Team:UNICAMP-EMSE Brazil/Human Practices/DNA workshop

Human Practices 1: The DNA Workshop

Proposal

• The DNA Workshop consisted in a new "self-propagating" didactical method that can be used to teach and disseminate Genetic Engineering knowledge to high school students, who have never heard about this scientific field. We aimed to stimulate students to think about being scientists, understanding how important are these themes and that they are not so far from the students! We call the DNA Workshop a "self-propagating" didactical method since a school teacher can easily present our Video-class to their students and after that, promote the "workshop", which consists on a very small version of iGEM, where the students are stimulated to solve a problem by terms of creating a genetic system. The DNA workshop kit is very easy to build, you can see the step-by-step assembly of the kit by clicking here.

• We applied this method in "UFMG e escolas" ('UFMG and Schools' in portuguese), a traditional course promoted each semester at Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), in Belo Horizonte city, Brazil. In this course, sixty (60) high school students stay for one week working in Biology Institute laboratories, by creating questions and trying to answer through experiments. Then, we participated in one afternoon performing the presentation of our videoclass and promoting the DNA Workshop! The results were AMAZING! We were able to STIMULATE the students and to ATTRACT their interest for Science and Genetic Engineering. Also, they could LEARN about this field and sure, they will never forget this experience, where they created many solutions for important problems and awarded great knowledge.

Methodology Proposal

The "DNA Workshop" method, which can be used in schools, is composed by:
1. A Video class, specially prepared with basic concepts and an easy-way language. This video class contains:

• information about Genetic Engineering and Synthetic Biology and their applications;
• some interviews with specialists (important geneticists from State University of Campinas (UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo-Brazil);
• a practical example, using homemade materials;

3. Then, we distributed for each group of students an DNA Workshop kit, which contains:

1. A problem card (like diseases such as Hemophilia and Diabetes, or environmental problems), which they should solve (here solving means design a genetic dispositive that would help, for example, the patient to dealing better or to eliminate the problem).
2. A set of genes related to the problem:

• Example:

• for Diabetes, the students received gene cards of real and fictitious genes such as "Insulin Gene"
  and "Insulin production-inducing gene" or even "Blood sugar reducing gene";

1. A set of promoters (Weak, medium and strong promoters)
2. A set of possible hosts, organisms which would receive the genetic system

4. In the end, the students must think carefully about which gene, promoter and host they would choose and explain why the proposed combination of parts would be a good solution. The best solutions received awards (all groups were awarded).

You can find below the Video class and a documentary video showing the application of DNA Workshop method, realized by our team with sixty high-school students from Belo Horizonte city/Brazil. The DNA Workshop was performed in a traditional high school vacation course which occurs at UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais), called UFMG and Schools ("UFMG e Escolas - Educando para a Ciência"). In this course, the high-school students stay in the laboratory developing their own ideas and trying to answer their own scientific questions. We had one afternoon (the "DNA day") to develop with the students our method and it was completely AWESOME! You can find out the enthusiasm and interest that workshop was able to create on the students in our second video, a Documentary about our results! Additionally, we used questionnaries in order to obtain general information about knowledge in genetic engineering among the high-school students from Belo Horizonte city. You can find out the results by clicking here.

Genetic Engineering Video Class

• You can see below (or in the YOUTUBE) the Video Class we prepared to disseminate Genetic Engineering and Synthetic Biology in an easy-way and simple language. This Video Class was prepared by Izabella Pena-Neshich and Danieli Gonçalves. The filming was realized at Biology Institute (IB) and Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering Center (CBMEG) at UNICAMP in July/2011.

Documentary Video about DNA Workshop application

Survey results

The high-school students (from 13 to 17 years-old) answered a short questionnarie for the purpose of gathering information about their profile, interests and knowledge. 46 students accepted to answer the surveys. The questions and results are the following:

By analyzing these graphics we can conclude that most of the high-school students in fact have never heard about synthetic biology and genetic engineering. Additionally, the majority of students think that Educational Programs (such as our proposal) should be focused in order to increase and spread the knowledge about this field. This is a very interesting fact, Brazilian school system seems to not prioritize the contact of students with this kind of science. This is not a good point, since the contact with science early in school is very important to show to the person a possible way which he/she can choose. Many people here in Brazil will die without even hearing about genetics, and maybe if they have heard about and if someone could awake in this person the passion for science, maybe we would have more scientists. In our survey, most children which studies in schools have never heard about Genetic Engineering. We can imagine that if we get a sample of more students, this pattern would continue being observed. Nowadays these students who answered those questionnaries know what is Genetic Engineering, and maybe tomorrow they will be more well-informed and conscious citizens or great scientists, and will contribute to live better in this world. Then we may ask you something: What about millions of Brazilian children in schools which have never heard about this scientific fields? And What about if some of then, when in contact with science, could become great scientists? But this will only occur if they have contact with science, if someone can show to them how beautiful is understanding nature. This is our proposal: make them know what they are able to do. They are able to do everything, whatever problem they want to solve, they can solve by means of science. There is an evidence in the graphics above which support the hypothesis that there are lots of students which could be (in the future) interested in synthetic biology. The majority of students said that had never heard about iGEM, and most of them, after the presentation, answered that they would be interested in participating in iGEM. We believe that this can show that the students must have a primary contact with a field to awake their interest. By disseminating this field, we could find future scientists.

Curiosities:

• Izabella Pena-Neshich, one of the students, participated in this same program (UFMG and schools) when she was 16 years old. This little contact with science changed her life. She discovered that she loves science and fell very good in trying to understand the nature. Then, after this contact with laboratories, scientific projects and talks, she decided to start her undergraduate studies in Biological Sciences. If she had not participated on UFMG and Schools, she probably would not participating today in iGEM.

Gallery

DNA Workshop gallery

Izabella, Danieli and the students having fun with genetic engineering!!!!	EXPLICIT HAPPINESS! Danieli Gonçalves, Izabella Pena-Neshich and Luiza Pena (Izabella's sister) experiencing unforgettable emotions!!	Izabella and Danieli with Profa. Macedo and Prof. Beirão	Izabella and Danieli with Braulio Lima, UFMG graduate student
Izabella and Danieli with UFMG graduate students	Luiza A. Pena, profa. Macedo Izabella Pena-Neshich, Prof. Beirão, Danieli Gonçalves	Students discussing the problems	Student CELEBRATING the award his group won! See our VIDEO DOCUMENTARY at 08:40!!!
Students discussing the problems, they were really experiencing fun with science	Students involved in solving the given problems	Students discussing the problems	Students discussing the problems, they really get involved in the DNA workshop!

Special acknowledgement:

We would like to thank the interviwed professors:

Prof^a. Dr^a. Andrea Macedo, UFMG
Prof. Dr. Paulo Beirão, UFMG/CNPQ
Prof. Dr. Paulo Arruda, CBMEG-UNICAMP
Prof^a. Dr^a. Leda Quercia, UFMG
Prof^a. Dr^a. Edi Sartorato, CBMEG-UNICAMP

Additionally, we would like to thank Luiza A. Pena for helping us filming the Documentary and Braulio Lima for helping us in the DNA Workshop.