This is a unit with several different lessons.  If begins with labelling, includes a useful overview power point on what a GMO is (does not go through the technology), has a second power point on GMO facts and fiction and many resources.  A nice set of sheets that organize critical thinking activities related to GMOs. 

This page has links to a great deal of information on careers in agriculture, most of which employ technicians of various kinds in the lab, field or market.   It leads to many other resources, such as the magazine Agro World which also has information on careers using technical backgrounds

A nice website to explore on soil science.  Designed for K-12 but could easily be upped in complexity.  Several lesson topics.  When you click one, it opens up to more lessons on that topic!  Check out Soil Conservation as one directly related to the case A Curious Display

Using readily available materials, students can see DNA that they extract from strawberries.  Strawberries have eight sets of chromosomes, making the DNA very plentiful.  Frozen strawberries and 70-90% isopropyl alchohol, salt and colorless dish detergent are used.  To make this an inquiry lab, students could modify the given recipe to see what affects how much DNA can be extracted.  

Background: Scientists use a technique called gel electrophoresis to look at a DNA fingerprint.  The DNA separates into bands and these bands form different lengths.  Every organism, with the exception of identical twins, has a different DNA fingerprint.

Goal: To understand how DNA is separated into a fingerprint by using a chromatography activity to simulate gel electrophoresis.

Learning Objectives: Students will…

• Follow directions to complete a gel electrophoresis simulation
• Use a color-separation technique to separate individual colors from two sample solution
• Use the results of the separation to infer whether the sample solutions are identical or not

Students will be presented with information, in the classroom, for developing effective search terms related to the topic of their assignment (GMO, in this case). Then, students can complete the Websource evaluation worksheet - either as a classroom activity or as a homework.

Activity

Choose how you would like to engage your students in the subject of GMO’s and how that is related to protein production in organisms.  We do not suggest that you give them this entire list!  You should choose the resources that will best fit your students and your learning outcomes for your course. In our session we will consider how you might fit in these items with your curricular goals and to make the learning process accessible for your students, with a focus on the science of GMO’s and not on the controversy of GMO’s.

Teach the concepts of the central dogma of biology with a hands on activity of building cute creatures (bug babies) from candy!  Participants will practice transcribing DNA into RNA from a template, and then use the RNA sequence to build amino acids. Using a “protein decoder” will allow for translation of RNA into specific traits.  Bug babies will then be built using marshmallows and other household supplies; demonstrating firsthand how the alteration of a few nucleotides can result in very different organismal phenotypes.

Students construct paper recombinant plasmids to simulate the methods genetic engineers use to create modified bacteria. They learn what role enzymes, DNA and genes play in the modification of organisms. For the particular model they work on, they isolate a plant herbicide resistant gene and combine it with a bacteria's gene sequence (plasmid DNA) to engineer crops' resistance to herbicide Roundup.

Use the Case Analysis Sheet as a scaffold for students when they begin a new case study (or read a newspaper article). This sheet  will help students generate questions and reflect on what they already know about the topics in a case, as well as identify types of resources to use as they learn more.  

Using paper chromosomes each marked with a unique allele, students make their Reebops (a fictional animal), form gametes, fertilize and make two generations of offspring.  They then construct the offspring out of candy using a trait/gene chart.  Pedigree charts may be introduced as an option. 

BioQUEST Contact: Jeremy Wojdak

BioQUEST Contact: Tara Pelletier

We are seeking two plant biologists and one invertebrate biologists with a research focus on wetlands.  Please talk with Holly Gaff if you are interested or want more information. Please pass this ad to anyone you know on the market for these kinds of positions!

BioQUEST Contact: Holly Gaff

"We seek a scholar or scholar/practitioner in cultural studies, literature, or performing/studio arts who is attentive to hierarchies of power and privilege and can offer cross-cultural and/or transnational perspectives on environmental traditions. Fields and research approaches are open, but could include: critical race theory, ecocriticism and nature writing, ecofeminism/feminist environmentalism, energy humanities, indigenous and post-colonial/decolonial/decolonizing environmentalisms, posthumanism and animal studies, and queer ecologies. Applicants with a demonstrated record of working successfully with a diversity of students, including underrepresented and marginalized populations, are encouraged to apply."

BioQUEST Contact: Carrie Diaz Eaton

Montgomery College, in Maryland, is a three-campus community college serving over 50,000 students represented from more than 160 countries. If you are interested to teach Biology in a diverse community college environment, look out for part-time faculty announcements in the provided link! Job positions will be advertised about two months before the start of a semester.

BioQUEST Contact: Vedham Karpakakunjaram