title: DNA microarray wet lab simulation brings genomics into the high school curriculum.
abstract: We have developed a wet lab DNA microarray simulation as part of a complete DNA microarray module for high school students. The wet lab simulation has been field tested with high school students in Illinois and Maryland as well as in workshops with high school teachers from across the nation. Instead of using DNA, our simulation is based on pH indicators, which offer many ideal teaching characteristics. The simulation requires no specialized equipment, is very inexpensive, is very reliable, and takes very little preparation time. Student and teacher assessment data indicate the simulation is popular with both groups, and students show significant learning gains. We include many resources with this publication, including all prelab introductory materials (e.g., a paper microarray activity), the student handouts, teachers notes, and pre- and postassessment tools. We did not test the simulation on other student populations, but based on teacher feedback, the simulation also may fit well in community college and in introductory and nonmajors' college biology curricula.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Biology, Davidson College, Davidson, NC 28035-7118, USA. macampbell@davidson.edu
authors.forename: A Malcolm
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Carolyn A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Zanta
authors.forename: Laurie J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Heyer
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kittinger
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Gabric
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Adler
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schulz
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D023281:Genomics / Q000193:education* / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods