Multi-Level Science: Genetics from DNA to Populations

现代科学复杂性的一个基本方面是存在着嵌入多层意义和表象的多层抽象。这种深层结构几乎渗透到生物学的所有领域——发育生物学、生理学、解剖学和遗传学。遗传学，特别是考虑DNA，基因，染色体，个体生物，亲属和群体。从重要的方面来说，每一层的行为都是发生在较低层次上的过程的功能结果。这个项目的总体概念框架是遗传现象的内在多层次尺度。我们计划，通过使用先进的技术，对这个概念框架进行建模，并调查其对遗传学学习和教学的影响。我们选择遗传学作为我们最初关注的领域有几个原因：它包含了丰富的多层次结构，非常适合调查研究问题；遗传学和遗传学技术的巨大进步对个人和社会产生了重要影响；这是一个迅速变化的领域，它本身就具有巨大的科学兴趣；它给学习和教学带来了极大的困难。我们计划开发GenScope，这是一个交互式的计算机环境，它可以直观地、动态地呈现遗传学的多层次过程，并以明确的方式表明它们之间的偶然联系和相互作用。我们项目的主要目的是调查学生在这种环境下的教育用途和好处，辅以实验室和课堂活动。我们的假设是，学生将获得对基本思想的更深入的理解，包括和跨越分子，个体和群体遗传学。

A fundamental aspect of the complexity of modern science is the existence of multiple levels of abstraction embedding multiple layers of meaning and representation. This deep structure permeates virtually all areas of biology - developmental biology, physiology, anatomy, and genetics. Genetics, in particular, considers DNA, genes, chromosomes, individual organisms, kin, and populations. Behavior at each level is, in important ways, the functional consequence of processes that take place at lower levels. The overarching conceptual framework for this project is the inherent multi-level scale of genetic phenomena. We plan, through the use of advanced technology, to model this conceptual framework and to investigate its implications for the learning and teaching of genetics. We have chosen the subject of genetics as our initial area of focus for several reasons: it embodies a rich multi-level structure which lends itself perfectly to investigating the research issues; the dramatic advances in the science of genetics and genetics technology have important consequences for individuals and society; it is a rapidly changing area of enormous scientific interest in its own right; and it presents extraordinary difficulties to learning and teaching. We plan to develop GenScope, an interactive computer environment that presents the linked multi-level processes of genetics visually, dynamically, and in ways that make explicit the casual connections and interactions between them. The primary thrust of our project will be to investigate the educational use and benefits from student work with this environment, complemented by laboratory and classroom activities. Our hypothesis is that students will acquire a deeper understanding of the fundamental ideas, subsuming and spanning molecular, individual, and population genetics.