Genetics. Published Articles Ahead of Print: February 1, 2008, Copyright © 2008
doi:10.1534/genetics.107.084194


A more recent version of this article appeared on March 1, 2008.

GENETICS EDUCATION

Essay Contest Reveals Misconceptions of High School Students in Genetics Content

Kenna M Shaw 1*, Katie Van Horne 1, Hubert Zhang 1 and Joann Boughman 1

1 American Society of Human Genetics

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kshaw{at}ashg.org.

Submitted on November 5, 2007
Revised on December 19, 2007
Accepted on 21 December 2007


Abstract

National educational organizations have called upon scientists to become involved in K-12 education reform. From sporadic interaction with students to more sustained partnerships with teachers, the engagement of scientists takes many forms. In this case, scientists from the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG), Genetics Society of America (GSA) and National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) have partnered to organize an essay contest for high school students as part of the activities surrounding National DNA Day. We describe a systematic analysis of 500 out of 2,443 total essays submitted in response to this contest over two years. Our analysis reveals the nature of student misconceptions in genetics, the possible sources of these misconceptions and potential ways to galvanize genetics education.

Key Words: critical writing, education, genetics, genetics misconceptions