I:DNA - Embedding Public Engagement into your Teaching
Background
I:DNA is a Wellcome Trust funded project that was created to engage the public with research led by Professor Felicity Boardman, in conjunction with Dr Corinna Clark, at Warwick Medical School. The research explores the experiences of people living with inherited conditions and their attitudes towards genetic medicine.
This video provides an overview of the art installation produced to explore these themes. You can read more about the project as a whole here.
Embedding Public Engagement in your Teaching:
During the tour, a visit to I:DNA was incorporated into the IATL module ‘Genetics and Society’. A minibus was arranged to bring the students to Millennium Point and they heard a talk from Felicity on the research and I:DNA’s role and purpose. Esther and Felicity also gave a talk to Nottingham’s Maternity Research group about I:DNA and how art and research can be successfully combined to engage the public in research.
Despite the tour ending, we have continued to use our online I:DNA resources for teaching within the University and beyond. The sculpture, with the video/soundscape (and links to the I:DNA webpages), currently situated in a prominent position in a multi-disciplinary teaching and research building (IBRB), will continue to act as a physical stimulus to prompt discussion and learning around the topic of genetics.
The local primary school we visited for the craft workshop has also continued to utilise the genetics teaching resources we developed.