Int. J. Dev. Biol. 47: 135 - 140 (2003)
Special Issue: Teaching Developmental Biology
Student-oriented learning: an inquiry-based developmental biology lecture course
Published: 1 January 2003
Abstract
In this junior-level undergraduate course, developmental life cycles exhibited by various organisms are reviewed, with special attention--where relevant--to the human embryo. Morphological features and processes are described and recent insights into the molecular biology of gene expression are discussed. Ways are studied in which model systems, including marine invertebrates, amphibia, fruit flies and other laboratory species are employed to elucidate general principles which apply to fertilization, cleavage, gastrulation and organogenesis. Special attention is given to insights into those topics which will soon be researched with data from the Human Genome Project. The learning experience is divided into three parts: Part I is a <