Starting an outreach program: PA DNA Day

This past April, I organized volunteers from Lehigh University to hold the inaugural Pennsylvania DNA Day (PA DNA Day)!

PA DNA Day is an outreach program that brings young scientists into high schools to talk about DNA, genetics and new genomics advances.  I had seen this successful model while I was at UNC Chapel Hill (which is where the DNA Day program started), so I reached out to the coordinator there and they were happy to help me set it up here in PA! It was great timing as well, as DNA Day activities were expanding across the US. 

With its inception, PA DNA Day joined the growing network of states celebrating National DNA Day (https://www.genome.gov/10506367/national-dna-day/), held every April 25^th to commemorate the discovery of DNA's double helix in 1953 and the completion of the Human Genome Project 50 years later in 2003.

I worked with with the Director for Academic Diversity and Outreach at Lehigh, who helped facilitate formation of a partnership with science teachers the Bethlehem City high schools. This way, I met with the superintendent first, then they reached out to the teachers to see if it was something they were interested in. Once we confirmed teachers would find this helpful I put out a  campus-wide open invitation to interested young Lehigh scientists. Those who responded included undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, and they were trained to deliver a class module on genetics aimed at high school students.

A major goal of PA DNA Day is to provide an opportunity for high school students to meet and interact with a young scientist, broadening their scope of what a scientist looks like and breaking down barriers for students to follow scientific career paths, especially students from STEM underrepresented minorities. Moreover another major goal of PA DNA Day is to give early-career scientists at Lehigh the opportunity to share their passion for science with students fostering a spirit of public engagement and interest in science outreach throughout their careers.

For this inaugural PA DNA Day, 16 Lehigh University volunteers participated: 10 undergraduates, 5 graduate students and 1 postdoctoral researcher. Combined, the volunteers taught 11 different class periods, from 5 teachers at Liberty and Freedom high schools, reaching over 300 students!

In each class, Lehigh volunteers discussed with students the advances in genetics and genomics, as well as their own personal paths to science. The interactive class module involved a presentation on DNA and a short experiment to demonstrate genetic principles (such as: extracting your own DNA from saliva! Or testing if you have the PTC tasting gene!). 

Feedback about the program was overwhelming positive. Teachers from the high schools praised the Lehigh volunteers. Said one teacher, "All the ambassadors were amazing, their range of experience was great to witness." Another commented on their students’ reactions saying, “It was a great experience for the students. They thoroughly enjoyed the activities and guest lectures. I would highly recommend this event to others."

The young scientist volunteers from Lehigh University also praised the program. Said one volunteer, "[Participating helped me] I think most importantly, being able to communicate scientific topics (various ranges of complexity) to a general population/audience is a very useful skill that I know I personally will need in my future research career."

With the success of PA DNA Day 2016, planning is already underway for next year’s event. I hope to expand the program to nearby Lehigh Valley colleges and universities to recruit more volunteers, which will allow more high schools to be reached by including nearby other school districts! 

If you have any questions about joining in PA DNA Day or how to set up an outreach program like this feel free to contact me, I'd be happy to help.  

And, for more information on PA DNA Day, visit the website at http://www.lehigh.edu/~indnaday/ and follow us on twitter @PADNADay.  

Graduate student and postdoc volunteers having fun trying to make DNA with their hands. 

Me with the graduate student and postdoc volunteers on  DNA Day. 

Graduate student Chuck Fisher demonstrates DNA saliva extraction with a Bethlehem high school student. 

Volunteers Katie Mageeny and Jessica Leung with their class after the lesson. 

Undergraduate volunteer Cynthia Xu teach a Bethlehem high school class. 

The Importance of Storytelling

In my previous post on using case studies in teaching, I had this quote about storytelling from Dr. Clyde Freeman Herreid: "What's the magic of stories? People love stories. Stories put learning into context."

About a year ago I tweeted this out:

@BlackandSTEM @HeyDrWilson @minoritypostdoc Help finding resources on minority scientists' contributions (old or new) in biology/genetics?

— Krystle McLaughlin (@biophyskrys) August 4, 2015

I got lots of great feedback and links to resources (click on the tweet to see replies). My intent was to embed stories of these scientists' contributions into my genetics class.

Last year, I ran out of time and did not get a chance to integrate these additional scientists from the sources above, but this year I am excited to do it! 

Why do I think this is important? 

Many students (especially those who come from non-traditonal backgrounds) have this idea of that science is done by lone geniuses (often pictures as old, white and male) who flawlessly figure everything out.

When I teach any science class, I make it a point to talk about some of the scientists that contributed to a topic. I try to emphasize that (1) scientific research is a slow process (not like in the movies), (2) science is a team sport and (3) doing scientific research is not exclusive.

I try to show that scientists are hardworking, can make mistakes, collaborate with other scientists, and are more diverse than they think.  In addition to well thought out experiments, I talk about the details  they may not have known. The behind the scenes collaborations, or the feuds and misunderstandings such as in the Discovery of DNA with Rosalind Franklin. I talk about historical accidents that have led to discoveries like penicillin or aquaporin. I point out scientists who are different, perhaps were young like Alfred Strutevant (he was 19 when he made the first genetic map) or young & female like Martha Chase (who at 22 helped confirm DNA was the genetic material). I tell an anecdote I heard from 2009 Nobel Prize winner Dr. Venki Ramkrishnan about how it took many students he mentored over several years, trying thousands of conditions before they were able to solve the structure of the ribosome. This year I will add even more. 

I also tell my own stories. Story of uncertainty and failure: How I didn't know what I was going to do after I got my undergraduate degree. How I once got a 10% on a physics exam. How I once spilled 1.5 L of bacterial cells all over my feet. And stories of resilience and success: How I spent hours working problems to catch back up in physics. How my graduate research is contributing to potential disease treatments. How I found mentors to help me, as a first generation college student, stay in the game. 

I think this helps students by challenging the narrative they come with. It puts science, research and scientists in a different context. It broadens their views. And, for students from under-represented backgrounds in STEM, it helps them to see themselves in the scientific community. To see that they have the potential to make their own story. 

Case Studies in Teaching

Earlier this summer I finally got the chance to attend the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS) Summer Workshop.

For the last four years I have been using case studies in my biology classes. I learned about the NCCSTS and case study teaching during my time in SPIRE. The first year I taught intro bio at UNC Pembroke, the SPIRE scholar who as taught the class before me helped me as I was preparing and pointed me to a case study she had used called "The Secret of Popcorn Popping Water Power at the Cellular Level". I liked it and adopted it when I taught the class as well. Since then I have moved from using just one case study, to on average about 5-10 per semester (almost one every week in my genetics class). I really enjoy integrating them, and I think the students enjoy it too. I was interested in writing my own as there were some topics I wanted to have a case for that didn't yet have a case published.

My best description of the NCCSTS summer workshop: a 5-day intensive learning bonanza! I loved it. You learn how to write a case, but in true active learning style (it would be ironic if it were taught any other way!) we participated in many different cases to really learn how to write one. And, at the end of the week you had to have written an entire case and presented it to real students! It was true immersion learning. We did have 3 talks from professors who use the case study teaching method a lot, and they gave us great tips, but most of the workshop we were either writing/editing our own case or participating in different styles of cases.  Case studies can take many forms- they can be whole class discussions, small group work, and clicker lecture format etc. This workshop was wonderfully facilitated primarily by Dr. Clyde Freeman Herreid. One of the early points he had us discuss, was why you would use case studies in teaching science: the power of a story. 

Telling a story, engages the listener. Instead of just talking a about how mutations in a protein can lead to a change in its shape in class, I can frame that content as a conversation between a doctor and a patient grappling with a diagnosis of sickle cell anemia through a case study. It gives the student something to connect to, a framework.

In his introduction to "Start With a Story: The Case Study Method of Teaching College Science", Dr. Herried describes case studies succinctly as "stories with an educational message." He continues, "What's the magic of stories? People love stories. Stories put learning into context."

I completely agree, and feedback from my students have confirmed this. Also remember, the case study method has long been used successfully in other disciplines (e.g. law, medicine, business).

When I teach with case studies, I often feel more engaged. Active learning techniques are so much more invigorating to teach with! I am also happy that all the studies show that active learning- any way that the student engages with the material rather than passively try to absorb it- helps learning outcomes.

The NCCSTS publishes the case studies through a double blind peer review. You can access all the case studies at www.nccsts.org, and all the teaching resources for a small fee.

As my summer teaching is finished, I am trying to revise and publish the case study I wrote at the workshop and to also write another case study, this time on CRISPR, to use next semester...!

Folding, folding, folding...

Well, the school year is over and as you can see I had a lot of free time to write about my teaching adventures on this blog... :|  Where does the time go?? 

Anyway- Summer is here so I'll be posting recaps of some successful activities I tried:

In the Spring, I teach the first semester of our intro biology course. The course is fairly large (~270 students) and I wanted to continue trying to bring a small class feel. I do a number of things like trying to learn all their names (successful-ish...maybe learned ~150-  suggestions welcome!) and doing in-class activities. My go-to active learning activity is think-pair-share, and we did some variation of those almost every class as it's not so hard to implement in a large class. When I taught a smaller intro bio class with only ~25 students, were were also able to do more hands-on activities, for example building hydrocarbons out of toothpicks and gum drops, and I wanted to do a hands-on activity similar for my large class. However scaling up along with practical considerations like passing out materials in a timely manner are always a challenge.

I had read this paper about a protein folding activity for large courses and decided to give it a go: White, B. (2006) A Simple and Effective Protein Folding Activity Suitable for Large Lectures Cell Biology Education 5:264-269.

It sounded great- I am a macromolecular x-ray crystallographer so I am constantly trying to get my students to think about macromolecules in 3-D and think about structure-function relationships.  And seemed simple enough: each student gets a 4-ft 18-guage copper wire, and instructions on forming different shapes in order to create a polypeptide, then they are instructed asked to fold it, simulating a protein folding. 


In the paper, the author (Brian White) has the instruction handout on his website (helpful) and a footnote about why you need this specific type of wire (very helpful) as well as where he purchased this wire pre-cut (even more helpful!). However once I set out looking to purchase the wire, I realized things had changed since 2006 when the paper was originally published. When I called the company mentioned in the footnote for a cost estimate, instead of $0.30/wire they quoted me at $1.12/wire for a total of $ 313.60 for 280 wires! Almost 4x the price in 2006...well that's some crazy inflation for you. I wasn't about to spend >$300 on one activity- I don't think my department would think that was an efficient way to spend funds- so I looked around on Lowes' and Home Depot's websites to see if I could find it cheaper pre-cut. I ended up calling Lowe's and talking to a salesperson in electrical for a long time who- after I explained my crazy request- helped me figure out this solution: 

1. They didn't have pre-cut wire there, but I could come in and they would help me cut them.
2. Insulated 18-guage wire was available in multiple conductor form- for example if you bough 18/8 insulated copper wire this meant that there was actually 8 separately insulated copper wires inside like this:                                                            And it was those inside wires that you needed for the activity! 
3. To get 280 4-ft wires from 18/8 wire I just needed 140 ft cut into 4 ft pieces. He showed me how to quickly cut open the outside insulation, then untwist the inside wires. 

So I went in, met up wit the helpful Lowe's guy from the phone call and helped me pick the most economical option for getting the amount of wires I needed. Once we decided we started cutting. 

In all it took about ~40 mins get to Lowes, get the wire, cut it into 4-ft pieces and get out. And it cost $102 (with tax)! Then I went home and used a box cutter to take off the outer insulation, to get out the inner wires. That took ~1 hr. But then I had them all in a giant box that I took to class!

In class I had a slide up as students walked into class telling them to take one wire from the box. It worked and everyone had one by the time class started no rushing or crowding. Then we successfully used them multiple times during class as we talked about protein structure, folding and denaturation! At the end I told students to put them back in the box. Here's a  sampling of some I got back in their twisted forms: 

(I ended up with only 130 back though so I think many students decided they wanted a souvenir...)

They are now unwound (with the help of my TAs) and ready to use at least one more time next Spring!  

SiTC

I just found what looks like a great resource for reading journal articles in the classroom- in particular, articles from Science! 

It's provided by AAAS & called Science in the Classroom (SiTC). They provide annotated Science articles that you can use in class.  Here's a link to an article about this new resource: AAAS offers new tools 

You can find the annotated Science articles here: 

(and apparently they will be adding new articles twice a month to the SiTC site, on the second and fourth Thursdays at 2:00 pm Eastern time!)

I haven't used it yet, but if I do I'll let you know how it goes!