Home » ITEST Projects

Marine Biotechnology and Bioinformatics for Teachers and Students

Submitted by sbartl on Mon, 02/16/2009 - 19:11
Last updated by Dorothea Wheeler on Mon, 07/25/2011 - 10:52
Share this
Sixty middle and high school teachers and 45 students in central California, using the vehicle of lesson study, conduct marine science research experiments using biotechnology and bioinformatics. The curriculum and teaching strategies will ultimately reach approximately 10,000 students indirectly.
Project Information
Cohort: 
3 (2005-2008)
Category: 
Comprehensive
Principal Investigator: 
Simona Bartl
Co-Principal Investigator(s): 
Robertta Barba
Sponsor: 
San Jose State University Foundation
Primary Focus: 
Bioscience
biotechnology
Organization Location City: 
Moss Landing
Organization Location Region/State: 
Pacific
California (CA)
Where project work happens: 
Pacific
California (CA)
Other Area(s) of Focus: 
Bioscience
bioinformatics
DNA analysis/sequencing
Environmental Science
ecological research and analysis
Participant type: 
Middle School Teachers
High School Teachers
Middle School Students
High School Students
Target Area: 
Suburban
Award Number: 
0525224
Overview Section

This comprehensive project for 60 middle and high school teachers (who will pass along their learning to 10,000 students) uses inquiry-based education developed from research projects at Moss Landing Marine Labs to teach biotechnology and IT skills. Participants learn how biotechnology is used to address scientific questions and how resulting data is analyzed, manipulated, displayed, and shared. Participants increase their abilities and confidence in the use of available bioinformatics resources, and learn technical skills that are transferable to other areas of IT as well as other subject areas.

Activities Section

- Summer workshops give teachers an opportunity to work through the scientific process as researchers. Both the technology used and the way of working is new to the teachers, and they are very enthusiastic about both.

- Teachers do biotechnology and bioinformatics work. They extract and analyze DNA and send it off for sequencing. Then they perform bioinformatics analyses including sequence alignments, phylogenetics and protein modeling.

- Teachers create lessons that they pilot with a group of students during the workshop. They continue lesson development during the school year and meet with program staff on select Saturdays. They take their lessons back to the classroom to expose their students to—and get them excited about—the scientific process and potential career opportunities in the biotechnology and bioinformatics fields. Program staff assist with the implementation of lessons through classroom visits, interactive web conferences and follow-up meetings.

Project Links
Project website: 
http://www.marinebiotech.net/
Project Video(s): 
Project Photos: 
http://itestlrc.edc.org/image_gallery?field_project_name_nid=343
Other ITEST Project associated with the project: 
Inquiry-Based Marine Biotechnology and Bioinformatics for Teachers and Students