterns in intact plants, students obtain visual evidence of differential gene expression. For the evaluation component, students explain their findings through a thought-provoking writing activity. This module has been field tested in Biology and Biotechnology courses across North Carolina. To ensure extensive classroom adoption, we plan to hold teacher professional development workshops, preparing teachers to conduct the activities with students and providing all materials needed to implement the module in the classroom. In the future, this module will be adapted for implementation at the undergraduate level.