How are genes organized, regulated, and expressed in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?
How are genes isolated, engineered, and put back into living cells in order to change their genetic destiny?
What was the historical and social context in which genetic engineering was discovered and first used?
How are genomes sequenced and analyzed in order to understand basic living processes?
How has genetic engineering pushed back the frontiers of basic knowledge, created a multi-billion dollar biotechnology industry, and become part of our daily lives?
How has our ability to manipulate DNA changed our concepts of privacy and made an impact on the criminal justice system?
What does the Constitution say about science, and what federal and state laws govern our ability to manipulate living organisms?
Who owns our genes and can they be patented?
How is genetic engineering being used to create the livestock and crops of tomorrow?
What are the ethical issues related to producing genetically engineered food and powerful new drugs?
How does genetic engineering affect the lives of people in the developing world and offer hope for their future well being?
What are the implications of using genetic engineering and breakthroughs in reproductive technology to diagnose and cure human diseases? Determine aspects of a baby's biology?
How has a knowledge of the human genome sequence changed our perception of human origins and the concept of race?
How has CRISPR technology changed or expanded what is possible with regard to genetic engineering?
Unique Methods & Approaches Used to Teach the Lecture Section
Posting videos of lectures and digitized lecture slides on the class web site.
Take photos of each student, learn their names and majors, and call on students in class in order to create a more personal learning environment.
Use the Socratic method to teach critical thinking and maximize student-student and student-professor interactions.
Ask students to summarize previous lectures in order to encourage class participation and teach verbal skills.
Emphasize a non-competitive team approach that sets specific learning goals to grade and assess performance.
Foster student/student interactions that challenge students to become their own "professors."
Use take-home exams that encourage students to work together in groups, be their own teachers, and interact intellectually.
Use problem-oriented, experimentally-based exam questions that require critical thinking.
Give whole-class, team-oriented oral exams in order to teach students how to think on their feet and speak in public. Teams answer experimentally-based questions that deal with real-life situations as well as challenge other teams on their answers.
Offer students the opportunity to hear from and interact with guest speakers whose work involves genetic engineering.
Utilize in-class demonstrations and "mini-experiments" to make science come alive and give students a hands-on experience in the classroom.