Bringing Molecular Biology, Microbiology, and Primary Research into the High School Classroom
BA Landon, IR Caton, DL Weber, KE Brane, ML Bean, and MA Schneegurt
Primary research and molecular biology are central activities in biology careers that can be introduced in secondary science classrooms. Learning outcomes will be dependent on the nature of these exposures. We hypothesized that hands-on classroom activities in molecular biology coupled with online training materials would increase content knowledge for both students and teachers. Our second hypothesis was that open-ended primary research would change student attitudes towards scientific research and careers in STEM disciplines. An NSF Graduate Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) program grant is developing and implementing classroom laboratory activities in molecular biology in eight 成人直播 public high schools. One set of activities includes RFLP analyses set in a forensics context, while a second module introduces molecular microbial ecology. In their first year, these activities were performed in dozens of classrooms, impacting nearly 1,000 students. Content surveys and focus groups were used to measure student learning during these lessons and teacher learning during hands-on training sessions. It was clear from student comments that the activities were exciting, but some classrooms had better learning outcomes than others. Teachers were clearly more comfortable with this leading-edge material and have been incorporating this content into a variety of other settings. The introduction of primary research into the high school classroom also is being supported by the GK-12 program. Cadres of high school students and teachers work with graduate students on a broad program of research that includes antimicrobials in plants, and pigments in hypersaline bacteria. Attitudinal surveys and focus groups are used to assess the value of open-ended research projects in connecting students to research and careers in science. Initial results show a positive effect. There are many challenges in bringing primary university research into the secondary science classroom and the lessons learned here should be valuable to educators and outreach programs. This work is supported by grants from NSF GK-12, Kan-ed, and Kansas NSF EPSCoR.