A “Choose-Your-Own” Classroom-Based Activity That Promotes Scientific Inquiry about RNA Interference

RNA interference (RNAi), the process that results in the degradation of a target gene’s mRNA, is a fundamental part of eukaryotic gene regulation and is also an important molecular technique that allows for experimental manipulation of gene expression without altering DNA sequences. Despite the impo...

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Autor principal:	Jeremy L. Hsu
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2019
Materias:	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/7e576a1460fc49bc9906309e85bcbc4c
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:7e576a1460fc49bc9906309e85bcbc4c2021-11-15T15:04:12ZA “Choose-Your-Own” Classroom-Based Activity That Promotes Scientific Inquiry about RNA Interference10.1128/jmbe.v20i3.18891935-78851935-7877https://doaj.org/article/7e576a1460fc49bc9906309e85bcbc4c2019-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jmbe.v20i3.1889https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7877https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7885RNA interference (RNAi), the process that results in the degradation of a target gene’s mRNA, is a fundamental part of eukaryotic gene regulation and is also an important molecular technique that allows for experimental manipulation of gene expression without altering DNA sequences. Despite the importance of RNAi, there have been relatively few lecture-based activities designed to teach about the consequences of this process and counter common misconceptions. I present here an inquiry-based activity that is centered around a “choose your own experiment” design where students generate hypotheses and critically evaluate their ideas by choosing several simulated experiments. The activity presents students with one of the original puzzling observations, the discovery that triggering overexpression of a given gene in a flower resulted in an opposite change in phenotype than expected, and the subsequent discovery that there was a dramatic decrease of that gene’s mRNA, that sparked the discovery of RNAi. Students then propose a molecular mechanism for these results before using a limited budget of funding to simulate their choice of experiments. Simulated results are provided for these experiments, and students must work together to interpret and discuss these results before deciding on the next experiment. I provide a guide for instructors on how to implement this activity, with suggestions on how to vary the activity to fit different class sizes as well as an abbreviated version for instructors who are short on time. Finally, I include an aligned assessment so that instructors may check student learning about the impacts of RNAi.Jeremy L. HsuAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691Biology (General)QH301-705.5ENJournal of Microbiology & Biology Education, Vol 20, Iss 3 (2019)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5
spellingShingle	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Jeremy L. Hsu A “Choose-Your-Own” Classroom-Based Activity That Promotes Scientific Inquiry about RNA Interference
description	RNA interference (RNAi), the process that results in the degradation of a target gene’s mRNA, is a fundamental part of eukaryotic gene regulation and is also an important molecular technique that allows for experimental manipulation of gene expression without altering DNA sequences. Despite the importance of RNAi, there have been relatively few lecture-based activities designed to teach about the consequences of this process and counter common misconceptions. I present here an inquiry-based activity that is centered around a “choose your own experiment” design where students generate hypotheses and critically evaluate their ideas by choosing several simulated experiments. The activity presents students with one of the original puzzling observations, the discovery that triggering overexpression of a given gene in a flower resulted in an opposite change in phenotype than expected, and the subsequent discovery that there was a dramatic decrease of that gene’s mRNA, that sparked the discovery of RNAi. Students then propose a molecular mechanism for these results before using a limited budget of funding to simulate their choice of experiments. Simulated results are provided for these experiments, and students must work together to interpret and discuss these results before deciding on the next experiment. I provide a guide for instructors on how to implement this activity, with suggestions on how to vary the activity to fit different class sizes as well as an abbreviated version for instructors who are short on time. Finally, I include an aligned assessment so that instructors may check student learning about the impacts of RNAi.
format	article
author	Jeremy L. Hsu
author_facet	Jeremy L. Hsu
author_sort	Jeremy L. Hsu
title	A “Choose-Your-Own” Classroom-Based Activity That Promotes Scientific Inquiry about RNA Interference
title_short	A “Choose-Your-Own” Classroom-Based Activity That Promotes Scientific Inquiry about RNA Interference
title_full	A “Choose-Your-Own” Classroom-Based Activity That Promotes Scientific Inquiry about RNA Interference
title_fullStr	A “Choose-Your-Own” Classroom-Based Activity That Promotes Scientific Inquiry about RNA Interference
title_full_unstemmed	A “Choose-Your-Own” Classroom-Based Activity That Promotes Scientific Inquiry about RNA Interference
title_sort	“choose-your-own” classroom-based activity that promotes scientific inquiry about rna interference
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2019
url	https://doaj.org/article/7e576a1460fc49bc9906309e85bcbc4c
work_keys_str_mv	AT jeremylhsu achooseyourownclassroombasedactivitythatpromotesscientificinquiryaboutrnainterference AT jeremylhsu chooseyourownclassroombasedactivitythatpromotesscientificinquiryaboutrnainterference
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A “Choose-Your-Own” Classroom-Based Activity That Promotes Scientific Inquiry about RNA Interference

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