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Incorporating a New Bioinformatics Component into Genetics at a Historically Black College: Outcomes and Lessons

J. David Holtzclaw^*, Arri Eisen, Erika M. Whitney^*, Meera Penumetcha^*, J. Joseph Hoey, and K. Sean Kimbro

^* School of Medicine and Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322; Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332; and Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA 30314

Address correspondence to: J. David Holtzclaw (david.holtzclaw1{at}jsc.nasa.gov).

Many students at minority-serving institutions are underexposed to Internet resources such as the human genome project, PubMed, NCBI databases, and other Web-based technologies because of a lack of financial resources. To change this, we designed and implemented a new bioinformatics component to supplement the undergraduate Genetics course at Clark Atlanta University. The outcomes of the Bioinformatics course were assessed. During the first week of the semester, students were assigned the Felder-Soloman's Index of Learning Styles Inventory. The overwhelming majority of students were visual (82.1%) and sequential (75.0%) learners. Furthermore, pre- and postcourse surveys were administered during the first and the last week of the course to assess learning, confidence level, and mental activity. These indicated students increased the number of hours spent using computers and doing homework. Students reported confidence in using computers to study genetics increased, enabling them to better visualize and understand genetics. Furthermore, students were more mentally engaged in a more social learning environment. Although the students appreciated the value of the bioinformatics component, they reported the additional work load was substantial enough to receive additional course credit.