Analogies for Teaching Mutant Allele Dominance Concepts

Rebecca L. Seipelt-Thiemann

Biology Department, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/ce.2012.326133                

Abstract

Analogies connect new and familiar concepts and ideas by providing a comfortable and known framework within which students can integrate new concepts. Use of analogies to aid understanding of abstract and/or complex ideas is commonly used in molecular sciences, such as genetics, molecular biology, and biochemistry. Five analogies for different mechanisms of mutant allele dominance, a seemingly counter-intuitive idea in genetics, were designed and assessed in an upper division undergraduate/masters level course. Each of the five mechanisms, haploinsufficiency, acquired function, poison product, increased activity, and inappropriate expression, was described in the context of a human disease and molecular mechanism and followed by a descriptive analogy which mirrored the molecular mechanism using real world items or a video clip. The majority of students reported increased interest, understanding, and engagement following the analogies, as well as decreased confusion.

Keywords

Analogy; Genetics; Allele Dominance

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Becker, M. A., Meyer, L. J., & Seegmiller, J. E. (1973). Gout with purine overproduction due to increased phosphoribosyl phosphate synthetase activity. American Journal of Medicine, 55, 232-242. doi:10.1016/0002-9343(73)90174-5 Busciglio, R. (2010). Lucy candy 3. URL. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YGF5R9i53A
[2]	De Klein, A., Van Kessel, A. G., Grosveld, G., Bartram, C. R., Hagemeijer, A., Bootsma, D., Spurr, N. K., Heisterkamp, N., Groffen, J., & Stephenson, J. R. (1982). A cellular oncogene is translocated to the Philadelphia chromosome in chronic myelocytic leukaemia. Nature, 300, 765-767. doi:10.1038/300765a0
[3]	Dougherty, M. J. (2009). Closing the gap: Inverting the genetics curriculum to ensure an informed public. The American Journal of Human Genetics, 85, 6-12. doi:10.1016/j.ajhg.2009.05.010
[4]	Gericke, N. M., & Hagberg, M. (2007). Definition of historical models of gene function and their relation to students’ understanding of genetics. Science & Education, 16, 849-881. doi:10.1007/s11191-006-9064-4
[5]	Glynn, S. M. (1995). Conceptual bridges: Using analogies to explain scientific concepts. The Science Teacher, 62, 25-27.
[6]	Glynn, S. M. (2007). Methods and strategies: The Teaching-with- analogies model. Science and Children, 44, 52-55.
[7]	Glynn, S. M. (2008). Making science concepts meaningful to students: Teaching with analogies. In S. Mikelskis-Seifert, U. Ringelband, & M. Brückmann (Eds.), Four decades of research in science education: From curriculum development to quality improvement (pp. 113- 125). Münster: Waxmann.
[8]	Herrick, J. B. (1910). Peculiar elongated and sickle-shaped red blood corpuscles in a case of severe anemia. Archives of Internal Medicine, 6, 517-521.
[9]	Korkko, J., Ritvaniemi, P., Haataja, L., Kaariainen, H., Kivirikko, K. I., Prockop, D. J., & Ala-Kokko, L. (1993). Mutation in type II procollagen (COL2A1) that substitutes aspartate for glycine alpha-I-67 and that causes cataracts and retinal detachment: Evidence for molecular heterogeneity in the Wagner syndrome and the Stickler syndrome (arthro-ophthalmopathy). The American Journal of Human Genetics, 53, 55-61.
[10]	Oliva, J. M., Axcarate, P., & Navarrete, A. (2007). Teaching models in the use of analogies as a resource in the science classroom. International Journal of Science Education, 29, 45-66. doi:10.1080/09500690600708444
[11]	Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (2012). MIM Number: {108300}. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University. URL (last checked 20 January 2012). http://omim.org/
[12]	Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (2012). MIM Number: {141900}. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University. URL (last checked 6 June 2012). http://omim.org/
[13]	Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (2011). MIM Number: {166210}. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University. URL (last checked 6 October 2011). http://omim.org/
[14]	Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (2012). MIM Number: {300661}. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University. URL (last checked 20 April 2012). http://omim.org/
[15]	Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (2012). MIM Number: {608232}. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University. URL (last checked 27 July 2012). http://omim.org/
[16]	Oppenheimer, J., Pugh, M., Carroll, B. Jr. (Writers), & Asher, W. (Director) (1952). Job switching [39]. In D. Arnaz (Producer), I love Lucy. Hollywood, CA: Columbia Broadcasting System.
[17]	Orgill, M. and Bodner, G. (2004). What research tells us about using analogies to teach chemistry. Chemistry Education: Research and Practice, 5, 15-32.
[18]	Richards, A. J., Baguley, D. M., Yates, J. R. W., Lane, C., Nicol, M., Harper, P. S., Scott, J. D., & Snead, M. P. (2000). Variation in the vitreous phenotype of Stickler syndrome can be caused by different amino acid substitutions in the X position of the type II collagen Gly-X-Y triple helix. The American Journal of Human Genetics, 67, 1083-1094. doi:10.1086/321189
[19]	Redfield, R. J. (2012). “Why do we have to learn this stuff?”—A new genetics for 21st century students. PLOS Biology, 10, e1001356. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001356
[20]	Smith, M. U., & Adkison, L. R. (2010). Updating the model definition of the gene in the modern genomic era with implications for instruction. Science & Education, 19, 1-20. doi:10.1007/s11191-008-9161-7
[21]	Tibell, L. E. A., & Rundgren, C.-J. (2010). Educational challenges of molecular life science characteristics and implications for education and research. CBE Life Sciences Education, 9, 25-33. doi:10.1187/cbe.08-09-0055
[22]	Venville, G. J., & Teagust, D. F. (1997). Analogies in biology education: A contentious issue. The American Biology Teacher, 59, 282- 287. doi:10.2307/4450309
[23]	Williams, C. J., & Prockop, D. J. (1983). Synthesis and processing of a type I procollagen containing shortened pro-alpha-1(I) chains by fibroblasts from a patient with osteogenesis imperfecta. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 258, 5915-5921.