Byte-sized bioinformatics: bringing computational biology to schools

计算科学、计算思维和大数据是未来的关键技能。它们提供职业发展机会，开展和支持具有国际竞争力的研究的能力，是未来经济增长和安全的基石。这些科目通常在大学科学课程中教授。但要实现快速进步、社会包容和公众理解，就必须在更早的教育阶段就整合这些技能。生物信息学（计算生物学）提供了一种极好的方法，让年轻人获得计算技能，并展示了当今计算科学的普遍相关性。计算思维和许多计算技能可以在大数据和包括计算机科学、物理、天文学、化学、统计学和应用数学在内的STEM领域进行转换。生物信息学是医学、农业和环境研究当前和未来进展的基础，许多STFC科技项目都有生物信息学成分。在苏格兰，新的高等生物学卓越课程和高等人类生物学课程取得了重要的飞跃，其中明确包括生物信息学。然而，这个主题几乎总是在没有实际内容的情况下教授，并且可能被视为远离学校的实践。在现实中，实用的生物信息学可以很容易地进入学校——只需要免费软件和互联网连接就可以访问与专业使用完全相同的工具、数据和环境。我们的目标是直接影响和改善苏格兰至少50%目前在六年级教授生物学的中学的生物信息学教学。我们将在苏格兰学校为高等生物学、高等人类生物学和高级高等生物学的学生提供、开发和分享生物信息学的全班活动，并为苏格兰的教师提供持续专业发展（CPD）。优先考虑的学校将包括远离STEM主要活动中心的学校，以及升学率较低的学校。该项目是在爱丁堡大学资助的一个成功的试点项目之后进行的。教师对试点项目的反馈包括：“我将利用提供的资源来培训生物系的其他成员，这样这个研讨会就可以传授给所有的高年级学生。”它将嵌入到课程中”，并且“让学生看到他们所学的东西在课堂之外是如何相关的”。学生们对试点项目的反馈包括：“让我们一下子接触到了编程和新的生物学”、“我们看到了计算机如何以我以前从未想过的方式被应用”、“让我对这门课程敞开了心扉”。为生物学学生提供的生物信息学课堂活动，为科学计算提供了几乎全新的受众，并抵消了与计算机科学相关的强烈的男性性别偏见。我们的班级活动具有广泛的多样性和包容性优势。我们的研讨会将提供实用的大学水平的活动的味道，在生物学课程和跨生物学和计算的主题联系起来，并增加计算的理解。展示具有生物信息学成分的STFC研究的实际案例，将使学生更好地了解STFC科学和技术，并将揭示与他们日常生活的联系。我们将让苏格兰教师在生物信息学方面自给自足，我们将让学生更好地理解生物信息学，并意识到计算科学在现代研究、工业和社会中的核心作用。我们将开发的材料将在网上免费提供给所有人。

Computational science, computational thinking and Big Data are critical skills for the future. They provide career development opportunities, an ability to conduct and support internationally competitive research, and are a keystone to future economic growth and security. These subjects are typically taught within university science programmes. But for rapid progress, social inclusion and public understanding, acquiring these skills must be integrated at much earlier stages in education. Bioinformatics (computational biology) provides an excellent means to allow young people to gain computational skills and to demonstrate the pervasive relevance of computational science today. Computational thinking - and many computational skills - are transferable across Big Data and STEM including computer science, physics, astronomy, chemistry, statistics and applied mathematics. Bioinformatics underpins current and future progress in medicine, agriculture and environmental research, and many STFC science and technology projects have a bioinformatics component.In Scotland, an important leap forward has been made with the new Curriculum for Excellence for Higher Biology and Higher Human Biology curricula, which explicitly include bioinformatics. However, the topic is almost always taught without a practical component, and may be seen as distant from practice in schools. In reality, practical bioinformatics can be easily accessible to schools - requiring only free software and an Internet connection to access exactly the same tools, data and environment as used professionally. Our aim is to directly impact and improve bioinformatics teaching in at least 50% of secondary schools in Scotland that currently teach biology at sixth-form level. We will deliver, develop and share whole-class activities in bioinformatics across Scottish schools for students of Higher Biology, Higher Human Biology and Advanced Higher Biology, and continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers in Scotland. Priorities will include schools remote from major centres of STEM activity, and schools with low progression rates to university. This project follows a successful pilot project funded via the University of Edinburgh. Teacher feedback from the pilot includes 'I will make use of the resources provided to train the other members of the Biology department so this workshop can be delivered to all Higher pupils. It will become embedded in the curriculum', and 'Allows pupils to see how what they are learning about is relevant outside the classroom'. Student feedback from the pilot includes 'Introduced us to programming and new biology, at once', 'We were able to see how computing can be used in ways I didn't think about before', and 'Opened my mind to the course'.Whole-class activities in bioinformatics for biology students reach an almost entirely new audience for scientific computation, and off-set the strong male gender bias associated with computer science. Our whole-class activities have extensive advantages for diversity and inclusion. Our workshops will give a taste of practical university-level activities, link topics within the Biology curriculum and across Biology and computing, and increase understanding of computation. Showcasing actual case studies of STFC research with a bioinformatics component will give students a better understanding of STFC science and technology, and will reveal links to their daily lives.We will leave Scottish teachers self-sufficient in bioinformatics, and we will leave pupils with a better understanding of bioinformatics and an awareness of the central role of computational science in modern research, industry and society. The materials that we will develop will be made freely available to all, online.