Project Overview

These modules--microlearning experiences and modules for a whole unit--reimagine high school genetics education by centering cultural identity and challenging colonial narratives of indigenous "extinction." Through interactive data visualization, bilingual scaffolds, and formative assessments with rich feedback, students explore how their mitochondrial DNA carries stories of survival, resistance, and belonging.

Target Audience:
High school biology students (grades 9-11), with particular attention to English Language Learners, recent arrivals,
and refugee populations, Spanish Language Learners.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain maternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA

• Interpret genetic data from Martínez-Cruzado's research on indigenous ancestry in Puerto Rico

• Analyze how scientific evidence challenges colonial extinction narratives

• Connect molecular biology concepts to personal and cultural identity

Standards Alignment:
North Carolina Biology Standards (LS.Bio.6.1-6.2, LS.Bio.7.3, LS.Bio.8.1-8.2); NGSS HS-LS3-1, HS-LS3-3

Key Design Features

Interactive Data Visualization

Interactive map exploring Martínez-Cruzado's mtDNA research across Puerto Rico. Students click regional markers to discover haplogroup distribution and indigenous ancestry data. Jayuya shows 73% Haplogroup A—the highest Native American mitochondrial DNA concentration in the study. This design choice transforms abstract genetic data into geographically anchored, meaningful information.

Multimodal Bilingual Learning Pathways

Formative Assessment with Scaffolded Feedback

Knowledge checks use culturally relevant scenarios (María and Carlos) to teach maternal mtDNA inheritance. Incorrect answers trigger detailed explanations connecting molecular biology to ancestry research—scaffolding understanding rather than penalizing mistakes. Feedback names the science ("mitochondrial DNA is inherited ONLY from the mother") and explains why this matters for tracing ancestry through "an unbroken MATERNAL line."

Design Principles

• Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Multiple means of representation (text, audio, video, interactive graphics), engagement (identity prompts, cultural relevance, choice), and action/expression (voice, text, visual responses)

• DEIJ Integration: Centers indigenous knowledge, challenges colonial historiography through genetic evidence, validates students' cultural identities as epistemological resources

• Bilingual by Design: Spanish and English are not hierarchical—both languages carry full scientific accuracy and cultural authenticity. Avoids deficit framing of "English learners"

• Formative Assessment as Learning: Feedback functions as a teaching moment. Wrong answers reveal misconceptions that the system addresses immediately with accessible explanations

• Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: Uses learner persona composite based on past professional experiences, ensuring design decisions account for recent arrivals, trauma-informed practice, and linguistic diversity

LXD/ID Competencies demonstrated

• Learning Theories Application: Constructivism through identity-first prompts ("If your DNA could tell a story, what would it say?"); Socioculturalism by treating students' cultural knowledge as funds of knowledge, not deficits to remediate

• Inclusive Design: Multilingual scaffolds without simplification; multimodal pathways for diverse processing styles; accessible navigation with keyboard compatibility and screen reader support; predictable structure to reduce cognitive load

• Technology Integration: Articulate Rise 360 for responsive design; embedded interactive maps; YouTube integration with captions; audio narration layers; formative assessments with branching logic

• Research-Informed Practice: Module built on peer-reviewed research (Martínez-Cruzado, 2002) and Quality Learning & Teaching (QLT) Rubric standards for online course design

• Design Documentation: Comprehensive learner persona (Jeremith S.), accessibility checklists aligned to WCAG 2.1 guidelines, standards mapping to NC Biology and NGSS, pedagogical rationale grounded in UDL and critical pedagogy frameworks. 

Why This Project Matters

After close to 20 years teaching Biology and AP Bio in multiple communities (PR, NY, NC), I witnessed brilliant students—refugees, recent arrivals, ELLs, AP Biology learners—excluded from science because curricula treated their languages and cultures as obstacles rather than assets. This module exists because students like my composite persona previewed here, deserve to see their mitochondria as carriers of stories worth studying.

When we teach "indigenous boricuas are are extinct" while genetic data shows 52.6% of Puerto Ricans carry indigenous maternal DNA, we're not teaching biology—we're teaching erasure. This project demonstrates that instructional design is political. Every scaffold, every image choice, every bilingual toggle is a decision about whose knowledge counts and who belongs in science.

These modules have been designed for classroom implementation with embedded accessibility features, downloadable lesson plans, and alignment to state standards—because theory without practice is just academic performance.

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