Undergraduate genetics courses often have a strong molecular and mathematical focus without an applied framework illustrating downstream impacts of genetic decisions, especially within a plant breeding perspective. Subsequently, content tends to focus on finding the probability of genes being inherited by offspring from parents, connecting genotype to phenotype, or determining if genes are linked. We commonly received student feedback requesting concepts to be more applied, so the students can see how these concepts could be applied to their future careers. The aim of this activity is to introduce students to genetics through game-based learning and connect the concepts to real-world applications, specifically, economic outcomes. Students assume the role of plant breeders and farmers and in groups, see who can generate the most money while dealing with the unpredictability of the environment and market pressures. During the activity, students work on creating plant progeny with different traits from parents with a goal to create varieties that will sell to different markets. They will test the progeny across several field-trials over three seasons. We conducted this game in three plant science undergraduate courses at Cornell, over two years. Student engagement and learning was evaluated via student assessments and informal student surveys. In both cases, the students stated that they found the activity engaging and educational and helped them think about the multiple aspects plant breeding programs must consider to be successful.

Primary Image: Potato breeders harvesting progeny with desirable traits for market. Researchers gather potatoes with certain desirable traits, of which the most immediately observable is red flesh. These traits were selected for a downstream purpose, to make the product more desirable for sale at a specific market. This role-playing activity helps students navigate this decision-making process.

First-year science students in large-enrollment lecture courses are rarely given opportunities to contribute to science beyond their classroom as part of their curriculum. Meanwhile, natural history museums are eager to engage students and the general public in curation and research projects, but cannot risk damage to irreplaceable specimens and typically do not have the resources to manage volunteers on the scale of a large university course. One such museum is the Beaty Biodiversity Museum (BBM) at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada. The BBM is home to UBC’s natural history collections and contains over two million specimens, but, like any natural history museum, specimens are not physically accessible to the general public, including university students. This lesson was designed to be online, with only a short project introduction and wrap-up happening in class, in order to both protect specimens and allow large numbers of students to participate in a museum curation project. A set of readings and videos introduce students to biological diversity and how it is documented in natural history museums, in this case, an herbarium. Along the way, students complete three worksheet activities exploring (i) physical variation within a single species, (ii) how specimens are preserved and digitized, and (iii) how new scientific questions can be asked using digitized biodiversity data. During this lesson, students digitize herbarium specimen labels and make a meaningful contribution to science beyond their own classroom. A pre- and post-survey capture student knowledge and perceptions of biodiversity before and after the lesson.

Primary Image: Two herbarium specimens of the bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana, demonstrating physical variation within a species. Images from the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria, used with written permission from Richard Olmstead, CPNWH Administrator.