Evolutionary processes can be studied in nature and in the laboratory, but time and financial constraints result in few opportunities for undergraduate and high school students to explore the agents of genetic change in populations. One alternative to time consuming and expensive teaching laboratories is the use of computer simulations. We…

This lab is a computer simulation of transmission genetics. It presents students with a genetic phenomenon--the inheritance of a randomly--selected trait. The students' task is to determine how this trait is inherited by designing their own crosses and analyzing the results produced by the software.

Probability is an essential tool for understanding heredity and modern genetics, yet many students have difficulty with this topic due to the abstract and quantitative nature of the subject. To facilitate student learning of probability in genetics, we have developed a set of hands-on, cooperative activities that allow students to determine…