Team:UNSW Australia/Education/High School

OVERVIEW

To expand our engagement further, and to share our project with others, we developed an education package addressing a high school audience. In addition to this, high school students are at an important formative stage of their lives where what they learn can go on to influence their perception and understanding of the world in later life. (1)Therefore, an early understanding and appreciation of synthetic biology amongst high school students is important. Supporting this idea, our education package was specifically constructed to be linked to the Australian year 11 and 12 New South Wales (NSW) High School Certificate (HSC) biology syllabus. This is important to establish the links between the materials students are learning in class and the applications of synthetic biology to real world problems. It is also hoped that by providing an example of how biological science is applied in the real world through synthetic biology, the education package will inspire high school students to pursue synthetic biology and be able to implement it in real world problems.

INTENTIONS

The education package was designed to be delivered to educators across NSW, even without us being physically there to present it by sending them these linked files which contain all the components that we have created. This option allowed us to communicate and educate with or without us being present, ultimately improving the availability to a wider audience. The package contained multiple components which are described in the following:

  • Instructions for educators: This document was a one page document including the aims of the education package, contents, instructions for use and a possible lesson plan.
  • Lecture slides: The lecture slides were structured to introduce synthetic biology and the iGEM competition and an explanation of coral bleaching and those impacted. Following this, our solution to the problem was explained along with a presentation of our results. Additionally, the role of dry lab and conclusions/future directions were discussed.
  • Supporting document: Provided additional information and explanation of our project for students who are particularly interested in our project. Including an example lab protocol for aiding understanding of the wet lab work undergone.
  • Physical card game:The “Bleaching Corals” game is a 2-6 player card game aimed to reinforce the topic of coral bleaching, the possible solutions and personal contributions that can be undertaken to save the coral reefs. It is an enjoyable and engaging activity which also helps to reinforce what has been taught in the lecture. In addition, after playing this card game, students will go on to answer questions provided in a separate quiz sheet to test their understanding about how the game relates to coral bleaching and synthetic biology which encourages cooperation and discussion between the students.
  • Project Brochure: The education brochure gave a brief overview of our project that could be taken home by students if they were interested in our project for revision or to learn more by following our project or asking any questions they might have through the contact links provided.
  • Feedback form: This was included so we could assess the effectiveness of our education package and gain an understanding in how we could improve it as well as to form an effective dialogue between us and the students in a structured and organised manner.

Our lecture slides aimed to aid in learning and provide clear links to the NSW HSC syllabus. To assist in this, our lecture slides were structured in a way that would support this. An annotated example slide explaining its structure is depicted in the image below.

Annotated diagram of slide 12 identifying and explaining the key components of the lecture slide design

We also received feedback on our education package from a current HSC student, Rhiannon H.

Completed education package feedback form from Rhiannon H

The feedback form provided us with a clearer sense of direction of where to improve, as well as where we did well. We received strong engagement for the lecture slides and activities. This included comments on requiring further improvements on linkage to the HSC syllabus points and emphasis on applications of synthetic biology on a broader scale with more examples on how it can be applied locally and globally. After further consultation we found that one syllabus point we included was not correct. Due to this we adjusted the education package accordingly for future distribution. To emphasise the applications of synthetic biology, we decided future iterations of the education package will include more detailed information, explanations and possible activities on the application of synthetic biology. We will also include the United Nations’ SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) number 14 on “Life under water” in the future. (2) This also inspired us to create a science communication module specifically to address the applied aspects of science by having an event called “How is science solving local and global challenges?” at the end of October.

FUTURE COLLABORATIONS

In addition to our current education package which is being distributed to NSW HSC students through a variety of partners and schools, we also have formed a collaboration with the University of Melbourne iGEM team to be applied in the near future. With this collaboration, the University of Melbourne iGEM will be modifying our education package to conform more to the high school syllabus (Victorian Certificate of Education) studied in another Australian state, Victoria. This will ultimately make our education package more accessible to a wider audience as students in Victoria and NSW will now be able to utilise our educational package to its full efficacy with the help of Student Science Squad. Another possible modification by the University of Melbourne iGEM team is to adapt the education package to the IB (International Baccalaureate) curriculum with a potential to reach out to other schools using IB curriculum nationally and internationally. We have also discussed with the Student Science Squad / University of Melbourne iGEM team for a potential collaboration in creating a workshop on build-design-test protocol and introduction to synthetic biology based on the materials that we have.

Online Interview with Betty Zhang of the Student Science Squad and University of Melbourne iGEM team

Furthermore, we are in the process of developing a collaboration with Startup Business International. This collaboration came together by contacting their Events Manager, Justine Salazar. Startup Business International is an organisation that aims to facilitate and encourage entrepreneurial thinking in students. Our future potential collaboration with them includes providing mentor sessions to young students, workshops on entrepreneurship and synbio, and implementing fun education packages for their students.

Startup Business International

Throughout the last few weeks of iGEM, we have been in contact with the director of The Future Project at Kings School, Dr Vera Munro-Smith on a discussion about collaboration projects that we can do with them. The Future Project is a collaboration between various institutions and the Kings School to connect high school students with researchers to inspire them and expand their knowledge on the applications of STEM in the community. One of the potential collaboration activities discussed included the distribution of our education package to Kings High School as well as to other high schools in Sydney. With this education package, we will be working closely with teachers at the Kings School’s to develop it further and in such a way that the package can be seamlessly integrated within the NSW high school syllabus.

Furthermore, we have also discussed for early next year (2021), the possibility for the UNSW iGEM team to give a presentation about our project and run workshops on science communication and how synthetic biology can be used to solve problems locally and globally. It would be possible to run these workshops on a routine basis in order to foster a long-term interest and engagement in synthetic biology amongst high school students. We have also initiated talks with the Kings school to help them launch the first Australian high school iGEM team, with UNSW iGEM being the primary mentor for this initiative.

The Future Project at Kings School

Experience the Education Package here!

Reference

  1. Sahin A, Ekmekci A, Waxman HC. Collective effects of individual, behavioral, and contextual factors on high school students’ future STEM career plans. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. 2018 Aug 1;16(1):69-89.
  2. United Nations Statistics Division. Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development [Internet]. New York: United Nations; [cited 2020 Oct 26]. Available from: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2016/goal-14/.