The cost of amagnetic board, chromosome karyotyping kit is $174, including shipping and <a target="new" href="http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm" onclick="g_openWindow('http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm', 300, 800, 'fulfillwindow');return false;">fulfillment</a>.
Knowledge and understanding of Genetics has become an integral part of the National and NC Biology curriculum. These concepts are quite abstract to the students, considering we are discussing structures that they are generally unfamiliar with and cannot see. I have found, as I have taught Biology over the past 21 years, that the more frequently I use visual aids to enhance my curriculum, the more successful the students seem to be at grasping these concepts. Visual aids enhance the interest of all the different types of learners I have in my Biology classes. I see that they benefit my students by giving them a "hands on" or experiential learning opportunity that seems to stick with them much better than an explanation alone.
One component of our new Biology curriculum, that will be implemented during the 2006-07 school year, is "interpreting karyotypes to identify genetic disorders such as Down's, Klinefelter's, and Turners syndromes." In the past, my students have cut out paper models of chromosomes and constructed karyotypes to learn this concept. However, cutting out 92 little pieces of paper, keeping up with all of them, and gluing them in the proper position on a chart has been quite frustrating for most of my students! In their frustration, they lose sight of this activity's objectives of showing them how this type of genetic analysis is done, what our chromosomes look like, and how this type of analysis can provide valuable information about the genetics of individuals.
With a set of magnetic chromosomes and a magnetic chart for the assembly of the chromosomes, this activity could be less time consuming, reduce and maybe eliminate the frustration I have seen associated with it in the past, and ultimately provide an effective way to teach this part of the Biology curriculum. I have recently found a kit of this type and I would love to have these materials for my classroom! I have 50+ Biology students each year that would be using this kit and the kit would be used year after year. I would also share this kit with other interested Biology teachers in my school.
Teachers are always looking for ways to streamline our curriculum, maximize our in class time, and stimulate our student's interest in our subjects. I feel that this magnetic karyotyping activity will "attract" my students and "hold" their attention so they can enjoy learning one of the many difficult concepts in our study of Genetics.
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