Education

Overview


Team Saptasense has organized and hosted numerous educational events for students and community members across the United States. We believe that education is a two-way street; it is just as important to learn from others as it is to teach. As a result, we consistently sought out opportunities to improve and adapt our activities to fit the needs of diverse audiences. In all, our team worked with over 150 students both in our local community and across the country.

From virtual synthetic biology camps to enriching farmers market visits, Saptasense is dedicated to making synthetic biology education accessible to everyone irrespective of their age or abilities. Scroll down to learn more about our Education & Outreach efforts and to explore downloadable curriculum guides and activity worksheets.

Activity Design Framework


Before our first event, our team developed a set of pedagogical goals and criteria to make our lessons as engaging as possible. We adapted the ‘Order of Thinking’ section of our framework from the Bloom’s taxonomy model, which describes six hierarchical levels of cognitive function: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, Create1. Though each of our initiatives varied in terms of audience, format, and camp themes, the chart below allowed us to thoughtfully design each of our activities prior to their implementation.

Figure 1. Activity Design Framework: Team Saptasense developed a general pedagogical framework to design engaging, accessible, and student-centered lesson plans for each educational initiative. Our primary considerations for activity design were: intended audience, format, accessibility, order of thinking, and open dialogue.


Curriculum Design Guide


Curriculum design is a cyclical process that involves creating, testing, evaluating, and revising lesson plans and educational materials. In addition to our activity design framework, Team Saptasense authored a Curriculum Design Guide to illustrate our approach to the design process. In this comprehensive guide, we begin with an overview of our pedagogical approach and activity design framework. Then, we discuss how one of our synthetic biology activities went through multiple iterations of design, revision, and implementation to ultimately produce a meaningful educational experience for all our students.

Though there is not one “correct” approach to teaching and learning, we hope that our curriculum design guide will help educators across the world create engaging, accessible, and inquiry-based educational experiences for all students.


Download Curriculum Design Guide

Improving Student Engagement: Expert Insight


To improve the implementation of our pedagogical framework, our team met with Elizabeth Broas, an elementary school teacher in upstate New York. We discussed our educational goals and worked together to improve our activities, especially regarding engagement and higher order thinking skills.

Figure 2. Meeting with Elizabeth Broas: Saptasense members Mackenzie, Sarah B., Sarah C., and Shalaka meet with Elizabeth Broas, an elementary school teacher, to discuss and improve lesson plans and student engagement.

As we outlined our proposed activities, she provided feedback on each activity in addition to general suggestions about how to keep younger children attentive. One piece of advice was to keep the students physically engaged at all times. She recommended that even when lecturing on material, we should ask them to respond to questions in a physical manner, for example by standing up when they agree with a statement. Her second piece of advice was to make the activities relatable so that students would understand the importance of the subject material. Finally, she suggested that we should be conscious of our vocabulary, as young children tend to lose interest quickly if they do not understand the language being used. In general, she recommended that we should take an initial baseline of the students’ knowledge then tailor our materials (presentations, demonstrations, experiments, and vocabulary) to match it.

We applied her suggestions to our lesson plans and revised our materials to better accommodate the age and prior knowledge of our target audiences. Specifically, we reduced the amount of lecture-based material and added more opportunities for open discussion through hands-on activities.

As a whole, our activity design framework helped us determine:

We produced a variety of educational materials tailored to the specific audience, including: worksheets, presentations, demonstrations, virtual simulations, and hands-on experiments. Our team purposefully designed materials that promote higher-order learning. As illustrated in Figure 1, while knowledge and comprehension allow students to develop a basic understanding of concepts, our team aspired to equip students with critical thinking, creation, and evaluation skills.

For example, we designed a pH testing activity to promote the Creation and Evaluation categories of Bloom’s Taxonomy which are described as “putting together of elements and parts so as to form a whole,” and “judgments about the value of material and methods for given purposes,” respectively1. During this activity, which prompted students to estimate and test the pH of various solutions, a group of students began mixing solutions and realized that combining an acid and a base creates a neutral pH. Because of the inquiry-driven nature of the activity, students were able to create hypotheses and evaluate results even without being asked to do so.
Our target audience varied from elementary school students (ages 11 and younger) to senior citizens (ages 65+). When designing activities, we primarily considered the age, prior knowledge, and abilities of our target audience. The age and ability of students can influence which learning style works best for them. For example, as we learned from Elizabeth Broas, younger students tend to learn better when they are physically engaged with the content. In addition, several of our students had disabilities such as ADHD and autism, which caused us to adapt our activities to allow everyone to engage. which made certain activities less suitable. As a result, we designed our activities to be conducive to multiple learning styles like auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning. Moreover, the prior knowledge of our audience also helped us determine how much background information to provide. We typically used a presentation to (1) catalyze an open dialogue by beginning with open-ended questions and (2) highlight important biological concepts and relate them back to the activity at hand.

For example, when working with younger students (ages 9-11), our team promoted hands-on learning and student-driven inquiry to help students stay engaged. We discovered that our students preferred to converse with and work alongside their peers rather than focus independently on a particular task. However, we found that when learning about similar topics, most older students (ages 12-15) were more adept to auditory learning and higher-order thinking than our younger students. As a result, we revised our worksheets to include more short-answer questions, created more detailed presentations, and paused frequently to allow students to ask questions.

Our educational materials were used by our target audiences in multifaceted ways. Some parts of our lessons, such as research presentations or syrup demonstrations, were designed to be observational. Others, including cut-and-paste activities and experiments, were designed to be more hands-on.

Virtual events presented additional logistical challenges and required our materials to be used by our audience in slightly different ways. For example, unlike in-person events where we handed out physical worksheet copies or materials, our online audiences did not all have access to the same equipment (e.g., printer, paper, audio-visual equipment, experiment materials, etc.). Therefore, we worked around these limitations by providing students with editable documents and pre-recording experiments and demonstrations so that they could pause and rewatch videos as often as required.

To encourage an open dialogue, our team promoted inquiry-based learning and adapted a learner-centered education style which shifts the focus of instruction from the instructor to the learner2. Traditional approaches to education often place the responsibility of learning on the teacher. As students do not feel responsible for their own learning, they tend to be less engaged and inquisitive about the material3. Therefore, our team chose to apply the learner-centered approach to mitigate inattentiveness and promote student-led learning.

From the start of each lesson, we promoted student-led learning by beginning our presentations with open-ended questions rather than simply listing definitions and facts. These questions allowed for two-way communication between Saptasense members and our audience, subsequently stimulating open-dialogue throughout the activity. By acting as facilitators rather than lecturers, our team successfully encouraged open dialogue. In addition, we provided students with numerous opportunities to ask questions and share their thoughts about the subject matter. For example, following a Disability Justice in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) demonstration, students were encouraged to reflect on the activity and share their feelings with the group (whether positive or negative). Providing students with the space to share their honest ideas without judgment encourages open dialogue and is essential to creating successful learning environments.

Each of our lesson plans follow the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework that promotes a more inclusive learning environment by accommodating the needs and abilities of all students4. UDL works to eliminate unnecessary hurdles that certain people – such as those with disabilities – may face in traditional learning environments. One way we adhered to the principles of UDL was by presenting material in more than one format. For example, our lecture slides were accompanied by auditory descriptions and hands-on kinesthetic activities. These materials allowed each student to understand concepts in the way that worked best for them.

Moreover, because of the diverse nature of our audiences, our team purposefully designed each demonstration, presentation, and activity to be as adaptable and accessible as possible. For example, when speaking to senior citizens, we relied more heavily on visuals (pictures, videos, written descriptions) than we would have for other audiences because several of the senior home residents were hard of hearing. For younger students, our activities are often accompanied by worksheets that require reading, writing, drawing, and/or using scissors. If particular students were unable to perform specific tasks, they were provided with alternatives. For example, illustrations were sometimes used in place of written answers especially in the younger age groups that we worked with. Therefore, everyone was able to engage equitably with the material, even if it was in slightly different ways.


Our team applied this framework to each lesson plan to assess and improve our presentations and activities. Below, we have summarized our main education & outreach initiatives, including our goals, takeaways, and outcomes from each event.

Education and Outreach Events


Synthetic Biology Camp

For our first event, we partnered with Tutors For Change, a young 501(c)(3) nonprofit, to lead a three-day virtual “Synthetic Biology Camp”. Students ages 10-17 from all over the United States joined the camp via Zoom. Each lesson lasted 1 hour and included presentations, demonstrations, at-home , and virtual simulations. 41 students registered for our camp in total.

Figure 3. Synthetic Biology Camp Brochure


The table below outlines the topics we covered on each day.

Table 1. Virtual Synthetic Biology Camp Schedule: Our virtual synthetic biology camp spanned three days and covered the central dogma of molecular biology, common molecular techniques, and biological modeling.
Day Topic Description Materials Activity
1 Biology 101 Students explored the structure, function, and relationship between DNA, RNA, and proteins (Central Dogma of Biology). TFC Camp Slides Day 1 The Central Dogma Mystery Worksheet
2 Molecular Techniques Students learned about synthetic biology, genetically modified organisms, and common molecular techniques including PCR, gel electrophoresis, cloning, and CRISPR/Cas systems. TFC Camp Slides Day 2 Strawberry DNA Extraction
3 Biological Modeling Students learned about the applications of modeling, engineering, hardware, and Computer-Aided Design (CAD) in synthetic biology. TFC Camp Slides Day 3 RNA Design Simulation

Before designing our lesson plans, we outlined a list of goals and learning objectives for the synthetic biology camp.
Lesson Goals:

  1. Introduce students to foundational synthetic biology concepts including DNA, RNA, genetically-modified organisms, and PCR.
  2. Illustrate the interdependence of wet lab, modeling, and hardware components in synthetic biology.
  3. Facilitate discussions about genetic engineering and its diverse applications.
Learning Objectives:
  • Describe the relationship between DNA, RNA, and proteins.
  • Explain what genetically modified organisms are and how they can be used to solve real-world problems.
  • Deduce RNA and amino acid sequences using base-pairing rules and a codon chart.
  • Interpret the results of common molecular techniques including PCR and gel electrophoresis.
  • Explain the role of modeling and hardware in biological research.

As a whole, our Synthetic Biology Camp was successful. Though there was a lower audience turnout than expected (~30 students), our team members led comprehensive discussions about synthetic biology with the attendees . That said, the virtual format of our camp reduced the level of audience participation and engagement. Many students were unable to or felt uncomfortable speaking out loud. Our team adapted to this issue by facilitating discussion via the Zoom chat feature. In addition, towards the end of the camp, we began using more polls and online discussion tools. For example, our DNA Mystery Activity (click here for downloadable pdf) prompted students to write out a complementary DNA sequence based on base-pairing rules. Though this activity was intended to be interactive, students were very camera-shy and did not share their ideas out loud. In response, our team quickly created a poll with 4 answer choices (A, C, T, G) and used that as a way for students to state their answers anonymously. Because of this adaptation, our audience engagement improved dramatically resulting in 100% student participation by the end of the session.
After Day 1, Team Saptasense met to discuss how to improve student participation for the remainder of the camp. On Day 2 of the camp, we included a more hands-on activity: an at-home Strawberry DNA extraction. As part of our lesson, we demonstrated how to extract DNA using presentation slides and by sharing a pre-recorded video. These step-by-step instructions allowed students to pause and rewatch the video so that they could complete the experiment at their own pace.
Strawberry DNA Extraction Video
On Day 3, we created more Zoom polls and used a second online platform – Mentimeter – to supplement our presentation slides. Similar to Day 1, this improved participation as students were able to engage without needing to speak out loud.

Figure 4. Synthetic Biology Camp Day 3: Saptasense team members Sudarshan, Alec, and Shalaka lead a discussion about the applications of modeling using Mentimeter, an interactive presentation tool.
At the end of the camp, we administered a brief anonymous survey to students to collect information about how much they enjoyed the lesson overall, how much new information they learned, and if they felt the activity was interesting. The results of the survey are summarized in the column charts below:
Figure 5. Overall Camp Ratings: Distribution of responses to Synthetic Biology Camp survey. The x-axis indicates response options, ranging from 1 (lowest rating) to 5 (highest rating). The y-axis indicates the percent of attendees who selected each option.
Figure 6. Activity Ratings: Distribution of responses to Synthetic Biology Camp survey. The x-axis indicates response options, ranging from 1 (lowest rating) to 5 (highest rating). The y-axis indicates the percent of attendees who selected each option.
Figure 7. Amount of New Information Learned: Distribution of responses to Synthetic Biology Camp survey. The x-axis indicates response options, ranging from 1 (lowest rating) to 5 (highest rating). The y-axis indicates the percent of attendees who selected each option.
The Synthetic Biology Camp survey indicated that the majority of students enjoyed and learned new information from our camps. The mean ratings for “Did you enjoy this camp overall?,” “Did you enjoy the activities?,” and “Did you learn something new” were 4.8, 4.0, and 4.6, respectively (out of a maximum 5 points). The lower rating for the activities question may have been in part due to the virtual format of our camp. Due to differences in accessibility to resources, not all participants were able to complete each activity equally. For example, on Day 3, students were led through an online RNA design game (EteRNA). However, several individuals had trouble starting the game or had limited internet access and were unable to engage as much with the content. In addition, because most students had their cameras off, Saptasense team members were not able to effectively gauge how well students understood the content.

While the survey results were primarily positive across the three days, our team identified several areas of improvement for future educational events. Though our presentation slides were very comprehensive on each day, we felt that they may have been too overwhelming for students. For example, rather than list out each step of gel electrophoresis, we decided that it would be more engaging to show images and explain the process in more concise terms. Moreover, following the event, our team edited our activities to include more critical thinking and inquiry-based experiments. For instance, rather than provide students with a full set of DNA extraction instructions, we felt that it would be more beneficial to show one step at a time and ask students to draw hypotheses and make observations along the way. The revised version of this activity was used at a subsequent event at the Rochester Museum & Science Center.

Curiosity Camps - Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC)


We led eight lessons over two weeks at the Rochester Museum & Science Center in Rochester, NY. During our first week, we worked with ~20 children ages 9-11. During the second week, we worked with ~15 children ages 12-15. On each day of the ‘Curiosity Camp’, we designed unique activities and experiments related to synthetic biology.

Figure 8. RMSC Camps: Saptasense members An (top left), Shalaka (top right), Sarah B. (bottom left), and Sarah C. (bottom left) teach students at the Rochester Museum and Science Center about various synthetic biology topics.


Week 1: Ages 9-11

The table below outlines the topics we covered and the associated materials that were distributed to students during each lesson.
Table 2. Rochester Museum & Science Center Week 1: The first week of RMSC camps included 5 lessons: Experimental Design & Scientific Inquiry, Science of Maple Syrup, Bacterial Superheroes, pH testing, and Disability Justice in STEM.
Day Topic Description Materials/ Activity
1 Experimental Design & Scientific Inquiry Students explored the scientific process by designing and conducting their own water filtration experiment using only a limited set of supplies. Lesson Plan: Experimental Design & Scientific Inquiry

RMSC 1-8-22 Worksheet
2 Science of Maple Syrup Students learned about maple syrup production, scientific causes of maple syrup defects, and how Saptasense is using science to address problems in the maple industry. In addition, they analyzed our preliminary Saptameter prototypes and evaluated different grades of maple syrup. Lesson Plan: Science of Maple Syrup

Maple Syrup Worksheet

RMSC Maple Syrup Presentation
3 Bacterial Superheroes Students learned about bacteria and how scientists can engineer them to possess desired traits. Students explored the roles of enzymes and plasmids in genetic engineering through a hands-on ‘Bacteria Superheroes’ activity. Lesson Plan: Bacterial Superheroes

Bacterial Superheroes: Worksheet

Bacterial Superheroes: Presentation
4 pH Testing Students learned the scientific basis of what makes a solution acidic or basic, and how pH is relevant to environmental science and synthetic biology. By hypothesizing and testing the pH of common household items, they learned how to characterize solutions as acidic, basic, or neutral. Lesson Plan: pH Testing

pH Testing Worksheet

pH Testing Slides
5 Disability Justice in STEM Students explored and reflected on the meaning of disability, accessibility, and universal design through an interactive activity. Students were given a tool at random and asked to transfer water between cups. Because some tools worked better than others, students realized how lack of accessibility can impact disabled individuals. Lesson Plan: Disability Justice in STEM

Disability Justice in STEM: Presentation

Before designing our lesson plans, we outlined a list of goals and learning objectives for each of the five days of the RMSC camp.


Lesson Goals:

  1. Introduce students to the processes of scientific inquiry and experimental design
  2. Encourage creative and critical thinking, both independently and in teams
  3. Demonstrate why water pollution is an issue and how science can be used to combat it.
Learning Objectives:
  • Describe what a scientific question is.
  • Apply the experimental design process to solve a scientific problem.
  • Demonstrate the scientific method through hypothesis testing, observation, and critical analysis.


Lesson Goals:

  1. Discuss the maple syrup production process.
  2. Facilitate discussion about synthetic biology applications.
  3. Illustrate how the scientific method and experimental design can be applied to address a specific synthetic biology problem.
Learning Objectives:
  • Describe how maple syrup is produced.
  • Explain the prevalent issues in the maple syrup industry and their scientific basis.
  • Explain the role of modeling and hardware in biological research.


Lesson Goals:

  1. Facilitate discussion about genetically-modified organisms and their real-world applications.
  2. Illustrate the main steps of bacterial cloning, including restriction enzyme digestion and transformation.
  3. Encourage students to develop novel solutions to particular problems of their choosing.
Learning Objectives:
  • Explain the diverse applications of genetic engineering and genetically-modified organisms.
  • Engineer a synthetic biology-based solution to a scientific problem.
  • Describe how bacteria can be used as biological tools.


Lesson Goals:

  1. Explain pH, acidity, and basicity.
  2. Encourage students to work together in teams.
  3. Apply inquiry-based learning to lesson plans by encouraging students to ask, hypothesize, test, observe, and analyze.
Learning Objectives:
  • Define pH, acidic, basic, and neutral.
  • Apply knowledge of acidity and basicity to predict pH of unknown compounds.
  • Interpret pH test results.
  • Classify compounds as acidic, basic, or neutral.


Lesson Goals:

  1. Illustrate how accessibility and disability are related.
  2. Prompt students to reflect about disability, accommodations, and equity.
  3. Teach students to be more cognizant about inclusivity and disability justice.
Learning Objectives:
  • Explain what ‘disability’ means.
  • Describe how environments can be designed to be more accessible.
  • Analyze why accommodations are important and fair.

Between our Synthetic Biology Camp and Week 1 of the RMSC Curiosity Camp, our team discussed and improved the format of our materials. Specifically, we shifted away from lecture-based activities that involved lengthy presentations and moved towards more hands-on activities. We were able to build relationships with the students over the course of the five-day camp, and by the end of the week they were far more attentive and comfortable with us. On the first day, they seemed a bit timid and did not all fully participate in the activities. By the last day, when we talked about disability justice in STEM, the students were freely sharing their experience with disability, whether knowing a disabled individual or from being disabled themselves. The connections we built with these students over the five days proved key to having an honest and fruitful discussion to end the week.

Figure 9. RMSC Disability Justice in STEM: Three RMSC students participate in the ‘Disability Justice in STEM’ activity. They are pictured attempting to transfer water from one cup to the other using a unique tool.

We were impressed by the manner in which the students synthesized new information and applied it in novel ways. For example, after learning about the structure of DNA, one camper pulled a Saptesense team member aside to point out a picture of RNA hanging on the classroom wall. The student’s observation that the two molecules looked “kind of the same, but less loopy” sparked a class discussion about the similarities and differences between DNA and RNA. Additionally, towards the end of the pH activity the students wanted to mix the two solutions with the highest and lowest pHs. They were able to correctly hypothesize that the resulting mixture would be neutral. In all, our team observed that as a result of our materials and discussions, the campers had developed the skills needed to tackle more complex, inquiry-based activities.


Figure 10. RMSC pH Activity: RMSC students participate in the pH testing activity. Left: Three students hypothesize, test, and observe the pH of various solutions. Right: An RMSC student combines test solutions and retests the pH of the resulting mixture.

At the end of the week, we administered an anonymous survey to obtain feedback about our lessons from students. The results of these surveys are summarized below.
Figure 11. Activity Ratings: Distribution of responses to Rochester Museum & Science Center Week 1 survey. The x-axis indicates response options, ranging from 1 (lowest rating) to 5 (highest rating). The y-axis indicates the number of attendees who selected each option.
Figure 12. Amount of New Information Learned: Distribution of responses to Rochester Museum & Science Center Week 1 survey. The x-axis indicates response options, ranging from 1 (lowest rating) to 5 (highest rating). The y-axis indicates the number of attendees who selected each option.

In addition to the point-based ratings, we also asked students what their favorite activity was, what was one thing they learned from the iGEM team, and whether they had anything to tell us.
Sample answers to these questions are attached here:RMSC Week-1 Feedbacks
In addition to the positive feedback, one piece of constructive criticism we received was that some of the older students felt that they did not learn much from the activities. Because the students’ ages ranged from 9-11, there was a wide gap in the prior knowledge they had from their previous school curricula. Some students knew concepts like DNA and pH in depth while others were completely unfamiliar with the vocabulary. Still, our team was able to individualize activities to fit the needs and interests of each student, allowing everyone to learn something new every day. For example, when students who were already familiar with genetic engineering completed the Bacteria Superheroes activity quicker than other students, we challenged them with more difficult follow-up questions.

The first week at RMSC supported the idea that younger students tend to be most interested in hands-on activities and demonstrated that even young children are capable of synthesizing information in inquiry-based tasks. Our experience during Week 1 helped us improve our materials for Week 2 of the Curiosity Camps. Because the students would be older in week 2, we decided to implement more higher-order and investigation-based activities.



Week 2: Ages 12-15

Table 2. Rochester Museum & Science Center Week 2: The second week of RMSC camps included 3 lessons: Careers in STEM, Science of Maple Syrup, and Strawberry DNA Extraction
Day Topic Description Activity/Materials
1 Careers in STEM Students learned about different career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, with an emphasis on synthetic biology research. Saptasense team members shared their own experiences and answered student questions. Careers in STEM presentation
2 Science of Maple Syrup Students learned about maple syrup production, scientific causes of maple syrup defects, and how Saptasense is using science to address problems in the maple industry. In addition, they tasted different grades of maple syrup and related the characteristics of each sample back to their scientific basis. Science of Maple Syrup Presentation
3 Strawberry DNA Extraction Students extracted strawberry DNA and learned about how each step of the procedure helped isolate DNA. Strawberry DNA Extraction presentation

Strawberry DNA Extraction worksheet

Before designing our lesson plans, we outlined a list of goals and learning objectives for the synthetic biology camp.


Lesson Goals:

  1. Illustrate numerous STEM careers.
  2. Emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of science.
Learning Objectives:
  • Describe a variety of careers in STEM.
  • Explain why biologists need to work with other professionals like engineers and computer scientists.


Lesson Goals:

  1. Discuss the maple syrup production process.
  2. Facilitate discussion about synthetic biology applications.
  3. Illustrate how the scientific method and experimental design can be applied to address a specific synthetic biology problem.
Learning Objectives:
  • Describe how maple syrup is produced.
  • Explain what causes buddy and ropy syrup from a molecular perspective.
  • Explain the role of modeling and hardware in biological research.


Lesson Goals:

  1. Encourage students to apply the scientific process to extract DNA.
  2. Explain the applications of DNA extraction in molecular and synthetic biology.
Learning Objectives:
  • Describe how extracted strawberry DNA looks.
  • Explain why each step of the extraction protocol is necessary for proper DNA extraction.
  • Describe why scientists want to study DNA.

In an effort to retain as much interest as possible, we tied all three days together to make a cohesive program for the students to follow. The topics started broadly with an overview of STEM careers, then got a bit more specific when we talked about our iGEM project, and finally became even more specific when we walked them through the thought process behind running an experiment. This was a successful format, as the students were observed to be paying attention each day of the program.

Figure 13. Careers in STEM: Saptasense members Mackenzie (left), Sarah C. (middle) and Isabelle (right) present to Rochester Museum & Science Center students about synthetic biology and other STEM careers.

Additionally, our activities for this week were far more inquiry-based due to two factors: the greater age of the students and the previous RMSC group demonstrating a preference for these kinds of tasks. The first day was a broad survey of STEM careers and a brief introduction to our project. The Question and Answer (Q&A) panel allowed the students to think critically about the information we showed them and synthesize questions related to how they could pursue a STEM career. The second day, we narrowed our focus and explained our project in detail. Throughout the presentation, the students asked thought-provoking questions that often prompted fruitful discussions. On the third day, we walked the students through the typical process of running an experiment, including developing a hypothesis, reporting observations, and reflecting on the result. This effectively showed the students how the iGEM team thinks when we run experiments.
Figure 14. RMSC Strawberry DNA Extraction: RMSC students extract strawberry DNA. Top Left: An RMSC student uses a wooden stick to isolate DNA from their cup. Bottom Left: Saptasense members lead students through the extraction process. Bottom Middle: An RMSC student views DNA solution using a flashlight. Right: Two RMSC students pour their strawberry extraction mixtures into a filter.

As students completed the strawberry DNA extraction, they were asked to record their observations and answer thought questions on an accompanying worksheet. Sample student answers are provided here: Strawberry DNA Extraction worksheet
While we expected the students to be inquisitive, they were even more curious than we expected. All three activities took much longer than expected because the students frequently asked thought-provoking questions and made insightful comments on the material. It was clear that they were engaging with the content on a very high level.
At the end of the week, we administered an anonymous survey to obtain feedback about our lessons from students. The results of these surveys are summarized below.
Figure 15. Activity Ratings : Distribution of responses to Rochester Museum & Science Center Week 2 survey. The x-axis indicates response options, ranging from 1 (lowest rating) to 5 (highest rating). The y-axis indicates the number of attendees who selected each option.
Figure 16. Amount of New Information Learned: Distribution of responses to Rochester Museum & Science Center Week 2 survey. The x-axis indicates response options, ranging from 1 (lowest rating) to 5 (highest rating). The y-axis indicates the number of attendees who selected each option.

In addition to the point-based ratings, we also asked students what their favorite activity was, what was one thing they learned from the iGEM team, and if they had any questions, comments, or suggestions. Sample answers to these questions are attached here: RMSC Curiosity Camps - iGEM Activity Survey

Overall, we were satisfied with the level of engagement we saw from these students. One possible addition could be to add specific discussion questions connecting the topics back to their own lives. Though we implemented discussions into the career panel slides on day 1, maintaining the personal connection throughout the week may have increased engagement even more.

Big Brother Big Sisters (BBBS)


big brother big sister logo
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a national mentorship program that helps build “positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people.” Team Saptasense worked with Cornell University’s iGEM team to teach students and their mentors about synthetic biology at a local BBBS chapter in Ithaca, NY.
Because of the wide age range of participants (5 years to adult), we decided that our Bacteria Superheroes activity would be the most adaptable and engaging way for students to learn about synthetic biology and cloning.
Figure 2. Big Brothers Big Sisters - Bacteria Superheroes: BBBS members create their own “Bacterial Superhero” using colored pipe cleaners and paper. Top Left: A child draws a bacterium on their paper. Another child twists together a pipecleaner “plasmid”. The children are with their their adult mentors. Top right: A child inserts a pipecleaner through a small piece of paper that has a “superpower written on it. Bottom left: Saptasense team members Isabelle, Sarah C., Shalaka, and Mackenzie set up their Bacteria Superheroes activity. Bottom right: A BBBS member’s Bacteria Superhero that has been designed to “teleport”.

Because of the similarity between the Westside Farmers Market and BBBS event in terms of audience characteristics and activity materials, many of our lesson goals and learning objectives were similar.
Lesson Goals:

  1. Present topics related to synthetic biology including bacteria, DNA, and cloning.
  2. Demonstrate the steps of a bacterial transformation using pipe cleaners and paper.
  3. Discuss the diverse applications of genetic engineering and synthetic biology, and their ability to solve problems.
Learning Objectives:
  • Describe the role of DNA in establishing physical traits.
  • Describe how genes can be transformed into organisms to confer novel functions.
  • Apply concepts of genetic engineering by constructing a “plasmid” with a desired trait and putting the “plasmid” in a “bacteria”.

Though the fast paced nature of the event prevented us from collecting formal feedback, our participants seemed to enjoy the activity overall. Without a worksheet, students were able to think more critically and creatively about how they wanted to design their plasmids. Due to the versatility of our materials, we were able to adapt the activity to each student’s age, prior knowledge, and abilities. Some parts of the activity such as twisting the pipe cleaner pieces together were challenging for some participants. However, students were encouraged to work with their BBBS mentors and Saptasense members and eventually were able to complete their bacteria superhero.
To gauge their prior knowledge, we began by asking students if they had heard of bacteria or germs, and what they knew about them. This initial question sparked a fruitful discussion about genetic engineering and how it can be used to solve problems. By providing students with this context, they were able to identify and design bacteria to solve their own problems. By the end of the activity, students were able to describe how inserting DNA can give bacteria novel functions, and why that is useful in science.

As a whole, the BBBS event was very successful; students met the learning objectives and were actively engaged the entire time. This version of our Bacteria Superheroes activity was much more effective at encouraging an open dialogue between Saptasense team members and students. Though worksheets can be a useful tool for older students to think critically about the material, the students at BBBS benefited more from the creative and kinesthetic nature of the activity. Despite the wide age range of participants, our team was able to have meaningful conversations about synthetic biology with each student.

Westside Farmers Market


The Westside Farmers Market has been a Rochester staple for over 15 years. Team Saptasense set up a booth and met Rochester community members of all ages. We talked about our project with the adults and led the children through our Bacteria Superheroes activity. Because of the similarity between the Westside Farmers Market and BBBS event in terms of audience characteristics and activity materials, many of our lesson goals and learning objectives were similar.

Figure 17. Westside Farmers Market - Bacteria Superheroes: Participants at Westside Farmers Market in Rochester, NY create their own “Bacterial Superhero” using colored pipe cleaners and paper. Top left, top right, and bottom right: Sample Bacteria Superheroes created by participants that have been designed to “camouflage,” “save people,” and have “invisibility,” respectively.


Lesson Goals:

  1. Present topics related to synthetic biology on a variety of levels
  2. Demonstrate the steps of a bacterial transformation using pipe cleaners and paper
Learning Objectives:
  • Describe the role of DNA in establishing physical traits.
  • Describe how genes can be transformed into organisms to confer novel functions.
  • Apply concepts of genetic engineering by constructing a “plasmid” with a desired trait and putting the “plasmid” in a “bacteria”.

Unlike all of our other educational outreach activities, the Westside event had no set age range. We spoke with people of all ages, from toddlers all the way up to adults. As a result, we frequently had to adjust the technical level to match the prior knowledge of whoever we were speaking with. At times, we had multiple individuals with varying knowledge levels visit our table together, so we were sure to keep our activity entertaining while also ensuring that everyone understood what they were doing. In general, we found that the following flow of topics allowed for maximal understanding:

  1. Ask whether they know about bacteria and/or germs
  2. Ask what they know about DNA
  3. Explain how DNA can code for physical traits, and how different organisms contain DNA pertaining to different traits
  4. Explain how DNA from one organism can be donated to another organism to give the second organism a novel trait, using GFP mice as an example
  5. Introduce the activity in context of giving bacteria a new trait
At this event we noticed the children understanding and applying the idea that transformation confers novel traits. For instance, one child decided to give his bacterium the power of invisibility. When directed to draw a bacterium and tape his pipe cleaner plasmid inside, he simply taped his plasmid to a blank piece of paper. Upon being asked why he did not draw the bacterium, he remarked that we couldn’t see it because it had been given the trait for invisibility. This synthesis of knowledge demonstrates a deep understanding of the material, and we were glad that our lessons were successful in this manner.

While this event was successful in terms of getting the children to understand the material, we did notice that it took a while to go through the entire activity. Occasionally, the childrens’ parents would start rushing the children to finish. Future versions of the bacteria superhero activity will be reevaluated to ensure meaningful content delivery in a shorter amount of time.

Highlands at Pittsford Senior Living Center


Our team was invited to present our iGEM project at Highlands at Pittsford, a senior residential center in Pittsford, NY.

Figure 18. Highlands at Pittsford Presentation: Saptasense members Sudarshan, Danielle, Shalaka, Isabelle, and Sarah C. present their iGEM project to senior citizens at a senior living center in Pittsford, NY. Note: Face coverings/masks were removed only for the photograph.
We discussed the “Science of Maple Syrup” using an interactive presentation followed by an audience Q&A session. Our presentation included details about the maple syrup production process, the various issues that maple syrup farmers are impacted by, and how our team is applying synthetic biology to improve the industry. We supplemented our presentation with a maple syrup tasting activity. Residents tasted and identified the differences between light and dark grades of syrup.

Though our audience was much different in terms of age and prior knowledge than our previous group of students, we outlined a list of goals and objectives to help make our presentation more effective and engaging.
Outreach Goals:

  1. Discuss project background and goals
  2. Facilitate discussion about synthetic biology applications.
  3. Encourage active audience participation.
Learning Objectives:
  • Describe the diverse applications of genetic engineering and genetically-modified organisms.
  • Synthesize high-level questions about synthetic biology using prior knowledge about DNA and biologyApply prior knowledge about DNA and general biology
  • Describe the consequences of buddy and ropy syrup on the maple syrup industry.

Throughout our presentation, the audience members were actively engaged and frequently paused Saptasense team members to ask questions. The residents that attended came from diverse backgrounds and varying levels of experience. In particular, one resident was a retired high school biology teacher who was particularly interested in the concept of modifying glucometers for unconventional uses. Most residents enjoyed the maple syrup tasting activity as it allowed them to connect what they learned in the presentation to the differences in light versus dark maple syrup.
Compared to some of our previous experience such as with the Synthetic Biology Camp, we were able to form a closer connection with the audience. The audience’s diverse prior knowledge and higher-order thinking skills allowed us to lead a more lively discussion. At the end of the presentation and Q&A session, we administered an anonymous survey to obtain feedback about our presentations. The results of these surveys are summarized below.

Figure 19. Overall Presentation Ratings: Distribution of responses to Highlands at Pittsford survey. The x-axis indicates response options, ranging from 1 (lowest rating) to 5 (highest rating). The y-axis indicates the percent of attendees who selected each option.
Figure 20. Demonstration Ratings: Distribution of responses to Highlands at Pittsford survey. The x-axis indicates response options, ranging from 1 (lowest rating) to 5 (highest rating). The y-axis indicates the percent of attendees who selected each option.
Figure 21. Amount of New Information Learned: Distribution of responses to Highlands at Pittsford survey. The x-axis indicates response options, ranging from 1 (lowest rating) to 5 (highest rating). The y-axis indicates the percent of attendees who selected each option.

In addition to the point-based ratings, we asked if attendees had any “questions, comments, or suggestions for the presenters”. We received both critical and positive feedback from this section of the survey. One resident wrote “Outstanding Project + Presentation,” while another resident suggested that “[our presentation] should be more organized”. Another audience member noted that it was somewhat difficult to understand the speakers due to our surgical masks (as these were required in the senior living center).
Figure 19. Sample survey responses from Highlands at Pittsford.

In all, our team felt that Highlands at Pittsford was a successful outreach event and received important feedback that we addressed at future events.

The primary critical feedback we received from our audience was regarding the structure and organization of our presentation and maple syrup tasting demonstration. Specifically, audience members felt that there was too much content and that the transitions between different sections of our project were not cohesive enough. One way we addressed this in future lessons was by preparing demonstration materials ahead of time and ensuring that there was a logical flow. For example, when speaking to an audience that is not familiar with the precise scientific or technical details of the project, it is important to first outline any relevant background information.

Conclusion


Team Saptasense worked with over 150 students and community members in our local communities and across the United States. We developed a novel pedagogical framework that combines elements of student-centered learning, universal design for learning, and Bloom’s taxonomy. This framework helped our team design and implement engaging, accessible, and student-focused lesson plans. During the curriculum design process, we met with experts in the field and used anonymous feedback from participants to improve and adapt activities to better fit the needs of our diverse audiences.
Designing effective and engaging educational materials is a cyclical process that requires educators to critically design, implement, evaluate, and revise their materials. Many of our activities underwent multiple rounds of revision to ultimately produce lesson plans that are suitable for diverse ages and learning styles. Across our 14 education events, we used our materials to make synthetic biology accessible to everyone – children, young adults, and senior citizens, alike – irrespective of their abilities. Our teaching experiences motivated us to create a Curriculum Design Guide that will help educators across the world develop engaging activities and lead open discussions about synthetic biology.

References


  1. Armstrong, P. (2010). Bloom’s Taxonomy. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved 3 October 2022 from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/.
  2. Bernot, Melody J., and Jennifer Metzler. "A comparative study of instructor-and student-led learning in a large nonmajors biology course: Student performance and perceptions." Journal of College Science Teaching 44.1 (2014): 48-55.
  3. Michael, Joel. "Where's the evidence that active learning works?." Advances in physiology education (2006).
  4. Rose, David H., and Anne Meyer. A practical reader in universal design for learning. Harvard Education Press. 8 Story Street First Floor, Cambridge, MA 02138, 2006.