Using Dialogues to Explore Genetics, Ancestry, and Race

Abstract

Teaching the topic of genetics in relationship to ancestry and race generates many questions, and requires a teaching strategy that encourages perspective-based exploration and discussion. We have developed a set of dialogues for discussing the complex science of genetics, ancestry, and race that is contextualized in real human interactions and that contends with the social and ethical implications of this science. This article provides some brief historical and scientific context for these dialogues, describes their development, and relates how we have used them in different ways to engage diverse groups of science learners. The dialogue series can be incorporated into classroom or informal science education settings. After listening to or performing the dialogues and participating in a discussion, students will: (1) recognize misunderstandings about the relationship between DNA and race; (2) describe how DNA testing services assign geographic ancestry; (3) explain how scientific findings have been used historically to promote institutionalized racism and the role personal biases can play in science; (4) identify situations in their own life that have affected their understanding of genetics and race; and (5) discuss the potential consequences of the racialization of medicine as well as other fallacies about the connection of science and race.

Toward a more humane genetics education: Learning about the social and quantitative complexities of human genetic variation research could reduce racial bias in adolescent and adult populations

“…Moreover, there are plenty of teachers who do not believe that racial inequalities are due to genetics and these educators could be the first to be empowered to teach a more humane genetics education. Science educators have begun to outline the subject matter knowledge that teachers must possess to teach about genetic variation to reduce racism (Donovan, ) and they have outlined curriculum frameworks for that teaching (Beckwith et al, ; Donovan, ; Hubbard, ). These frameworks can orient the interested educator toward a more humane genetics education.…”

Practical and Ethical Considerations of Using Personal DNA Tests with Middle-School-Aged Learners

“…Others have used the results of DTC DNA testing constructively to engage undergraduate students in dialogs about genetics, ancestry, and race. 9 Middle-school-aged youth can understand core concepts about genetic inheritance and the actions of genes. 4,5 Thus, we were confident that it would be possible to use information, provided by DTC DNA testing, on personal ancestry and specific phenotypic traits to productively engage middle school students with their personal ancestry and their genetic interrelatedness to one another and to ancestral humans and nonhuman primates.…”

Using the Controversy over Human Race to Introduce Students to the Identification and the Evaluation of Arguments

“…More recently, Archila et al, ( 2019 , 2021a ) and Hyytinen et al ( 2019 ) claimed that critical thinking is essential for the development of scientific thinking skills. Thus, making informed decisions about climate change (Rehg, 2011 ), evolution and creationism (Archila & Molina, 2020 ), GMO crops (Fahnestock, 2020 ), nuclear energy (Jho et al, 2014 ), and genetics, ancestry, and race (Beckwith et al, 2017 ), among other controversies, requires educated citizens who critically identify and evaluate arguments as a key element of the construction of democratic societies. In this regard, university science courses can be considered as one of the multiple scenarios which involve students in authentic and meaningful educational practices aimed at providing them with explicit opportunities to identify and evaluate arguments.…”

“…For the reasons just mentioned, it makes sense to provide research evidence on how to make critical thinking classroom scenarios (CTCSs) (Archila, 2018 ) an explicit practice of any university course interested in engaging students in the identification and the evaluation of arguments in a pragmatic and effective way. Thus, the present article outlines the effect of a dialogue-based CTCS in providing undergraduate students with opportunities to identify and evaluate arguments regarding a dialogue written by Beckwith et al ( 2017 ), in which two scientists interact argumentatively to explore the controversial question of whether or not the concept of race in humans is biologically meaningful.…”