Introduction & Background: Embracing Innovation
"Introduction & Background - Embracing Innovation" is where you begin your journey into the latest enhancements in STEM education. In this foundational module, you will gain an overview of the recent updates to the Biotechnology Outreach Education Center (BOEC) curriculum packages, specifically highlighting our DNA Fingerprinting lab. This section is designed to familiarize you with the essential concepts, teaching methodologies, and the integration of cutting-edge research into classroom activities. It equips you with the necessary tools to effectively bring these scientific advancements into your teaching and inspire your students.
What Can We Do? Curriculum Package
What to Expect
The information, activities and assessments included in these curriculum modules aim to tell a story. This storyline will help students learn the basics of how populations of bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, and how that knowledge can help make sense of the phenomenon presented. Students will learn that local conditions and actions can have a significant impact on global issues. The activities with which students will engage constitute a meaningful pathway to understanding and are not intended to be used in isolation. As you make plans for how these modules will be used, carefully consider the connections and interdependence of the activities, which make it difficult to separate the activities and is not advised.
Each module consists of two or three activities. Each activity provides opportunities to develop and use specific elements of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) science and engineering skills and practice(s) to make sense of phenomena and/or to design solutions to problems. They also provide students with the chance to use conceptual understanding that spans scientific disciplines and develop deep understanding of core ideas and content.
Finally, please maintain your own sense of curiosity as you use these materials. Resources and ideas for classroom implementation are included at the end of this guide. Consider your own professional growth an integral part of implementation - always value your own learning, as well as that of your students.
Click HERE to access the curriculum booklet, student-facing materials, and other resources
Distination Biotech Podcast: Episode 3
Join Dr. Adina Howe and first-year graduate student Nicole Gerdes for an exciting look into their adventures in water and environmental quality! Dive into their latest research projects, uncover how their dynamic lab team tackles environmental mysteries, and get the inside scoop on their ground-breaking discoveries about manure runoff. This isn’t just science – it’s a journey into the heart of our planet’s health. Ready to be part of the action?
Click HERE to access the podcast and related classroom resources
Antimicrobial Resistance Classroom Kit
Available through our BOEC lending program, this kit includes everything students need to complete two hands-on investigations related to Dr. Howe's AMR research.
The full kit includes: Petri dishes, glass tubes, sterile pipettors, centrifuge tubes, inoculating loops, CaCl2, ampicillin salt, agar, LB premix, pBR322 DNA, MM294 slant culture.
Click HERE to request the bioreactor kit from our lending program
Available only to teachers who have participated in BOEC programming
Authentic Science: Crosscutting Concepts
A magazine-style publication that explores the Next Generation Science Standards Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) through the work of Dr. Michelle Soupir, featuring insights from Abby Schaefer. Both researchers discuss how the practices and scientific habits of mind impact their research in water quality.
