Genetic Literacy of Undergraduate Non–Science Majors and the Impact of Introductory Biology and Genetics Courses

With the advancement of genetic information and technologies, there is an increasing need for a genetically literate public. This study looks critically at student learning and at the current instruction of genetics in introductory non-science major biology and genetics courses at the undergraduate level. A new diagnostic tool, the Genetic Literacy Assessment Instrument, was administered pre- and postcourse to more than 300 students in six introductory nonmajor courses that emphasize genetics to varying degrees. Current data from students in these courses show a precourse average score of 43 percent correct on the inventory. Postcourse scores increased only modestly, to an average of 49 percent. In this article, we discuss the impact of teaching methods and course content on scores, as well as student learning in the different content areas of genetics. The results suggest that further studies in genetics education are needed to better understand the effect of teaching methods on achieving genetic literacy.