Project Related:

Educational Resources

  • Teacher Workshops

    Grade:
    Resource: professional development

  • Equipment Loans

    Grade:
    Resource: lending labs

  • Curricula/Literature

    Grade:
    Resource: Biomedical and Biotechnological curriculum

institution image

Biotech for Students & Teachers - Phase II

Grant Code: R25RR022695

Funding Years: 09/23/2005 - 08/31/2008

Institution: Bridgewater State College (BSC)

Department: Dept of Biological Sciences

Address:
Conant Science Building, 24 Park Ave.
Bridgewater, MA, 02325

PI:
CARSON, MICHAEL J.,
Phone: (508) 531-2090
Fax:
Email: mjcarson@bridgew.edu

OTHER CONTACT:
KREVOSKY, MERIDETH,
Phone:
Fax:
Email: mkrevosky@bridgew.edu

OTHER CONTACT:
JAHODA, JOHN,
Phone: (508) 531-1358 EXT 2088
Fax: (508) 531-1785
Email: jjahoda@bridgew.edu

URL: http://webhost.bridgew.edu/citylab
Audience

Students (Grades 6 - 12) and their Teachers; College and Community

Subjects Addressed

Biomedical and Biotechnological -Hands-on- Laboratory Modules; Professional Development for In-Service and Pre-service Teachers in Inquiry-based Science; Community Outreach in Biotechnology and Healthrelated Issues.

Project Description

1) Give Schools -Ownership- of Successful Modules: Working with teachers and curriculum supervisors, modules from Whale of a Mystery and other existing programs are being adapted for in-school use. 2) Provide Professional Development: Graduate level courses and workshops focus on the enhanced science content and laboratory techniques pertinent to the modules. 3) Engage Pre-service Teachers: Pre-service teachers gain experience in delivery of inquiry-based science. Opportunities include observation at BSC CityLab, visiting as part of a required science methods class, or through the migration of CityLab-developed modules to College-level Biology Courses. 4) Build the Lending Lab Program: Equipment and supplies are provided to participating schools along with technical assistance through phone, email and visits by our staff to the classrooms. 5) Build Infrastructure within the College: Growth of a new Center for the Advancement of Science Exploration (CASE), housing BSC CityLab, will help develop long-term sustainability of programs developed through this NIH grant. 6) Engage Community through an Annual Conference: Annual conference to raise the profile of CASE and promote outreach on health and biotechnological advances within the community of educators, high school students and the general public.

Resources for Sharing

1) Science Modules with Timetable and Technical Preparation Notes: Modules include Whale of a Mystery a weeklong whale forensics unit and the four-hour modules Lab Larceny, a DNA forensics module, and Chances Are?, a genetic counseling module that is a follow-up to the BUSM CityLab-s Mystery of the Crooked Cell. 2) Science Modules Adapted for In-school Use: Modules being developed during Phase II will include information as above but also lesson objectives, open-response and validated content tests and supplemental activities in science, E/LA and math, and be tied to Massachusetts State frameworks and National Science Standards.

Dissemination Strategies

Phase II dissemination is the collaborative movement of successful science modules into partnering schools with development of an ongoing Lending Lab and support structure through CASE, including professional development, technical assistance and web resources to make the curriculum available and to connect the teaching community.

Abstract

Biotech for Students and Teachers Phase II expands the partnerships and dissemination of curricula and activities developed in Phase I. Through BSC CityLab's programs, over 9,000 students and 300 teachers, representing more than 20 school districts in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island were served. Phase I of the project was built upon an existing partnership between Bridgewater State College (BSC), Boston University School of Medicine CityLab, the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District, and Brockton Public Schools. Phase II expands the partnerships to several other schools throughout Massachusetts which will participate in adapting the following curricula into in-school thematic investigations: 1) Whale of a Mystery, a forensic mystery that engages middle school children in biotechnology and the process of inquiry through an interdisciplinary approach toward education; 2) Lab Larceny, A DNA fingerprinting module for high school students; and 3) Chances Are, a genetics module which targets high school students. Phase II goals are: 1) to increase the dissemination of existing curricula, and 2) establish long-term sustainability for BSC CityLab programs. Increased dissemination will occur by adapting curricular units from Whale of a Mystery for use directly in the schools. Support for these units will be provided through professional development and lending labs. Increased dissemination will also occur by working with Brockton Public Schools, a long-standing partner, in a new capacity. BSC CityLab materials Lab Larceny and Chances Are, and other materials obtained through the Citylab and SEPA networks, will be developed to serve the needs of Brockton High School students through after-school programs that focus on science experiments, mentoring experiences, health topics, and careers in biomedicine and biotechnology. Plans for long-term sustainability for BSC CityLab include institutionalization of BSC CityLab within the administrative structure of the ollege, an entity defined as a center, and varied fundraising initiatives. The Phase II project will support these efforts at building a self-sustaining program by building a lending lab inventory that will be made available to schools for many years into the future and developing an annual conference that will raise the profile of BSC CityLab within the biotechnical and biomedical business communities. Health topics of current interest addressed through this initiative will include: 1) the process of informed consent and its application to genetic tests, 2) human genetic variation and its relationship to race and medicine. These will be discussed through the afterschool programs, and further developed through the annual conference, in which keynote speakers and other speakers and facilitators will develop the ethical, legal, and educational ramifications of these topics.

Keywords

biotechnology, inquiry, professional development, laboratory modules, middle school summer science program, lending labs, curriculum development, teacher confidence biomedical science interest, science literacy, biomedicine

Other projects from the same PI:
View the Poster as presented at the 2006
SEPA Program Director's Conference

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