2008 Campus-Community Partnerships

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UCLA CSG-King Drew Magnet High School of Science and Medicine: Team Teaching in Secondary Education at the Interface of Society and Genetics

Abstract: Recognizing the importance of educating the public about the momentous transformation in genetics and genomics, the UCLA Center for Society and Genetics and the King Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science--located in the community of Watts in South Central Los Angeles--have teamed up to begin a pipeline of education that begins at the high school level. The proposal we are putting forward focuses on three major goals: (1) instructing high school teachers about issues involving genetic determinism; genetic discrimination; ancestry; race, ethnicity and genetics; forensics; gene patenting and genomic medicine; (2) developing an interdisciplinary team-teaching approach that high school teachers can implement in their classrooms to educate students about the social genetics issues noted above, as well as other subjects; and (3) diversifying the spectrum of voices that are participating in the discussion about the co-evolution of society and genetics. The curriculum and model for interdisciplinary, team-teaching of issues related to society and genetics at the high school level is a tangible product that will resonate with Los Angeles students and teachers who come from an array of diverse backgrounds. The program can and will be disseminated to other interested high schools both locally and nationally.