1. A teaching sequence from the A&E unit
Birth
Activity 2: IVF
A teaching sequence from the A&E unit
cracking science!
version 1.0 1

2. 7E Learning Cycle
Chloe and Jack want their child to resemble both of them.
Can you predict what a child will be like?
Jack and Chloe’s options need to be carefully explained.
Does it matter how many embryos they keep?
Which IVF treatment is right for them?
Our features are controlled by the genes we inherit. 2

3. We thought about adopting...
Engage
Elicit
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Extend
Evaluate
We thought about adopting...
..but we really want a child of our own.
Someone who’ll inherit something from each of us.

4. You need to explain Chloe and Jack’s options.
Engage
Elicit
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Extend
Evaluate
You need to explain Chloe and Jack’s options.
They want their baby to look like them…
Elicit students ideas about eggs and sperm
...but can you predict what a child will be like? 4

5. We can offer Chloe and Jack two different treatments. Student Sheet 1
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Extend
Evaluate
Elicit
We can offer Chloe and Jack two different treatments.
Student Sheet 1
They are bound to ask your advice.
OR minutes
Study the options and plan what to say to them. 5

6. Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Extend
Evaluate
Elicit
Their baby will only resemble them both if it gets genes from both of them.
Genes are like recipes. They control your features by telling cells what to do.

7. Each of Jack’s sperm carries half of his genes – a random selection...
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Extend
Evaluate
Elicit
Each of Jack’s sperm carries half of his genes – a random selection...
...and each of Chloe’s eggs carries half of hers.
So their baby gets a full set – a new combination.

8. ...so their baby would inherit many features they don’t have.
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Extend
Evaluate
Elicit
Chloe and Jack could choose some of a sperm donor‘s features, but we have 23,000 genes...
...so their baby would inherit many features they don’t have.

9. Six weeks later Engage Explore Explain Elaborate Extend Evaluate
Elicit
Six weeks later 9

10. Six of our embryos are growing.
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Extend
Evaluate
Elicit
I’m so excited!
ICSI is working for us.
Six of our embryos are growing. 10

11. We must decide how many embryos to put into Chloe’s uterus.
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Extend
Evaluate
Elicit
We must decide how many embryos to put into Chloe’s uterus.
What could happen if we implant too many?
Elicit students ideas about multiple pregnancies 11

12. We’ve kept detailed records from previous patients.
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Extend
Evaluate
Elicit
Student Sheet 2
We’ve kept detailed records from previous patients.
See if the evidence backs up your ideas...
...and work out what to say to Chloe and Jack. 12

13. Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Extend
Evaluate
Elicit
Every baby is different. Their features depend on the genes they inherit.
But they only reach their full potential when they get enough nutrients and oxygen. 13

14. Single babies can be small, but the average triplet is smaller.
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Extend
Evaluate
Elicit
Single babies can be small, but the average triplet is smaller.
Their genes can’t make them larger when they share a uterus because they can’t get any more nutrients. 14

15. Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Extend
Evaluate
Elicit
The more babies Chloe has at once, the greater the risk of health problems.
Things that change the way genes work are called environmental factors. 15

16. Make a leaflet they can take home.
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Extend
Evaluate
Elicit
Fertility treatment is stressful. Patients often forget what we’ve told them.
Make a leaflet they can take home.
Explain how genes and environmental factors decide what their baby will be like, and what difference it would make if they used a donor’s egg, sperm or embryo. 16

17. Picture credits Picture Slide Credit
Background /10 Alice Elizabeth Still
Background onwards Doug Lee 17