This project is expanding the pipeline of qualified high school students, especially minority students, into the biotechnology program at Oklahoma City Community College (OKCCC) through infusion of high quality biotechnology experiences into the high schools. The state of Oklahoma lists biotechnology as a priority growth area, but currently the labor pool of skilled biotechnicians cannot meet local demand, and the average high school student knows little about the world of biotechnology and its career potential. Educational teams from Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS), led by a science educator/biotechnology faculty at the community college, are selecting and adapting exemplary materials from NSF-supported projects such as Shoestring Biotechnology, BioLink, and Cases in Industry Practice in Biotechnology as well as bioinformatics activities from the Dolan DNA Learning Center of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Intellectual support for the teachers starts with intense summer workshops, where teachers run the labs, study the concepts, and map material to national and state science standards as well as bioindustry skill standards. As the biotechnology learning community takes shape, ongoing advice, encouragement, and sharing of experiences comes through regular meetings, a list-serve, and visits from the Principal Investigator (PI) and Coordinator. Practical support to teachers comes from the equipment loaner center, providing needed equipment as well as supplies for ready-to-go experiments. In the course of implementing this project, teachers develop professionally. Some assume a leadership role in dissemination of results and continuation of the project.
OKCPS is enriched with minority students who are potential first-generation college students. OKCPS is also in the midst of a NSF-funded Urban Systemic Program, which aims to bring inquiry-based learning into the science and mathematics programming. Biotechnology/Bioinformatics Discovery! augments the district's ongoing efforts to improve the performance of minority students by using nationally developed biotechnology experiences well suited to these students' needs. The project also plans to address cultural barriers to science career and higher education choices by including parents/mentors in the programming. In the first year, three Oklahoma City Public School (OKCPS) high school teams (a minimum of three teachers per school) are implementing the biotechnology modules at various levels as part of existing courses, not limited to science courses. The second year, the project expands to include a full biotechnology course, additional OKCPS schools, and more biotechnology modules within additional courses. The third year, the scheme expands to schools throughout the region. Student learning is augmented with capstone experiences: more elaborate/sophisticated experiments at OKCCC, and visits to working biotechnologists at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) to witness exciting applications of this knowledge. The extensive exposure to high-quality biotechnology experiences as well as to higher education and research sites is expected to increase the college attendance rate and entry into science careers of these high school students.
