Learning Genetics On the Fly
Leading team:
- Dr. Michal Haskel Ittah
Brief
The “Genetics on the Fly” website was developed by the biology group in the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Science Teaching. Our goal was to provide middle school and high school students with access to authentic examples of genetic information. Specifically, the site is based on the fruit fly Drosophila Melanogaster: a model organism which has been the focus of extensive genetic research for over a decade. The aim of this site is to support students’ understanding of genetic phenomena through their underlying mechanism.
Further reading:
- Haskel-Ittah, M., Duncan, R. G., Vazquez Ben, L., and Yarden, A. (2019). Reasoning About Genetic Mechanisms: Affordances and Constrains for Learning. JRST -Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 57(3), 342-367.
- Haskel-Ittah, M., & Yarden, A. (2018). Students’ Conception of Genetic Phenomena and Its Effect on Their Ability to Understand the Underlying Mechanism. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 17(3), ar36. –Highlighted in GENETICS (Volume 202, Issue 4).
- 5Haskel-Ittah, M., & Yarden, A. (2017). Toward Bridging the Mechanistic Gap Between Genes and Traits by Emphasizing the Role of Proteins in a Computational Environment. Science & Education, 26, 1143-1160.