Week 7

3/5/2025


This week I deepened my knowledge on dominant and recessive genes within genetics. We did a “baby lab” that demonstrated how human hereditary works and the basic genetic principles. In real life the inherited characteristics of the face are more complex than how we looked at them in this modeling example, but it illustrates examples of how genetics work to produce a human. This activity furthered my knowledge on terms like allele, genotype, phenotype, and recessive as I connected them to the activity. The coin flip relates to the probability of inheriting genetic conditions because the outcome of the genes is random. The outcome is never influenced by prior events. 


I connected the DNA candy modeling activity that we did in lab today to a similar activity I did in middle school. I previously remember learning about how A pairs with T and/or T pairs with A - G pairs with C and/or C pairs with G. In middle school I used pipe cleaners to create a similar model. This modeling activity helped me review the base pairing rules and how DNA affects each organism's genetic information. This also connected back to lecture last week when Professor You was listing DNA examples on the whiteboard and we were determining whether they were actual DNA strands or not. 


We learned two modeling activities today in class that can be brought into my future classroom. The DNA candy modeling activity is something that I could do with younger students to assist them in the base pairing rules while also keeping them highly engaged. I think most students at any age would enjoy this modeling activity. The “baby lab” is an activity that I would have to alter to make age appropriate for younger students (grades K-3) as I think it may be overwhelming for them. I think a good alternative for younger students would be an alien lab where the teacher picks certain features that students work with. For example eyes, ears, teeth, arms, legs, and skin color would allow students to understand the dominant and recessive genes without becoming overwhelmed. 








Comments

  1. Katelyn GradyMarch 5, 2025 at 1:05 PM

    Hello Kamryn, I agree the "baby lab" was a fun way to learn about dominant and recessive genes. We were also able to learn the difference between genotypes and phenotypes. It was a fun visual to use a coin to determine the traits the child would inherit as probability does play a role in genetics. The activity helped to simplify the complex concepts of DNA in reproduction. I love that you are thinking ahead to how you would use these activities in your classroom. I would also love to use the candy DNA model. It would definitely be something students remember. I loved reading your post, great job.

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  2. Audrey WardMarch 5, 2025 at 3:22 PM

    Hi Kamryn! I also think that the DNA candy modeling activity is a great way to make complex concepts more engaging for younger students. Your idea to adapt the "baby lab" for younger grades is creative and would simplify the concept while still teaching dominant and recessive traits in a fun way. It’s great that you're already thinking about how to modify lessons to fit different age groups!

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  3. Peyton Wilson Science MethodsMarch 7, 2025 at 9:45 AM

    Hi Kamryn!
    I loved reading through your blog post this week. I love it when you talked about doing an alien lab where the teacher picks certain features that students work with. This would be great for lower-level elementary. I think the activity we did would be great to do with my upper-level students when discussing the traits we received.

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