Dance of the Chromosomes - A Kinetic Learning Approach to Mitosis and Meiosis

Oct 15, 2026

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Understanding mitosis and meiosis is essential for mastering Mendelian inheritance, but many students struggle with these topics. The paper presents a visually and physically engaging kinesthetic activity using minimal supplies to strengthen understanding and retention. Students model mitosis and meiosis as human chromosomes, with an online survey assessing knowledge transfer and collecting qualitative comments. Student survey feedback strongly indicates improved ability to understand and visualize these processes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Methodology & Results

Dance of the Chromosomes I: Mitosis

Dance of the Chromosomes: A Kinetic Learning Approach to Mitosis and Meiosis Brian Kreiser,1* Rosalina Hairston2 1Department of Biological Sciences, Box 5018, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS 39406 [Email: Brian.Kreiser@usm.edu](Email: Brian.Kreiser@usm.edu) 2Department of Biological Sciences, Box 5018,University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS 39406 [Email: Rosalina.Hairston@usm.edu](Email: Rosalina.Hairston@usm.edu) *Corresponding author Abstract: Understanding mitosis and meiosis is fundamental to understanding the basics of Mendelian inheritance, yet many students find these concepts challenging or confusing. Here we present a visually and physically stimulating activity using minimal supplies to supplement traditional instruction in order to engage the students and facilitate understanding and retention of these concepts. This kinesthetic activity has students modeling the events of mitosis and meiosis by acting as human chromosomes. This exercise has been used in a sophomore level genetics class at a state university, but it should also be suitable for high school and introductory college classes. An on-line survey was used as an assessment of transfer of knowledge, and this also allowed students the opportunity to comment on this exercise as a learning experience. While it was difficult to be quantitative in our evaluation of learning, student responses to the survey overwhelmingly characterized the exercise as advancing their ability to understand or visualize the processes of mitosis and meiosis. Keywords: cell division, kinetic learning, meiosis, mitosis Introduction A challenge in any educational endeavor is finding ways to present abstract concepts to students in a manner that makes the ideas more concrete. Biology, and genetics in particular, seems rife with abstract concepts that serve as fundamental building blocks for other topics and are necessary for scientific literacy in today's society. One common approach is to provide students with interactive opportunities to apply knowledge gained from lecture or reading. Following Gardner's ( 1983) concept of multiple intelligences, such a learning approach would tap into an individual's spatial and bodilykinesthetic intelligences. The benefits of externalizing learning in this fashion are widely appreciated in elementary education (Griss, 1994) . Our main objective was to assess the effectiveness of a kinesthetic activity for learning about mitosis and meiosis suitable for upper educational levels in a college genetics course. Several hands-on approaches have already been described (Anderson, 1996; Luinstra, 1996; Chinnici et al. 2004) . The exercise described here takes a slightly different approach in that it requires minimal materials and provides for more interaction between instructor, audience and participants. This exercise was tested on large (80-100 students) college classes in genetics during 2003 and 2004, although this exercise may easily be modified to fit the size and scope of any classroom situation. The exercise was conducted during the recitation session that students voluntarily attend, and we designed an on-line survey to assess transfer of knowledge. On the survey students were asked to identify whether they had observed the exercise, participated in the exercise or had been absent from class. Students then answered one of two sets of questions depending on their attendance, and responses to the open-ended questions were assigned to a generalized category for the purposes of quantification. The mitosis/meiosis section of the students’ exam was used to assess comprehension of the concepts, and scores of students present and absent from class were then compared statistically using SPSS (v. 10.0) . Methodology & Results Student volunteers were solicited to act as chromosomes and illustrate the steps of mitosis and meiosis for a diploid cell. In this case we have set up the exercise to use a

FAQs

What problem does the study address about teaching mitosis and meiosis?

The study addresses that many students find mitosis and meiosis concepts challenging or confusing. It aims to make these abstract processes more concrete through active learning.

How does the kinesthetic activity work?

Students act as human chromosomes to model the events of mitosis and meiosis. The instructor guides the exercise with questions while volunteers and the audience participate.

How was learning improvement assessed?

An online survey assessed transfer of knowledge and allowed students to comment on the learning experience. The mitosis/meiosis section of an exam was also used to compare comprehension between students present and absent, analyzed with SPSS.

Oct 15, 2026

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