The Biotechnology Alliance for Suncoast Biology Educators (BASBE) project is facilitating professional development for secondary school teachers leading to the design and implementation of new biotechnology laboratory activities in regional high school biology classrooms. The college, in collaboration with the State College of Florida and the two school districts in the service area of the college, are committed to increasing the number of students entering Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields by (1) encouraging high school students to consider careers in science or in teaching science and (2) improving the overall quality of science education in local secondary schools to increase the preparedness of high school graduates to succeed in college science courses.
Intellectual Merit: The BASBE project is based upon several science teacher training programs that have successfully integrated the use of biotechnology tools into high school biology laboratory activities. College faculty are working collaboratively with curriculum specialists from the two school districts, faculty and technicians from a Florida university, and representatives from regional biotechnology companies to develop educational modules that focus on DNA science and the use of biotechnology tools. BASBE is encouraging and supporting high school biology teachers with hands-on training programs that cover basic and advanced molecular techniques, elements that are essential for all biologists as well as science technicians and science educators. Instruments and supplies are being made available to participating teachers via an inter-district loan program to provide students first-hand experiences with the tools and techniques of molecular biology. BASBE is also providing teachers with classroom support, including presentations by area science professionals on careers in the industry and the materials needed for a two-week unit on biotechnology.
Broader Impacts: The project makes a significant contribution to the science-learning infrastructure of two school districts and the only open-access college in the region. Recent revisions to the Florida science standards (Sunshine State Standards) reflect the trend to align college science curricula with more comprehensive real-world applications tied to an industrial or research laboratory setting. BASBE is developing an inquiry-driven approach to help make the molecular world relevant to students, including those whose interests and career goals may lie outside of the sciences. This partnership is enabling the college and its regional K12 districts to better align their curricula, creating continuity without duplication for students as they transition from high school to college science courses. This approach is novel in the way it forms partnerships between secondary and postsecondary science educators. Teachers are collaborating with scientists and college professors, forming lasting partnerships and sharing the physical and human resources needed to empower K12 teachers to incorporate a unit of technologically current investigative science into their curricula.
(BASBE) program is a high school science enhancement collaboration modeled after other successful and similar programs across the country. State College of Florida-Manatee Sarasota (SCF) faculty and staff, along with curriculum specialists from Manatee and Sarasota Counties, the University of Florida and local biotechnology companies developed two educational modules for 9th and 10th grade biology students which teach Bacterial transformation and DNA fingerprinting. These portable "lab in a box" module kits include instruments and supplies along with consumables necessary to implement the labs in area high schools. SCF faculty, staff, and post-secondary student ambassadors made school visits during which they worked in small groups with high school students and teachers to present and facilitate the experiments. Over a three year period the labs were taken to 8 different high schools with 9 teachers participating. Through this work more than 2000 high school students were exposed to high level science experiences. A week-long training session in molecular biology and biotechnology was provided for the participating teachers and student facilitators by SCF faculty and staff. The teachers' pre and post tests showed a marked improvement in their familiarity with basic molecular biology techniques and terminology. The college student facilitators experienced similar increases in knowledge and terminology as well as an increase in confidence in their ability to carry out high level experiments. This project was well publicized with both print and television coverage. This resulted in requests from several additional schools and teachers for opportunities to participate in the program. Accommodating these requests will require additional resources. Another outcome of the publicity was that other regional post secondary institutions requested to become involved with us in BASBE outreach. Several students from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and University of South Florida joined the SCF students as facilitators for the high school implementations. These students formed an extracurricular club, the BASBE Student Ambassadors Club, that has continued beyond the time frame of the grant. The peer relationships that grew from this collection of interactions with the high school students were some of the most powerful results from the project. The older students were able to mentor younger ones and assist them to develop pathways towards higher education with encouragement and advice. The participating secondary teachers and students were thrilled to work with college faculty and students to bring high level laboratory experiences into the class rooms. Several high school students commented on the "coolness" of the labs and the high school teachers were very grateful for their personal knowledge enhancement and the assistance with the hands- on lab work. None of the high schools previously had access to equipment to perform experiments of similar caliber as those provided by BASBE. All of the implementations were judged to be highly successful with a large percentage of quality results from both experiments. Students were able to interpret their results, draw appropriate conclusions, and appeared to acquire a great deal of enthusiasm for science.
