This Rutgers University proposal, Conducting Authentic Molecular Biology and Genomics Research (MBGR) in High Schools, is a three-year strategies-based ITEST project that provides avenues for science teachers and their students to become part of, and contribute to, authentic research in biotechnology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics. Teachers and students will use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to analyze their experimental findings and publish their results in databases used by scientists throughout the world. The primary goal of MBGR is to determine what strategies promote authentic student research and thereby foster student interest in STEM careers. In this proposed study, MBGR will examine the role of five key elements and how they are related to the strategies that the program will use to a) broaden the research content of the project and, b) study the individual program components that are used to support genuine research in high schools. These strategies will be implemented and studied at three Universities: the lead facility, Waksman Institute, Rutgers University, and two other sites, John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and at the University of Texas at Austin. Participants will include 20 teachers and 40 students at the Rutgers Summer Institute; 10 teachers and 20 students at John Hopkins University Summer Institute and 6 teachers and 12 students at the University of Texas Summer Institute.
