Team:Lambert GA/Education
OVERVIEW
Lambert iGEM focused on scientific communication, educational curricular supplements, and educational outreach centered around biology, biotechnology, and agricultural sciences in an effort to increase awareness around hydroponics and our project AgroSENSE. Due to the pandemic and the resulting quarantine, we had to shift our thinking, switching many of our pre-scheduled workshops, activities, and collaborations from face-to-face to a digital platform. We wanted the opportunity to continue collaborating and learning while also maintaining CDC guidelines for social distancing, so we made every effort to reach out and find methods to work effectively in a virtual setting reaching out to people of diverse backgrounds.
We began by holding online interactive workshops for high school students in Ghana pertaining to Safety and Microscopy, Cell Structure and Function, Macromolecules and Cellular Transport, and Cellular Reproduction. To help encourage budding agriculturalists, we developed a software application, available on AgroSENSE, which features construction and community guides, as well as a cookbook with simple, nutritious recipes featuring hydroponic produce. Finally, we developed a set of infographics to introduce high school students of all levels about procedures utilized in iGEM: Setting up a Gel Electrophoresis, Analyzing a Gel Electrophoresis, Serial Dilutions, Plasmids, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Autoclave Procedure, Gram Staining, and Gibson Assembly. As part of Lambert’s two year project, we aim to expand scientific communication to target diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.
PRACTICAL SCIENCE WORKSHOPS
This summer, Lambert iGEM partnered with multiple high schools in Ghana. Throughout this partnership, our goal was to better supplement labs in developing nations in order to provide driven students opportunities to conduct practical science experiments. This experience would better prepare students to successfully complete international science exams and compete in competitions such as the International Science Olympiads. iGEM team members gave lectures, held online workshops, and led practical science experiments that students could perform in the comfort of their own home. These workshops focused on biology and biotechnology principles, with an emphasis on the importance of frugal science. In order to accomodate a larger audience, we gathered volunteers around Georgia to translate the material into Hindi, Korean, Chinese, and many more which we plan on distributing to underfunded classrooms in which these are the primary languages as part of our two year project.
Our first workshop focused on safety and microscopy. In this workshop, we discussed the importance of lab safety in the field, the fundamental parts of a microscope, and the construction and use of a foldscope. Dr. Saad Bhamla from the Georgia Institute of Technology was one of the leading scientists in the development of the Foldscope, a $1 paper microscope bringing impactful science to underfunded areas. Previously, he participated in our Foldscope workshop at Lambert, where he taught biotechnology students how to use the frugal microscope. Our team presented this experience at the Ghana workshop, where we taught local science teachers and students how to build and use their own Foldscope. This lecture introduced frugal science and encouraged teachers to implement it in their classrooms to allow their students to experience microbiological science.
Because educators in the Ghana and Dominican Republic communities reached out to us about the need for hygiene and disease control workshops, we also chose to focus on this subject.
After our workshops, we conducted a series of surveys and assessments to evaluate the students’ growth in both knowledge and interest in iGEM and biotechnology. The results displayed a significant increase in understanding. We asked students to report their understanding of a topic on a scale from (1-5), with 1 being minimal understanding and 5 being proficient understanding. For our Cell Biology Workshop, 50% of students gave a response of 1-3 in our pre-workshop survey for questions such as “How would you describe your knowledge in the differences between various types of cells? (ie. plant vs. animal or prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic)”, How would you describe your knowledge on membrane transportation? (ie. osmosis, diffusion, active and passive transport), and How would you describe your knowledge on cell division? (mitosis and meiosis). After the workshop, 100% of students reported a score of 4-5 in response to the same questions. This was a similar response observed in our Macromolecules and Cell Transportation Workshop, Mitosis and Meiosis Workshop, and Structure and Replication of DNA Workshop. In effort to make science more accessible, all of our resources are open-source and can be found below.
Figure 1. Lambert iGEM members teaching workshop attendees how to build a foldscope
PRESENTATION ON SAFETY AND MICROSCOPY IN ENGLISH AND HINDI
PRESENTATION ON STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION IN ENGLISH AND CHINESE
PRESENTATION ON MACROMOLECULES AND TRANSPORT IN ENGLISH AND KOREAN
PRESENTATION ON CELLULAR REPRODUCTION AND MITOSIS IN ENGLISH AND KOREAN
COOKBOOK
Lambert iGEM created a cookbook: “AgroEats,” featuring an assortment of recipes that utilize aquaponically grown produce. We plan on making this available free-of-charge in the form of a PDF accessible via Lambert’s AgroSense app. AgroEats shows how aquaponic systems can be incorporated into various lifestyles by displaying culturally diverse recipes. AgroEats targets working families, with simple, nutritious recipes with ingredients that can be found in most households. Lambert’s cookbook also features fun facts about the aquaponically grown produce in order to illustrate the various advantages that are associated with aquaponics. Moreover, all of the recipes were based on Feeding America Nutritional Guidelines as provided by the Atlanta Community Food Bank. These guidelines can be found below.
Figure 2. The aquaponics cookbook Lambert iGEM created to support use of aquaponics produce for nutritious meals.
Figure 3. Infographic provided by the Atlanta Community Food Bank that provides more insight into the conditions and characteristics of food deserts.
INFOGRAPHICS
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, many schools are now shifting to a digital format. To accommodate this change for students, Lambert iGEM created a series of infographics to supplement biology and biotechnology curriculums. To make these resources more accessible, we are collaborating with Queens University iGEM. Between the two iGEM teams, we are creating content for students in grades 7-12 around Georgia and Ontario. The Queens University iGEM team introduced us to the graphics software and gave us lessons on the basics of digital design. Lambert iGEM focused on gathering the content for the infographics based on the curricula of the districts in this collaboration. We distributed these infographics among biology and biotechnology teachers across Georgia in order to obtain applicable feedback, which we used to make the infographics more beneficial for students. We started out with basic biological concepts and built up to complex synthetic biology procedures. The infographics were distributed to various science teachers across eight schools in Forsyth County, who used our infographics as introductions to complex topics as well as reference sheets for review.
Upon the completion of the infographics, Lambert iGEM began distribution to high school biology and biotechnology teachers in Forsyth County, Georgia in order to elicit feedback regarding classroom use. Several teachers were interested in receiving more copies of the infographics to use in their classes, and the majority agreed that it would be an effective review tool to supplement their lesson plans. Many teachers were impressed with the concise nature of the infographics which were able to convey information simplistically without neglecting fundamental details. Some teachers believed that the infographics were better suited for honors students, and requested more introductory-level topics.
Figure 4. Infographics for Gel Electrophoresis, Gibson Assembly, Gram Staining, Autoclave, PCR, Plasmids, and Serial Dilutions.
SCIENCE FAIR VOLUNTEERING
In January, 12 members of Lambert iGEM volunteered at Brookwood Elementary School in Forsyth County to judge science fair projects for grades 1-5. Students were instructed to create an original question and use the scientific method to create an experiment that solved the problem. Our team judged a variety of projects related to multiple science topics, and scored the projects on the originality and structure of the project. After judging, we held a group discussion for all student participants providing specific feedback regarding their projects, including areas of success and opportunities for growth. Additionally, we facilitated a discussion about improving their own experiences with the scientific method, explored future science fair projects, with the hopes of increasing student interest in STEM.
SERVING THE COMMUNITY
High School Students Are Using 3-D Printers to help Combat Transmission of COVID-19
Figure 5. Lambert High School student Aryan Gupta, a junior, assembles face shields for health care workers using components created by a group of fellow students around the county. (Photo courtesy: Aryan Gupta)