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Dr. Lourdes Alemán &
Dr. Stacie Bumgarner
Topic: StarGenetics – Implementation, evaluation, outreach, & development
Group Meeting Date & Time: Friday, March 11, 2011 @ 2:30 pm
Location: MIT 76-156A/B
The Education Group was delighted at the terrific turn-out for the first Education Group Meeting in 2011. HHMI Professor Graham Walker enthusiastically welcomed participants who joined us from MIT and other local institutions, including Olin College, Boston University, and Suffolk University.
Left: HHMI Professor Graham Walker welcomes participants to the Education Group Meeting. Center: A full room of colleagues interested in science education. Right: Lourdes discusses the birth of STAR Biology software.
The presenters, Dr. Lourdes Alemán and Dr. Stacie Bumgarner, are research scientists in the Education Group and are engaged in Biology education technologies development and curriculum innovation. Both scientists contribute domain expertise within MIT OEIT’s Software Tools for Academics and Researchers (STAR) team. The STAR team works with MIT faculty to develop interactive science education software tools, including StarGenetics (a virtual genetic cross simulator) and StarBiochem (a molecular structure explorer).
In the Group Meeting on March 11th, Lourdes described the STAR team’s educational innovation goals and its ongoing collaboration with faculty in the MIT Department of Biology, highlighting projects conducted with Professors Graham Walker and Chris Kaiser. Stacie spoke about the collaboration that she and Lourdes initiated to implement StarGenetics curricular materials in undergraduate-level Genetics courses that Stacie taught at Suffolk University. She offered examples of StarGenetics curriculum that they developed and utilized in her courses, including a concept demonstration of genetic linkage, an inquiry-based laboratory exercise, and sample homework exercises. She also provided an introduction to the range of StarGenetics experiment simulators that are currently available (Fruit fly, Yeast, Smileys, and LEGO fish) and those that are now in development (Mendel’s Peas and Bacteria).
- View the slides presented by Lourdes and Stacie.
- View the movies presented by Lourdes and Stacie:
Movie1: DNA LEGO molecule sets
Movie2: StarGenetics Fly Tour
Movie3: StarGenetics Linkage Demo
Movie4: StarGenetics Homework Sample 1
Movie5: StarGenetics Homework Sample 2
Movie6: StarGenetics Yeast Tour
- Download the StarGenetics Excel Source File used in the Linkage Concept Demo.
- Learn more about these two research scientists on our Core Group Members page.
