Pharyngula::Make-or-break week in Genetics

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Monday, January 31, 2005

Make-or-break week in Genetics

PZ Myers • 47 Comments (last page)

This is probably the most critical week in the semester for my genetics class. Genetics is a peculiar course to teach: it's one long logic problem, and I can recognize three kinds of student responses. One group will "get" it early on, and the course becomes an easy exercise thereafter, with lots of details to learn but the foundation is relatively obvious. Another group will struggle with the concepts, but will persevere by the brute force method of working ten times harder than everyone else. It's painful to watch these students beat their brains out doing every possible permutation of a problem and committing it to memory, rather than just catching the basic idea. And the third group won't get the concepts either, but their response is to give up and flounder through the tests, doing poorly all the way.

What makes it even harder for me is that I was definitely in that first group when I first learned genetics, and after years of doing this stuff, I can just look at a problem, and it's obvious how to solve it in my head—and there's that group of students who similarly see how straightforward it is, and get bored if I don't zip through it. This is the week in my syllabus where we first go through this experience, as I lead them through the logic of Mendel's experiments with pea plants. I know that if a student doesn't catch on to concepts here, they're in big trouble for the rest of the term—if they don't see the elegance of a simple monohybrid cross, they're doomed when I throw a linked dihybrid cross with epigenetic interactions at them later—but the more lightbulbs that come on this week, the more pressure there is to move on and leave the stragglers behind.

Anyway, it's going to be a strange, strange week when all I'm thinking about for my class is pedagogy, and the content is stuff I can do in my sleep. And the labs are all probability and statistics and coin flips and coming up with chi-square measures for the distribution of class properties. This must be what it's like to be a math professor teaching calculus.

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Comments:

#14820: paperwight — 01/31 at 11:45 AM
I TA'd a couple classes with a strong mathematical/logical bent a long time ago, and noticed the same type of thing: about 20% got the material right away and needn't have bothered coming to class again except for tests, about 70% just bulled their way through with lots of work, and about 10% just couldn't get it no matter how hard they and I tried (and in most cases, both they and I tried very hard indeed).

Of course, your percentages are probably different -- genetics is harder than the introductory classes I was involved in.

#14821: — 01/31 at 11:45 AM
Your last 3 posts involve: (a) your class, (b) your son's play and (c) a mildly amusing parable on creationist plumbing.

Is there a reason, you are consciously ignoring the momentous Iraq democratic election?

#14823: paperwight — 01/31 at 12:12 PM
RNC talking point troll alert! The memo came out this morning, and off they go!

#14824: — 01/31 at 12:16 PM
Paperwight,

Do good scientists attack motivations, or do they answer questions?

Are you saying that ignoring the events in Iraq is the proper course of action?

Moreover, if the elections turned out terrible, excessive violence, poor voter participation, would you have ignored it then? I think not.

#14826: — 01/31 at 12:29 PM
Dr. Meyers, I notice you also haven't mentioned squid reproduction in several posts. Should we take that as a sign that you don't care about squids and no longer believe in their reproduction?

#14827: — 01/31 at 12:35 PM
Well, I enjoy witty responses by anonymous folks like the next guy -- but, I'm curious why Dr. Myers is conspicously silent on this topic that he has written so eloquently about in the past.

Surely, Dr. Myers has an opinion on the events these past 2 days in Iraq. What is it?

#14830: PZ Myers — 01/31 at 01:01 PM
As you might guess from this post, I'm also particularly busy with classes right now, and I simply haven't been posting as much lately.

I haven't said anything about this issue because I'm not particularly concerned about it. It's good that the elections have gone relatively smoothly (note the "relatively"; you do know there were quite a few deaths and various incidents that would have motivated headlines about "elections marred by extreme violence" if they'd occurred here.) It just doesn't mean much, yet. Let's see what happens when there aren't a 100,000 armed soldiers making sure the place doesn't fall apart.

What exactly did you expect me to say?

PZ Myers
Division of Science and Math
University of Minnesota, Morris

#14831: PZ Myers — 01/31 at 01:02 PM
Shorter PZ: I don't believe the election is "momentous."

PZ Myers
Division of Science and Math
University of Minnesota, Morris

#14833: — 01/31 at 01:15 PM
As you might guess from this post, I’m also particularly busy with classes right now, and I simply haven’t been posting as much lately.

Well, you had sufficient time to regale us with your son's haircut and nice play at school.

I haven’t said anything about this issue because I’m not particularly concerned about it.

What? You've posted numerous times on the war. You cited the study that 100,000 civilians in Iraq were killed. You've posted extensively that a primary reason not to support George Bush, is due to his policy in Iraq.

And, now, when democratic elections are held by courageous people, in the face of grave threats from Zarqawi and Baathists, you are suddenly silent?

It’s good that the elections have gone relatively smoothly (note the “relatively”; you do know there were quite a few deaths and various incidents that would have motivated headlines about “elections marred by extreme violence” if they’d occurred here.)

I see, "Relatively smoothly." But isn't that an understatement? That this country -- oppressed by Saddam Hussein since 1968 -- even had elections (with a 60% voter turn-out, I might add) is a monumental achievement.

You prefer democracy over totalitarianism, correct? So, why not be happy about it?

It just doesn’t mean much, yet. Let’s see what happens when there aren’t a 100,000 armed soldiers making sure the place doesn’t fall apart.

True, it isn't sufficient, but it damn well is necessary. But, this is non-sensical, you want our troops to leave, so therefore, having the place "fall apart" isn't high on your list of preferences.

What exactly did you expect me to say?

Something coherent on this important event.

#14834: — 01/31 at 01:17 PM

It’s good that the elections have gone relatively smoothly...

Admit it, PZ.

You and the rest of your Atheist Marxist Evolutionist buddies were just praying for thousands of Iraqis to die in the elections - just to make ~~Jesus~~ George W. Bush appear incompetent.

Silly liberals. When will they learn that each dead Iraqi is one small step towards salvation?

Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

-Jerry Garcia

#14835: PZ Myers — 01/31 at 01:20 PM
Like I said, I don't find it momentous. That it is "important" is just another right-wing talking point; I am glad that it wasn't the trigger for a horrible disaster, but the only thing that makes it significant is that the Bushites set the bar so low. Don't expect me to applaud when they clear a trivial hurdle.

PZ Myers
Division of Science and Math
University of Minnesota, Morris

#14837: — 01/31 at 01:23 PM
Phase 1: Ignore momentous event
Phase 2: Flunkies attack motives
Phase 3: Begruding acknowledgement, but pointed understatement.
Phase 4: Flunkies try sarcasm
Phase 5: A cartoon thread from a person who claims to be very busy.

Looking forward to phases 6-10

#14838: — 01/31 at 01:28 PM
Don’t expect me to applaud when they clear a trivial hurdle.

The election is Iraq is now a "trivial hurdle." I see.

My reaction is twofold:
1. You are clueless on foreign affairs
2. Unless somewhere on your vast blog you can show me where you stated a priori that the election, regardless of outcome, was merely a "trivial hurdle," then you are a dishonest scientist, too.

I'm done.

#14840: PZ Myers — 01/31 at 01:41 PM
I didn't say anything one way or the other anywhere here. I simply don't think it is a big deal: has anything changed? Is Iraq peaceful now? Have our soldiers stopped dying? Have we stopped bombing?

Like I said, it's a small step on the road and I'm happy that it didn't turn into chaos. But that's all. Give it a few months, and if there are indications that it was a significant turning point, then I'll say something.

Until then, though, all it was was an opportunity for Republican propaganda.

PZ Myers
Division of Science and Math
University of Minnesota, Morris

#14842: — 01/31 at 01:48 PM
Dennis Stark wrote:

My reaction is twofold:
1. You are clueless on foreign affairs
2. Unless somewhere on your vast blog you can show me where you stated a priori that the election, regardless of outcome, was merely a “trivial hurdle,” then you are a dishonest scientist, too.

hurm....

I guess it is now time to invade Cuba, North Korea, Libya, Saudi Arabia, China, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc. etc. ad finitum so that we can get "free" elections there as well...

#14844: Chris Clarke — 01/31 at 02:32 PM
Mr. Stark;

I see that you have plenty of time to post comments criticizing Dr. Myers on his choice of posting material, and yet you do not see fit to make one statement criticizing the ongoing tragedy in Darfur.

I can only conclude that you do not find the deaths of dark-skinned people important enough to comment upon.

"I do not think we should antagonize the religious when it is not warranted, though I think we should be willing to do so whenever it is.”
-- Glen Davidson

#14845: paperwight — 01/31 at 02:49 PM
I too am shocked that Mr. Stark has time to take all of us to task, while ignoring the shameful treatment of women in our ally Saudi Arabia and the boiling alive of political dissidents in our ally Uzbekistan. By his failure to comment on those topics, I guess we know that he's pro-chador and pro-boiling.

And I am *not* a flunky. I am a minion. There's a difference.

PZ, is Stark your regularly assigned winger talking point troll, or is he a newly assigned winger talking point troll?

#14848: — 01/31 at 03:31 PM
Back to the subject, Have you considered playing cards instead of coin flipping to illustrate the problem?

#14852: Mrs Tilton — 01/31 at 04:22 PM
PZ, nicely handled, but perhaps you have allowed your role as host to blunt your weapon. Allow me (unbound by any duty of politeness) to help you here.

Mr Stark: kindly f*ck off.

(Oh, and for the record: the election in Iraq, though not without problems, went off better than I think anybody could reasonably have expected. And I think everybody here, whatever their views, sees this as a good thing. We're not pleased to see Iraqis have their heads chopped off by madmen, you see. But, as PZ said, it's a good start. Let's see how things turn out, why don't we, before declaring Democracy and going, according to one's preferences, home or on to Iran.

(Further for the record: I am appalled that Stark has failed so conspicuously to comment on the opening of the Michael Jackson trial, on the distressingly narrow lead of FC Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga table, and on the shocking fact that amazon.com does not provide a wee picture of the latest Adam Green LP to go into my sidebar list.)

(Finally, and also for the record: dickhead.)

#14854: PZ Myers — 01/31 at 04:47 PM
Well done!

PZ Myers
Division of Science and Math
University of Minnesota, Morris

#14855: PZ Myers — 01/31 at 04:49 PM
Gee, but a brief comment about academic matters sure took a strange turn, didn't it?

PZ Myers
Division of Science and Math
University of Minnesota, Morris

#14856: Les Lane — 01/31 at 04:53 PM
Since I've taught genetics years ago I've reflected on several things. Firstly the wonder of how phenotypes can disappear and then reappear. Mendel appears to be the first to have enlightening thoughts on the matter. Secondly I've wondered how Mendel found so many single gene phenotypes. Recognizing these to be useful tools was a major insight.

For inheritance you might give students cutouts with shapes resembling phenotypes and black for dominant, white for recessive. This might make alleles more accessible to Homo concretus.

The story of how William Bateson read descriptions of Mendel's work on the train on his way to a horticulture meeting in London is inspiring.

#14857: RPM — 01/31 at 05:26 PM
Avoiding the Iraqi elections (and staying more on topic):

What makes it even harder for me is that I was definitely in that first group when I first learned genetics, and after years of doing this stuff, I can just look at a problem, and it’s obvious how to solve it in my head—and there’s that group of students who similarly see how straightforward it is, and get bored if I don’t zip through it.

I'm suprised that you still remember what type of student you were in your introductory genetics course. I took my intro genetics course about six years ago, and all I can remember is going through boatloads of trihybrid crosses. I've never taught an introductory genetics course, but I do see similar patterns when trying to teach basic mendelian gentics in an intro biology course.

You start to see it more, however, in upper level courses (such as Population Genetics) that require even more computational skills. A lot of students complain that they got into biology because they liked science, but didn't want to do math. Boy are they disappointed when they must learn simple evolutionary theory (e.g., Hardy-Weinberg) or Mendelian genetics. It's seems like a lot of them just have a math phobia -- once you show them how simple the mathematics is, they seem to be able to pick up the broader concepts.

#14858: — 01/31 at 05:42 PM
Adding to Mrs. Tilton's glorious thrashing, if I may...

Stark has failed so conspicuously to comment on the opening of the Michael Jackson trial...

Hey, yeah!

Hmmm. Stark also didn't bother to mention the Catholic Church's (representatives there of) sexual misconduct towards young boys.

Why is it that you righties just stick your heads in the sand when it comes to pedophilia?

Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

-Jerry Garcia

#14859: — 01/31 at 05:56 PM
Adding to Mrs. Tilton’s glorious thrashing, if I may…

Yes, some potty-mouthed, mother-in-law, came to defend his honor, when he himself could not. Yes, well done. A profile in courage.

Do you think Mrs. Tilton would talk to that way to me in person? I doubt it.

Professor Myers, why not ask your flunkies not to chime in on important matters, so that you can answer the charge, yourself.

I apologize for stating earlier that "I was done." I did not think that cowardly third parties would try to slander me, after my departure, with trivial, snotty observations.

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Monday, January 31, 2005

Make-or-break week in Genetics

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