Week 8 Blog Post

 

What did you learn this week?

This week I learned more about genetics, specifically, genotype vs phenotype, codons, and mutations. I learned that a genotype is two alleles (one given from each parent) that determine a specific trait that an organism will inherit. A phenotype is the physical trait that you can observe. Next, I learned about codons and how these are sequences of three letters (nucleotides). These codons code for amino acids that can be affected by mutations that can give an organism advantages or disadvantages. We looked more closely at amino acids and mutations through the two simulations. 

Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew?

I remember learning about genotype and phenotype previously in my education. After revisiting the topic in this class I feel that I understand it in greater depth now. I also remember learning about codons and how the code for amino acids. This part has always been something that has been a little more confusing for me, however, I do feel that the information we went over in lab and the different simulations we did helped me to gain a better understanding. 

How can you apply what you've learned to your teaching in the future

Now that I have a better understanding over codons and amino acids I feel more confident in teaching this to my future students. I think these simulations would be great to bring into the classroom as an engaging activity where they can do some testing on their own. I also think the superhero worksheet we did about mutations would be an engaging activity to bring into the classroom as many will find more interest in the topic when it is put in the context of something like superheroes.