Who said science can’t be fun?
Not Pam Engel.
Engel, chairwoman of the science department at Glen Burnie High School, became one of the first teachers in the nation to successfully complete the Geneticist-Educator Network of Alliances certification.
To earn the certification, Engel was paired with geneticist Dr. Julie Hoover-Fong, of the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore City, to study how students can understand genetics better, she said.
“It’s a national certification, but it’s not necessary for teaching,” said Engel, an 11-year teacher at the Anne Arundel school.
In her team, Engel helped design materials to better prepare students to create, analyze and form conclusions from the topic of family pedigrees with the goal of helping them more easily grasp the complex subject of genetics.
“This is very exciting for me, and I have great hopes that it will help my students as they learn about genetics,” said Engel of Linthicum. “By first engaging the students with their own family pedigree, they can better understand how their traits were inherited.”
She examined state and national science standards and identified topics most difficult for students to comprehend.
The selected topic was one the team found difficult to teach and usually avoided or a topic they usually teach in a standard lecture format but would prefer to present it with a different focus.
“Her work will be disseminated nationally through various channels as it provides a unique and valuable resource for students to better understand the nature of genetics,” said Dr. Michael Dougherty, director of education for the American Society of Human Genetics, in a statement.
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