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DNA experiments open students' minds to bioscience

Contributed by: Sarah Pretzer on 6/25/2008

A cutting-edge project designed to deliver hands-on training and equipment to Denver Metro high school teachers has come to a successful conclusion, and as a result, high school students throughout the region have had the opportunity to conduct more than 6,000 DNA-related experiments in the classroom during the 2007-08 school year. The success of the partnership was acknowledged at a June 12 luncheon at the Community College of Aurora's Lowry Campus, at which time the College ceremoniously handed off to the school districts bioscience kits containing equipment valued at more than $26,000 per kit. The kits will be delivered to the districts later this month.

"We'll never know how many students will be electrified by this program, but we do know that we will have had a distinct impact," CCA President Linda Bowman told those gathered at the luncheon. "I appreciate the vision and commitment of CCA faculty and staff in making this happen, and I believe that this hands-on program is a model that must go beyond the field of bioscience."

The CCA WIRED Bioscience project, "Opening Minds to Bioscience," fulfilled its goal: to equip high school teachers and students with hands-on instruction in molecular biology and information about careers in Colorado's bioscience industry. Over the past year, the CCA Bioscience team trained 60 high school teachers from seven Denver Metro school districts to conduct DNA-related experiments with high school students. Experiments in the kits include DNA Isolation, Restriction Digest and Gel Electrophoresis, PCR of Human Alu Insertion and Gel Electrophoresis, and Bacterial Transformation.

CCA Professor of Biology Todd Bergren said that this grant allowed the college to help students in a leveraged way. "By training high school teachers, we end up touching a lot more students' lives, because the teachers can take what they've learned directly into the classroom," he said. "There's no way I could teach all of those students myself. By teaching 60 high school teachers, each of whom has at least 100 students, we can have a far bigger impact than we might have had otherwise."

Bergren, who also serves as principal investigator for the project, noted that very few school budgets can afford these lab materials. "And you can't do modern biology without these materials," he said. "Developments in biology have grown so fast, it's difficult to keep up with them. One of the great things about this project is that the training allows teachers to keep up with this rapidly evolving science." Bergren added that the high school teachers trained by CCA are now teaching topics that they themselves weren't taught in high school or college, even just 10 years ago. "These types of experiments are fairly cutting-edge, so much so that most four-year colleges don't even have these kinds of labs," he explained. "You might not even see this level of science until graduate school."

Working with industry partners, CCA has opened avenues of access to industry knowledge and resources to classrooms throughout the year-developing a repository of industry and community resources for teachers and students, including classroom speakers, field trip destinations, and a DVD on careers in bioscience.

"Everything has changed so dramatically in the field of bioscience in just the last decade," said Marilyn Achten, science instructional coach for Aurora Public Schools. "What our students are learning in the classroom as a result of this collaboration has unbelievable applications. There is huge growth in the bioscience realm of STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, and it's critical that our kids have an understanding of what's going on. The potential for further growth is enormous."

Achten added that students involved in this program are on a pathway to a career in the biosciences. "They have the potential to benefit society, whether through medical developments, agricultural enhancements, or other opportunities," she said. "We are moving genes at an incredible rate, but what does that mean? All well-educated individuals need to have a basic understanding of what's happening, so that they can begin to get their minds around it."

Achten said that the program has been so compelling that Aurora Public Schools has made bioscience a component of its biology course.

"Opening Minds to Bioscience" was made possible by a grant from the Metro Denver Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Initiative, with the majority of funding provided by the U.S. Department of Labor and Employment.

Bergren was sincere in his gratitude for the project's support from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Metro Denver WIRED initiative. "This generous grant has allowed us to make an important difference in students' education and in their lives," he said. "We couldn't have done it without this support. The teachers say that their students are absolutely enthralled with the science kits, and thanks to the grant, students are working with genuine scientific equipment-not the less expensive educational equipment that they are used to-and they recognize the difference when they're in the lab. Teachers report that their students are more engaged, because they see that someone believes they are worth the higher-end stuff."

Gail Ciancio, a biology and genetics teacher for the Cherry Creek Schools, also sees clearly the potential for her students. "This gives students more practical experience with high-level experiments, which can lead to more opportunities for them," she explained. "They get excited about conducting these experiments. All of a sudden, they're not just doing these projects for a grade, but for real-life applications. It makes a difference." Ciancio added that as part of their coursework, students are informed about the potential they have to be involved in bioscience for work or college.

Teacher Lisa Nolte, a biology teacher at the Douglas County School District's Chaparall High School, said that using these kits has been an outstanding experience for her students. "Before, we only talked about DNA, but now they have actual hands-on experiences. They think it's cool because it's very 'CSI.' I now have students that know as early as their sophomore year that they want to go into the field of bioscience."

Sheri Kangas, curriculum instruction specialist with the Douglas County School District, has also seen firsthand the benefits of this program. "We now have an even more authentic opportunity to bring experiments to students that are relevant to today's science," she said. "It offers our district a chance to teach even higher levels of biotechnology and bioscience. Obtaining these kits, and working with the CCA faculty, is a wonderful gift."

Shelley Wood, CCA outreach coordinator for the project, said that "Opening Minds to Bioscience" has enabled CCA to reach out to school districts that aren't necessarily in the college's everyday service area. "As students look forward to college, they can now say that they have had these advanced experiences," she said. "Additionally, this has been a tremendous opportunity to show high school teachers what we offer here at the Community College of Aurora."

Partners on the project include business, industry, education, and community entities along the Front Range. The project served school districts in Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties. Industry and community partners included Adams County Education Consortium; Arapahoe Douglas Works!; Aurora Chamber of Commerce; Aurora Economic Development Council; Colorado BioScience Association; Colorado Community College System; Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority; Metropolitan State College; Regis University; and the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center.




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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Sarah Pretzer

Aurora , CO

Sarah Pretzer has posted 25 stories and 0 comments since joining on 6/18/2008. Sarah Pretzer 's average story rating is 5.
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