WSST Conference 2020

The Next Generation Science Standards embed course content within scientific practices and cross-cutting concepts in which students should show proficiency by the time they graduate high school. Authentic, scientific exploration is a natural extension of these standards. Given the limitations of time and resources, scientific research can be challenging to implement into current courses. In the summer of 2019, I developed an opportunity for high school students to provide motivated students an authentic learning opportunity in scientific research.

Over six weeks, students investigated how mutations drive changes in populations and lead to cancer. First, bacteriophages that infect Escherichia coli were used to model how selective pressures can drive genetic changes in populations. Phage-resistant E. coli were generated, and the genomes of individual clones were isolated. From these genomes, fhuA (the gene encoding the protein that the phages bind) was amplified and sequenced. To investigate the role of mutations in cancer, students used the database COSMIC to map the locations of amino acid changes in the EGFR protein that are associated with cancer. I will discuss the inception of the program, planning for authentic learning, and the successes and challenges in creating a program like this one.