The 1997 Woodrow Wilson Biology Institute Home Page

Life Cycles: Reproduction and Embryological Development

Newly
Hatched
Curriculum
Materials

Our Mascot..... Eggbert

"Hatched" by the 1997 Woodrow Wilson Biology Institute

Procaryotic "Proto Sex" Gametogenesis and Fertilization Embryogenesis Life Cycles Embryology Enhancement Activities

Our Process and Purpose

Since reproduction is one of the defining characteristics of life, it is no surprise that many serious problems we living things face are associated with reproduction: population growth, infertility problems, sexually transmitted diseases, birth defects, plagues and epidemics to name just a few. At the same time, many of the aspects of our world that we most enjoy are also associated with reproduction: flowers, fruit, new babies and the song of birds for instance. So reproduction and embryological development are subjects that matter and subjects that belong in the biology curriculum.

We teachers who participated in the 1997 Woodrow Wilson National Leadership Institute in Biology had the fantastic opportunity to spend four weeks interacting with each other and thinking about ways of bringing the teaching of this subject to life. In a way, the process was a little like embryological development itself. Each of us came to the institute as a unique combination of ideas and experiences, full of potential, not unlike the unique collection of genes and cytoplasm that characterize gametes. Our interactions with each other fertilized a creative process of talking, experimenting, thinking and arguing through which a variety of ideas for teaching grew and developed, much as the form of an embryo unfolds in development. Finally, with a lot of help from our technology directors and HTML we've been able to give birth to this collection.

The collection is not meant to be a systematic course on reproduction and embryological development. Instead it is an offering of ideas to make a course alive. There are games here and laboratory experiences, lists of books and web sites with further information, ideas for capturing students' attention and simulations of developmental processes. Underlying it all is a regard for getting students involved in their own learning and a conviction that our wonderfully diverse array of students calls for an equally diverse collection of approaches to learning. Take what you want; modify it to meet your needs. We hope you'll enjoy using some of this material as much as we've enjoyed putting it together.

Donald Cronkite
Academic Director