ASSET: Expanding and Sustaining Hands-on Science in K-12 Classrooms using Tetrahymena

项目摘要/摘要 该提案建立在ASSET计划(推进二级科学)的现有基础设施之上 通过四膜虫进行教育)，编写新的教材，接触到新的学生群体，以及 通过将其总体职能从纽约州伊萨卡市的康奈尔大学转移到该计划，确保该计划的可持续性 从纽约到圣路易斯的华盛顿大学。在过去的10年里，ASSET建立了一个非常成功的SEPA 向小学生、初中生和高中生教授核心生物学内容的计划，使用安全、轻松的 生长的，行为复杂的单细胞生物体(即四膜目)。四膜虫提供了一种理想的 讲授细胞结构与功能、遗传学、进化论、性、捕食者基本原理的平台 相互作用、细胞信号等，而不会在学生中产生任何经常引起的冲突反应 活的脊椎动物。此外，四膜虫还提供了有毒物质有害影响的图解。 和/或活性细胞上的成瘾物质，为教师提供了一种强大的工具 打击药物滥用，倡导健康行为。Asset提供独立的实验室套件， 很容易融入现有的科学/健康课程，以及创新的联合课程模块， 解决科学和社会之间的交叉问题。该计划帮助科学教师教育学生 农村和市中心学区资源不足的学校，提供强有力的现场和远程教师 发展活动，同时不断接受教学效果的评估。这项新提议将 通过在现有模块中引入新材料以及新的 针对SEPA最近确定的具有高度规划兴趣的领域的模块，具体地说，是嵌入 P-8教学项目中的数学；让学生接触研究产生的数据；以及培训学生 信息学、生物信息学和数据科学。联合董事具有丰富的教学经验 生物信息学和帮助学生解释研究驱动的数据，而华盛顿的课程专家 大学的学校合作研究所处于有利地位，可以评估现有的模块以确定 在年级时使用生物学和学生生成的数据来教授数学概念的机会 适当的水平。最后，从康奈尔大学到华盛顿大学的迁移解决了另一个领域 对SEPA的计划兴趣，即调整成功的SEPA计划以适应新领域或新的 人口。通过其学校合作研究所，华盛顿大学坚定地致力于 实现K-12教育公平为中西部10万名学生提供高质量的STEM教学 通过它的各种教学计划。将资产计划纳入其保护伞下，扩大了其目前的 活动，向全新的学生群体介绍资产，并为资产提供安全避风港 继续其长期使命，加强STEM教育，并最终加强STEM劳动力。

Project Summary/Abstract This proposal builds on an existing infrastructure of the ASSET program (Advancing Secondary Science Education through Tetrahymena), to generate new teaching materials, reach new student populations, and ensure sustainability of the program by transitioning its overall functions from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York to Washington University in St. Louis. Over the past 10 years, ASSET has built a highly successful SEPA program that teaches core biology content to primary, middle, and high school students using a safe, easily grown, and behaviorally complex single-celled organism (viz. Tetrahymena). Tetrahymena provides an ideal platform for teaching basic principles of cell structure and function, genetics, evolution, sex, prey-predator interaction, cell signaling, etc. without engendering in students any of the conflicting reactions often evoked using live vertebrate animals. Additionally, Tetrahymena offers a graphic illustration of the deleterious effects of toxic and/or addictive substances on living cells in real-time, equipping teachers with a powerful tool with which to fight against substance abuse and promote healthy behavior. ASSET provides stand-alone laboratory kits that are easily integrated into existing science/health curricula, along with innovative co-curricular modules that address the intersection between science and society. The program helps science teachers educate students in under-resourced schools in rural and inner-city school districts, provides robust on-site and distance teacher development activities, while continuously being evaluated for pedagogical effectiveness. This new proposal will greatly expand the program’s current offerings by introducing new materials to existing modules, as well as new modules that address recently identified areas of high programmatic interest to SEPA, specifically, embedding math in P-8 teaching projects; exposing students to research-generated data; and, training students in informatics, bioinformatics, and data science. The Co-Directors have extensive experience teaching bioinformatics and helping students interpret research-driven data, while curriculum specialists at Washington University’s Institute for School Partnership are well-positioned to evaluate existing modules to identify opportunities to teach mathematical concepts using examples from biology and student generated data at grade appropriate levels. Finally, the move from Cornell to Washington University addresses an additional area of programmatic interest for SEPA, namely, adapting successful SEPA programs to new areas or with new populations. Through its Institute for School Partnership, Washington University is strongly committed to achieving equity in K-12 education bringing high-quality STEM teaching to >100,000 students in the Midwest through its various teaching programs. Incorporating the ASSET program under its umbrella expands its current activities, introduces ASSET to whole new populations of students, and provides ASSET a safe haven for continuing its long-term mission to enhance STEM education and, ultimately, the STEM workforce.