Reebops Nursery (gender-inclusive Genetics of independent assortment)

Gender-inclusive simulation of independent assortment for a genetics or evolution lesson. Adapted from slides created by Laura Funk (staff profile page) by modifying “mom” to egg-giver and “dad” to sperm-giver. Can also serve as model for discussion about mutations, epigenetics, evolution, chromosomes, alleles, nondisjunction. See also Teach.Genetics.Utah.edu's paper-based activities. See steps below and the questions for the assessment at the end. (Originally published here in 3/17/21.)

NGSS Works towards HS-LS3-1. Follow up with meiosis and HS-LS3-2.

Step 1: Flip a coin and highlight the capital or lowercase letter for that row.

Step 2: Combine the results from Step 1 to create a genotype (two letters).

Step 3: Use the third slide to decode the phenotype.

Step 4: Build the reebop based on the phenotype.

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Assessment: Answer the questions in the Google Form.

0. Attach completed Reebops Nursery from your Drive.

1. Name your Reebop

2. What do you think each letter represents in the model?

3. What do you think combining the letters represents in the model?

4. All models are wrong. Some models are useful. What are some things missing from this model? List as many as you can think of.

5. Gametes (egg & sperm cells) contain 1 pair of chromosomes (n = haploid), the other body cells contain 2 pairs of chromosomes (2n=diploid). Is your baby reebop haploid or diploid?

NSTA Engage: Spring21 Session (Online)

We are excited to present our session "Gender-Inclusive Biology Curriculum: Small Tweaks and Big Shifts” at the NSTA Engage Spring21 Conference. Ours is a live session on May 6, 2021, 06:30 PM - 07:15 PM Eastern time.

NEA LGBTQ+ Caucus Rainbow Series Webinar

We are excited to give our webinar "Gender Diversity in the Biology Classroom" as part of the NEA LGBTQ+ Caucus’ Rainbow Series. This even is scheduled for Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 4:30 pm Pacific time.

The LGBTQ+ Caucus is the voice of the LGBTQ+ community within the National Education Association.

Queer Friendly Science: How to Teach Genetics While Affirming Student Identity

In this blog post, Ariel Heyman shares a five-step strategy to teach genetics while protecting and affirming student identity.

Science Educators for Equity, Diversity, and Social Justice (SEEDS) Conference (Online)

We are excited to present our session "Gender Diversity in the Biology Classroom" at the SEEDS 2021 Conference. SEEDS is a fantastic organization of equity-focused science education, and the conference is free with membership in the organization.

Northwest Conference on Teaching for Social Justice 2020 (Online)

We are excited to return to the Northwest Conference on Teaching for Social Justice for a second year presenting "Gender Diversity in the Biology Classroom: Small Tweaks and Big Shifts".

Colorado Science Conference 2020 (Online)

We are returning to the Colorado Science Conference for a second year presenting "Gender Diversity in the Biology Classroom: Small Tweaks and Big Shifts". Our session takes place at 2:00 pm Mountain time on Saturday, November 14, 2020.

Kansas Association of Biology Teachers 2020 Conference (Online)

We will be part of a fantastic lineup of virtual workshops at the KABT 2020 Online Conference. Our presentation "Gender Diversity in the Biology Classroom" will begin at 10:50 am Central time on Saturday, September 12, 2020.. You can access event info, our slide deck, and the video from our presentation below.

National Association of Biology Teachers 2020 Conference (Online)

We have the privilege of delivering a virtual workshop at the NABT 2020 Online Conference. Our presentation "Gender Diversity in the Biology Classroom" is at 2:00 pm Eastern time on Friday, November 6, 2020. You can access event info, our slide deck, and the video from our presentation below.

Gender Spectrum Online Professionals' Symposium 2020

We are so excited to give a virtual workshop at Gender Spectrum’s Professional Symposium. Our presentation is titled "Gender Diversity in the Biology Classroom: Small Tweaks and Big Shifts". You can access event info, our slide deck, and the video from our presentation below.

Time to Thrive - Presentation Materials

We are so excited to give a presentation at Time to Thrive 2020 in Washington, D.C. You can access our slide deck, with linked resources, below.

Lab Out Loud: Strategies for Gender Inclusivity in Teaching Biology

The hosts of Lab Out Loud Podcast were very interested to hear from Sam and Lewis about our science-specific strategies for gender inclusion. Thanks, Brian and Dale, for having us on the show!

Sexing skeletons: the biology of sex, gender, and the incredible diversity of human biology

In this blog post, Gender-Inclusive Biology contributor Lewis Maday-Travis shares a presentation he created to wrap-up a unit on the skeletal system. The presentation focuses on the science of the intersex experience and nonbinary identity, both of which are supported by scientific research yet frequently erased in public discourse.

“What Makes a Baby”: 8th grade edition!

In this blog post, Gender Inclusive Biology contributor Lewis-Maday Travis discusses how he adapted a gender-inclusive reproduction picture book for his 8th grade students. He also discusses student-created language to describe a person who contributes an egg or a sperm to create a new human.

Framework for Creating or Adapting Gender-Inclusive Biology Curriculum

Sam wrote this framework article for The Assembly: A Journal for Public Scholarship on Education. The framework describes five components of a gender-inclusive biology curriculum that can be used to adapt any existing curriculum. The article also includes reflections on the classroom implementation of each framework component.

Gender Reveal Episode 54: Sam Long

Host Molly Woodstock and guest host Z Griffler hosted Sam on their award-winning podcast Gender Reveal. Thanks, Molly and Z, for having us on the show and for funding the grant to support our work!

In this week’s episode, guest host Z Griffler (they/them) speaks with Gender Reveal grant winner Sam Long (he/him), a high school biology teacher working to make science classes more diverse, accurate and inclusive. Topics include:

- What most high school biology classes get wrong
- Becoming the first trans astronaut
- Queering curriculums (through animal mating rituals)
- How being gay could help a population(!)
- Finding trans Nemo?!?

Ethical Schools: "Gender Inclusivity: Where Science and Ethics Intersect"

Jon Moscow and Amy Halpern-Laff host a podcast called Ethical Schools Podcast, and they recently spoke with us about gender inclusivity in biology curriculum. Thanks, Jon and Amy, for hosting us and elevating this developing area of education. And thanks for having helpful timestamps and transcripts of all your episodes.

We speak with high school science teachers and trans men, Sam Long and Lewis Maday-Travis, who have developed resources and trainings to help biology teachers develop gender-inclusive curricula.  Science tells us that sexual and gender diversity is both normal and positive.  

Disrupt Education #118: Gender-Inclusive Biology

Peter Hostrawser hosts a podcast called Disrupt Education, and recently spoke with us about growing a gender-inclusive biology curriculum. Thanks Peter, for hosting us and for helping spread the word about our developing work. ● Visit Peter’s website at https://www.disrupteducation.co to see more of his work in education.

Sam Long (he/him) and River Suh (they/them or he/him) are science teachers in Colorado and San Francisco respectively.  They have a unique focus on gender-inclusive biology content. This means teaching topics like genetics, reproduction, and evolution in ways that affirm rather than omit or marginalize LGBTQ+ identities. The are a part of a group with one other trans science teacher who have been doing this work in their classrooms for many years. Recently they began training other teachers and publishing essays, and compiling web resources (in progress) on this topic. They are experts in this emerging area of education. River and Sam  talk about the need for diverse and accurate biology curriculum, how it benefits all students, and how it looks in practice.

Gender-inclusive Biology curriculum, research, advocacy resources, and newsletter https://www.genderinclusivebiology.com/

Check out Sam and Lewis' workshops at HRC Time To Thrive (February 14-16, 2020) http://timetothrive.org/agenda/schedule and the NSTA National Conference (April 2-5, 2020) https://s6.goeshow.com/nsta/national/2020/overview.cfm

6 Ways I Make My Science Class LGBTQ-Inclusive as a Trans Teacher

In this article for GLSEN, Lewis Maday-Travis offers six high-impact ways to include LGBTQ students in science class.

LGBTQ inclusion in Educator preparation: getting ready for gender and sexual diversity in secondary school settings

In this Ph.D. dissertation, M. H. Hoelscher, discusses findings on possibilities for LGBTQ inclusion in life science educator preparation programs. Hoelscher suggests ways to integrate LGBTQ topics in many areas of biology curriculum, and reports on a multiple-case study of how science teacher candidates adopt LGBTQ inclusion.