A Curious Display: a case study on genetically modified organisms provided in written English and American Sign Language

By Margaret Waterman, Brandon Call, Sandi Connelly, Kristin Jenkins, Sam Johnston, Vedham Karpakakunjaram, Viet Le, Hayley Orndorf, Melissa Skyer, and Barbara Spiecker

Module Description:

This resource consists of materials for implementing a case study on genetically modified organisms. The case is provided in written English and American Sign Language. The Case Analysis Sheet, which is included in this resource, can be used as a scaffold for students when they begin a new case study. This sheet will help students generate questions and reflect on what they already know about the topics in a case, as well as identify types of resources to use as they learn more about GMO's.

Teaching Setting:

This case study, which is appropriate for high school and undergraduate biology courses, was designed using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and is therefore suitable for a variety of classroom settings, including but not limited to, classrooms with dead/hard-of-hearing students. 

Citation:

Waterman, M., Brandon Call, Connelly, S., Jenkins, K., Johnston, S. C., Karpakakunjaram, V., Le, V., Orndorf, H., Skyer, M., Spiecker, B. (2019). A Curious Display. Opening the Pathway to Technician Careers: A Conference for Biology Teachers of Deaf Students, QUBES Educational Resources. doi:10.25334/979W-CY69

Related Materials and Opportunities:

This week’s featured resource was introduced to participants during Opening the Pathway to Technician Careers: A Conference for Biology Teachers of Deaf Students, a professional development experience for high school teachers, community college faculty, and interpreters involved in teaching life sciences to deaf/hard-of-hearing students. The overarching goal of this conference, which was organized by DeafTEC™ and BioQUEST, was to increase participation of dead/hard-of-hearing students in technical fields such as agricultural technology, biotechnology, and environmental sciences, where they are currently underrepresented.  Browse the collections area of the conference website for numerous resources shared during the conference, including Universal Design for Learning resources and resources for biology teachers in ASL and in deaf/hard-of-hearing classrooms.

Conference attendees experienced a performance by Sunshine 2.0, a professional traveling theater troupe based at Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, New York. The troupe travels to schools and a variety of venues to provide performances highlighting topics in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) and educational topics pertaining to the Deaf experience. Their engaging shows provide valuable insights into the human condition and demonstrate how hearing and deaf people can interact and engage with one another. Learn more about Sunshine 2.0.

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