The overall objective of this phase I/I I project is to develop a model of how the scientific expertise of a research University can directly impact local K-12 science education, by introducing high school teachers and students to the inquiry-based process that is scientific research. Our fundamental premises are that true science knowledge requires active engagement in scientific inquiry, and that teachers and students so engaged can become agents of change in science education. To this end, we propose to immerse selected biology teachers and high school students in an 8-week summer Research Experience, during which they participate directly in cutting-edge research in a University environment. With the participation and guidance of nine University research labs, teacher-student teams in a single lab facility will perform genetic screens for new mutations using three sets of model organisms: bacteria, yeast and C. elegans. Although these research labs have diverse objectives and employ varied experimental approaches and different techniques, there is a common thread in that they use the methods and paradigms of genetics to study health-related problems of interest and concern to the public. Weekly Curriculum Roundtable meetings among participating teachers, a Teacher Advisory Board and University faculty will focus on developing inquiry-based education modules and experiment kits, based on these model organisms, for use in high school and middle-school classrooms, and on methods and mechanisms for assessing the impact of such modules. The modules will be tested, refined and disseminated in one-week Curricular Workshops for high school teachers (who have not done the Research Experience) in project years 2-5. During succeeding years, we will provide experiment Kits for high school classes, with which teachers who have been through our programs can implement the inquiry-based curricular modules. Project evaluations aim to compare teachers who have done the 8-week Research Experience with those who have done the one-week Curricular Workshop, with respect to adoption and effective use of the inquiry-based methods and modules, to track educational and career paths of student participants, and to assess the impact on learning in high school biology.
| Marinelli, Laura J; Piuri, Mariana; Swigonova, Zuzana et al. (2008) BRED: a simple and powerful tool for constructing mutant and recombinant bacteriophage genomes. PLoS One 3:e3957 |
