Reviews of Chances' Choices

The American Biology Teacher, Volume 63, No. 5, May, 2001. Reproduced with permission.

Chances' Choices is a set of human genetics modules that covers common disorders such as Huntington's disease, cystic fibrosis, and breast cancer. The modules utilize a fictitious family, the Chance family, and the issues they face as they make decisions concerning their health.

Different family members tackle a variety of decisions including prenatal screening, paternity testing, alcoholism, and smoking. This is done in 12 "scenes" that can be used alone or combined. The scenes are designed for students to "offer their opinions, debate the issues, take sides in arguments, and assume the positions of various characters (including the genetic service providers)". It is done in a soap opera style reflected in section titles such as "Will Alan Ever Play for the Celtics?" and "Deborah Shares a Secret". This set of modules is appropriate for high school biology. Discussion questions, assessment suggestions, enrichment activities, writing activities, portfolio suggestions, guest speaker suggestions, overhead masters, a web site list, and a glossary are provided.

I was impressed with how a complicated procedure such as Southern blotting was explained in a clear and simple manner on an overhead master. This is an exciting unit designed to engage students in the practical applications of human genetics. Originally created in 1988, the authors have taken suggestions from teachers and improved and incorporated new up-to-date information into their second edition. Each scene has written instructions that walk the teacher step-by-step from when to use an overhead to when to discuss a procedure. Factual information about the genetic disorder is given on the side of the page opposite the instructions. This makes reference material available to the teacher to answer most of the questions students might ask about a particular disorder. Family pedigrees are included with each scene. It would be easy to build the master pedigree with your students as you went through each module.

Chances' Choices is not only about genetic disorders; it is about people and their choices. I am looking forward to using it with my students next fall.

New Horizons in Mathematics and Science Education, Eisenhower National Clearinghouse, Volume 8, Number 4, 2001.

The story of the Chance family is the focus for this interdisciplinary curriculum unit, which considers human genetic conditions as a springboard for discussing their related social, economic, and ethical issues. The extended family saga begins when Paul and Stacy Chance give birth to their daughter, who was diagnosed with phenylketonuria (PKU). The curriculum unit is designed to engage students in the Chances' stories, while introducing the concepts related to human genetics. It is formatted to require minimal teacher preparation and to make connections with other disciplines, such as mathematics, language arts, and history. Each of the 12 scenes introduces the characters, concepts, and conditions. A box listing specific objectives heads each scene and is followed by background information and the lesson guidelines. The unit contains more than 150 boxed teacher notes that include trivia tidbits, extra information, and teaching suggestions. Questions for discussion, activities for assessment and enrichment, and references follow each scene. In one of the scenes, Paul has a heart attack and is diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). Overheads show the inheritance pattern of autosomal dominant traits, the faulty receptor mechanism resulting from FH, and a comparison of clear versus clogged arteries. Teachers can find background information about aspects of the disease such as its clinical symptoms, pathogenesis, prognosis, and prevalence. The scenario continues with the fact that Paul's late, younger brother had fragile X syndrome and that his two sisters have opposing views about testing for possible genetic disorders. Students are asked if employers should require testing and if Paul's sister should have her blood tested for FH. Suggested research topics include investigating the environmental effects on a person with FH and studying defects caused by abnormal numbers of sex chromosomes. Writing assignments, portfolio projects, enrichment activities, and guest speaker topics extend the discussion about nutrition, cholesterol, and heart disease. A glossary and list of genetics web sites are included.