We were asked by SUNY Purchase to present the GenScope Workshop to a group of New York teachers. New York is in the middle of rewriting the state standards for teaching science, so everyone was real interested in using GenScope in the classroom. Boy, was I glad that Charlie showed up on his way to New York to visit family. As usual, he was an enormous help, and his classroom experience with GenScope contributed that extra something to the workshop.
Students with disabilities, especially those who are sensory deprived, often have trouble with science. A teacher of the deaf worked up a problem, especially for her students using the graphic aspects of GenScope to great advantage, called Computer Lab on
Human Blood Type. Being able to see the results of their manipulations should enhance their understanding of the links between genes, chromosomes and the traits of the organism.
One teacher used the pedigree view in a really creative way to solve a
mystery. An activity called Dragon Genetics was created from their experience that's worth a look!
The population level became a challenge for several participants. A group of three spent 6 hours tweaking the population level to show the effects of the environment on sickle cell anemia. They didn't have a chance to write questions for the activity, but they did get the program to do what they wanted. It might be interesting for others to adapt what they have done to existing curricula.