Medical students' attitudes toward genetic testing of minors

The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes of medical students at a single university toward genetic testing in minors, defining attitudes as willingness to offer testing, and reasons for offering or not offering testing. A survey was distributed to all University of Arizona medical students (n = 428) during the 2003-2004 academic year. The survey consisted of three clinical vignettes concerning genetic testing for Huntington's disease (HD), BRCA1 breast cancer predisposition mutation, and cystic fibrosis (CF) carrier status. For each vignette, students responded to whether they would provide testing for a 7-year-old, a 17-year-old, and their reasons for each age and condition. One hundred thirty-five students (31.5%) responded to the survey. Medical students were significantly more likely to test a 7-year-old for CF carrier status (57%), than they were for a BRCA1 mutation (47%), and an HD mutation (40%). Students were significantly more likely to test a 17-year-old than a 7-year-old in each clinical scenario. Students who had completed a genetics course in medical school were significantly less likely to test a 7-year-old for a BRCA1 mutation than those who had not completed a formal course. Medical students' willingness to perform genetic testing in a minor is influenced by the type of condition, the age of the minor being tested, and the amount of genetics education received in medical school.     

Evolution Education in Utah: A State Office of Education–University Partnership Focuses on Why Evolution Matters

Several groups of people are essential for effectively teaching the theory of evolution in public schools. Teachers of course are at the leading edge of educating students. However, school district administrators, school boards, state education officers, and university professors all play critical roles in this endeavor. Whereas scientific discoveries and teacher training typically occur at the university level, it is school district leaders and teachers who actually disseminate this information in a way that creates an educated population of students. In this study, we introduce a partnership focused on strengthening evolution education in Utah’s public schools. Our program centers on the importance of evolution as an applied science and one that can be readily integrated throughout the biology curriculum. Our 2-day workshop—conducted in each Utah school district—brings together elected school board members, school district administrators, public school science teachers, and university professors to overcome barriers that can arise when teaching the theory of evolution as part of the 7–12 public school curriculum.     

Do-it-yourself statistics: A computer-assisted likelihood approach to analysis of data from genetic crosses

Graduate school programs in genetics have become so full that courses in statistics have often been eliminated. In addition, typical introductory statistics courses for the "statistics user" rather than the nascent statistician are laden with methods for analysis of measured variables while genetic data are most often discrete numbers. These courses are often seen by students and genetics professors alike as largely irrelevant cookbook courses. The powerful methods of likelihood analysis, although commonly employed in human genetics, are much less often used in other areas of genetics, even though current computational tools make this approach readily accessible. This article introduces the MLIKELY.PAS computer program and the logic of do-it-yourself maximum-likelihood statistics. The program itself, course materials, and expanded discussions of some examples that are only summarized here are available at http://www.unisi. it/ricerca/dip/bio_evol/sitomlikely/mlikely.h tml.     

Medical students as medical educators: opportunities for skill development in the absence of formal training programs

All physicians, at some point in their career, are responsible for the education of their peers and junior colleagues. Although medical students are expected to develop clinical and research skills in preparation for residency, it is becoming clear that a student should also be expected to develop abilities as a teacher. A handful of institutions have student-as-teacher programs to train medical students in education, but most students graduate from medical school without formal training in this area. When such a program does not exist, medical students can gain experience in education through participation in peer teaching, course design, educational committees, and medical education scholarship. In doing so, they attain important skills in the development, implementation, and evaluation of educational programs. These skills will serve them in their capacity as medical educators as they advance in their careers and gain increasing teaching responsibility as residents, fellows, and attending physicians.     

Lack of impact of undergraduate genetic courses on the teaching of medical genetics.

The impact of undergraduate genetic courses on the academic performance of first-year medical students in the medical genetics course at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine was evaluated over a period of 9 years. Comparisons were made between medical students who had taken a formal undergraduate course in genetics and those who had not. Little if any differences were found in the academic performance in the medical genetics course between these two groups of students. Perhaps the design of undergraduate courses in genetics should be re-evaluated to give more depth to the medical student's preparation for appreciating the significance of genetics in normal and abnormal human variation.     

Statistical Confusion Among Graduate Students: Sickness or Symptom?

Abstract: Statistics is one of the most important yet difficult subjects for many ecology and wildlife graduate students to learn. Insufficient knowledge about how to conduct quality science and the ongoing debate about the relative value of competing statistical ideologies contribute to uncertainties among graduate students regarding which statistical tests are most appropriate. Herein, we argue that increased education of the available statistical tests alone is unlikely to ameliorate the problem. Instead, we suggest that statistical uncertainties among graduate students are a secondary symptom of a larger problem. We believe the root cause lies in the lack of education on how to conduct science as an integrated process from hypothesis creation through statistical analysis. We argue that if students are taught to think about how each step of the process will affect all other steps, many statistical uncertainties will be avoided.     

Biotechnology apprenticeship for secondary-level students: teaching advanced cell culture techniques for research

The purpose of this article is to discuss small-group apprenticeships (SGAs) as a method to instruct cell culture techniques to high school participants. The study aimed to teach cell culture practices and to introduce advanced imaging techniques to solve various biomedical engineering problems. Participants designed and completed experiments using both flow cytometry and laser scanning cytometry during the 1-month summer apprenticeship. In addition to effectively and efficiently teaching cell biology laboratory techniques, this course design provided an opportunity for research training, career exploration, and mentoring. Students participated in active research projects, working with a skilled interdisciplinary team of researchers in a large research institution with access to state-of-the-art instrumentation. The instructors, composed of graduate students, laboratory managers, and principal investigators, worked well together to present a real and worthwhile research experience. The students enjoyed learning cell culture techniques while contributing to active research projects. The institution's researchers were equally enthusiastic to instruct and serve as mentors. In this article, we clarify and illuminate the value of small-group laboratory apprenticeships to the institution and the students by presenting the results and experiences of seven middle and high school participants and their instructors.     

Using immersive healthcare simulation for physiology education: initial experience in high school, college, and graduate school curricula

In the natural world, learning emerges from the joy of play, experimentation, and inquiry as part of everyday life. However, this kind of informal learning is often difficult to integrate within structured educational curricula. This report describes an educational program that embeds naturalistic learning into formal high school, college, and graduate school science class work. Our experience is based on work with hundreds of high school, college, and graduate students enrolled in traditional science classes in which mannequin simulators were used to teach physiological principles. Specific case scenarios were integrated into the curriculum as problem-solving exercises chosen to accentuate the basic science objectives of the course. This report also highlights the historic and theoretical basis for the use of mannequin simulators as an important physiology education tool and outlines how the authors' experience in healthcare education has been effectively translated to nonclinical student populations. Particular areas of focus include critical-thinking and problem-solving behaviors and student reflections on the impact of the teaching approach.     

Introducing student inquiry in large introductory genetics classes

An appreciation of genetic principles depends upon understanding the individual curiosity that sparked particular investigations, the creativity involved in imagining alternative outcomes and designing experiments to eliminate these outcomes, and the clarity of thought necessary to convince one's scientific peers of the validity of the conclusions. At large research universities, students usually begin their study of genetics in large lecture classes. It is widely assumed that the lecture format, coupled with the pressures to be certain that students become familiar with the principal conclusions of genetics investigations, constrains most if not all departures from the formats textbooks used to explain these conclusions. Here I present several examples of mechanisms to introduce meaningful student inquiry in an introductory genetics course and to evaluate student creative effort. Most of the examples involve altered student preparation prior to class and additional in-class activities, while a few depend upon a smaller recitation section, which accompanies the course from which the examples have been drawn. I conclude that large introductory classes are suitable venues to teach students how to identify scientific claims, determine the evidence that is essential to eliminate alternative conclusions, and convince their peers of the validity of their arguments.     

The objective structured interview for medical student selection

An objective structured interview is an integral part of the process of selecting and admitting applicants to study medicine at this university. During the nine years (to the end of 1986) that the interview has been used 1600 candidates were interviewed out of roughly 13 000 applicants, and from these, 584 students were admitted to the course. Analysis of the interview data was carried out based on two aspects of student progress: graduation with honours and failure to complete the course of study.The interview as a whole, and especially some of the subscales, appears to identify students who may fail to complete the course: it may also help to predict which students are likely to graduate with honours.     

鹤岗市中小学生性健康教育现状的调查研究

目的:了解鹤岗市中小学生性健康教育现状,为进一步开展青春期性健康教育提供依据。方法:分层随机整群抽取鹤岗市1735名中小学生进行无记名问卷调查。结果:被调查的学生已具备一定的青春期性知识,但其知晓率仍偏低;性知识获取途径以社会媒体为主。大多数被调查者性生理发育状况良好,对青少年中发生的恋爱行为持宽容和理解的态度,而对婚前性行为持谨慎和保守态度。结论:今后应加大对性健康教育的宣传和投入,加强对中小学生的性道德教育。     

Instructors' practices in and attitudes toward teaching ethics in the genetics classroom

There is strong consensus among educators that training in the ethical and social consequences of science is necessary for the development of students into the science professionals and well-rounded citizens needed in the future. However, this part of the curriculum is not a major focus of most science departments and it is not clear if, or how, students receive this training. To determine the current status of bioethics education of undergraduate biology students in the United States, we surveyed instructors of introductory genetics. We found that there was support for more ethics education both in the general curriculum and in the genetics classroom than is currently being given. Most instructors devote <5% of class time to ethical and social issues in their genetics courses. The majority feels that this is inadequate treatment of these topics and most cited lack of time as a major reason they were unable to give more attention to bioethics. We believe biology departments should take the responsibility to ensure that their students are receiving a balanced education. Undergraduate students should be adequately trained in ethics either within their science courses or in a specialized course elsewhere in the curriculum.     

An interview with Olivia Gude about connecting school and community arts practice

ABSTRACT

Olivia Gude has a long and distinguished career as both a public artist and an art educator. She is currently the Angela Gregory Paterakis Professor and Chair of Art Education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where she works with graduate and undergraduate students to prepare for working as artist educators in school and community settings. Her scholarly work includes a number of articles and book chapters about art education and community art. Prof. Gude has worked as a community public artist for many years and has created over 30 large-scale mural and mosaic projects, working with intergenerational groups, teens, elders, and children. I interviewed Prof. Gude at the SAIC building in downtown Chicago to discuss how her school, university, and community art engagement as well as her work with the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, might offer suggestions for transforming arts education for the twenty-first century and provide authentic connections between school and community. Prof. Gude discusses important enduring understandings and big ideas from the new Visual Arts National Core Arts Standards, the Spiral Workshop youth art and research project she created while at University of Illinois at Chicago, and how her experience as a community artist informs her work with students in classroom settings.     

Psychological Differences toward Pedestrian Red Light Crossing between University Students and Their Peers

Based on our site investigation conducted in 2013, we found that the pedestrian red light crossing at the midblock connecting the campus of Southwest University and living area was low, where most of pedestrians are university students and staff. This paper reports a supplementary work applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to identify any psychological differences toward pedestrian red light crossing between university students and their peers. Three social groups participated in the investigation. The first group is the university students in Grade one (Group 1), the other two groups are their previous senior middle school classmates who are now working full time (Group 2) or who are now out of work and school (Group 3). The statistical results indicated The TPB components accounted for 42.9%, 55.3% and 55.4% of the variance of red signal crossing intention for Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 in the depicted road crossing scenario. The data also showed that there are obvious differences among the participants’ responses to “refrain from crossing” between university students and others, and the subsequent regression analysis revealed the ability to “refrain from crossing” played the most important role in the intention of red light crossing in the depicted scenario.     

The 2012 Thomas Hunt Morgan medal: Kathryn V. Anderson

The Genetics Society of America annually honors members who have made outstanding contributions to genetics. The Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal recognizes a lifetime contribution to the science of genetics. The Genetics Society of America Medal recognizes particularly outstanding contributions to the science of genetics over the past 31 years. The George W. Beadle Medal recognizes distinguished service to the field of genetics and the community of geneticists. The Elizabeth W. Jones Award for Excellence in Education recognizes individuals or groups who have had a significant, sustained impact on genetics education at any level, from kindergarten through graduate school and beyond. The Novitski Prize recognizes an extraordinary level of creativity and intellectual ingenuity in solving significant problems in biological research through the application of genetic methods. We are pleased to announce the 2012 awards.     

SLEEP PATTERNS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY

We performed a longitudinal study to investigate whether changes in social zeitgebers and age alter sleep patterns in students during the transition from high school to university. Actimetry was performed on 24 high-school students (mean age?±?SD: 18.4?±?0.9 yrs; 12 females) for two weeks. Recordings were repeated in the same subjects 5 yrs later when they were university students. The sleep period duration and its center, the mid-sleep time, and total sleep time were estimated by actimetry. Actigraphic total sleep time was similar when in high school and at the university on school days (6.31?±?0.47 vs. 6.45?±?0.80?h, p?=?ns) and longer on leisure days by 1.10?±?1.10?h (p?<?0.0001 vs. school days) when in high school, but not at the university. Compared to the high school situation, the mid-sleep time was delayed when at the university on school days (03∶11?±?0.6 vs. 03∶55?±?0.7?h, p?<?0.0001), but not on leisure days. Individual mid-sleep times on school and leisure days when in high school were significantly correlated with the corresponding values 5 yrs later when at the university (r?=?0.58 and r?=?0.55, p?<?0.05, respectively). The large differences in total sleep time between school and leisure days when students attended high school and the delayed mid-sleep time on school days when students attended university are consistent with a circadian phase shift due to changes in class schedules, other zeitgebers, and lifestyle preferences. Age-related changes may also have occurred, although some individuality of the sleep pattern was maintained during the 5 yr study span. These findings have important implications for optimizing school and work schedules in students of different age and level of education. (Author correspondence: pneubloc@usz.uzh.ch)     

Influence of Sociocultural Factors and Acceptance of Creationism in the Comprehension of Evolutionary Biology in Freshman Brazilian Students

The creationist movements in Brazil, although considered weak, are on the increase. The Brazilian legislation neither imposes any objection in teaching evolution nor obliges the teaching of creationism as an alternative to evolution in science classes. Furthermore, it allows the optional teaching of religion at schools. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the knowledge regarding biological evolution in freshman students from a Brazilian university. Such knowledge was related to sociocultural factors such as their parental education level, the type of high school the student graduated from (private or public school), their philosophical/religious position as well as the acceptance of creationism as an alternative to evolution. Among those factors, the latter two showed significant differences, in which the higher averages belonged both to the atheistic students and to those who do not accept creationism as an alternative to evolution.     

University Evolution Education: The Effect of Evolution Instruction on Biology Majors�� Content Knowledge, Attitude Toward Evolution, and Theistic Position

Issues regarding understanding of evolution and resistance to evolution education in the United States are of key importance to biology educators at all levels. While research has measured student views toward evolution at single points in time, few studies have been published investigating whether views of college seniors are any different than first-year students in the same degree program. Additionally, students choosing to major in biological sciences have largely been overlooked, as if their acceptance of evolution is assumed. This study investigated the understanding of evolution and attitude toward evolution held by students majoring in biological science during their first and fourth years in a public research university. Participants included students in a first-year introductory biology course intended for biological science majors and graduating seniors earning degrees in either biology or genetics. The portion of the survey reported here consisted of quantitative measures of students’ understanding of core concepts of evolution and their attitude toward evolution. The results indicate that students’ understanding of particular evolutionary concepts is significantly higher among seniors, but their attitude toward evolution is only slightly improved compared to their first-year student peers. When comparing first-year students and seniors, students’ theistic position was not significantly different.     

A design-oriented STEM activity for students’ using and improving their engineering skills: the balance model with 3D printer

Abstract

This study involves the development and implementation of a STEM activity containing 3?D printer technology, which is commonly used in STEM education. Out of school STEM courses were organized with seven middle school students studying in the 7th grade and the activities in the course were carried out with a 3D printer. One of the activities in the course is the Balance model. The study reveals the skills students used in the Balance Model activity, which is a 3D STEM activity. The students’ engineering skills were effective through the STEM activity, and they actively used skills such as planning, designing, explaining the design process, creating a realistic product, and testing and evaluating product performance. In addition, it was concluded that the students use their academic and technical skills effectively. The study presents in detail the preparation and implementation process of this activity, which we think may help educators uncover and improve students’ engineering skills.     

Health Education and Cigarette Smoking: A Report on a Three-Year Program in the Winnipeg School Division, 1960-1963

The smoking habits of Winnipeg school students were surveyed before and after a three-year program of health education on the hazards of smoking, directed to 8300 out of 48,000 students. The program consisted of informal approaches to students in elementary schools and a formal program of talks, lectures, films, and student participation for older students.There were fewer students at all ages who had never smoked a cigarette at the time of the second survey. There was a slight decrease in the number of regular smokers in high school, most marked in the school where the program was enthusiastically received and student participation was most active. A direct relationship between parental smoking and that of the student, and an inverse relationship between academic achievement and student smoking, were shown on both surveys. The majority of students believed that smoking caused lung cancer and other hazards to health, although this was less marked among smokers.The results indicated that an intensive program of health education directed to the teenagers in school was a potentially useful approach to the problem of cigarette smoking.