EDUCATION

Overview - Goals and Methods

This year, our iGEM team wanted to expand the focus on education to creating content which informs others about Synthetic Biology in the most digestible format and method possible. We designed social media posts and other content introducing Synthetic Biology to a wider audience among college students and the general public in an accessible way while dispelling many myths about the topic. By specifically targeting those in other majors or careers and appealing the application of Synthetic Biology in various fields, we also aimed to make Synthetic Biology a more attainable career to everyone.

To accomplish this, our education team decided three lesson plans, each targeting different grade levels, would be the best way to reach as many people as possible. The grade breakdown was ultimately split into kindergarten through third grade, fourth grade through eighth grade, and ninth grade through college. The team got together and decided the lesson plan should have both a bioethics component and an overview of the basics of Synthetic Biology to give a holistic view of the world of biological sciences.

The Synthetic Biology section was given to one member and the Bioethics section was given to another, with these members working closely together throughout the year to ensure the goals of cohesion and age-appropriate content were achieved in every lesson plan developed. Once the lesson plan details were agreed upon, the team looked for other ways to reach a more general audience since lesson plans would be more geared toward school-aged children and those in college.

To accomplish this goal, the education team decided to post on the Washington iGEM Instagram page once a week during the summer with a third member taking point on that project to retain ample attention on posts. These posts ranged in topic from the synthesis of DNA devices to bioinformatic analysis of the genome and were intended to give the general public a brief but informative glimpse into Synthetic Biology the techniques used by scientists and bioengineers today.

Lesson Plans

We scheduled two in person (with a virtual option) educational events. These events took place at the start of the University of Washington’s 2023-24 school year in order to reach out to incoming and returning undergraduate students about Synthetic Biology.

Many of these students had not taken any biology-related college courses or were not pursuing biology/bioengineering-related degrees. However, since many of them had taken a high school biology class, we decided a combined ninth-grade through college-level lesson plan would generally be a reasonable breakdown.

Introduction to Synthetic Biology

The goals defined for the Basics of Synthetic Biology portion of the curriculum were to:

1. Define Synthetic Biology
2. Consider why we use Synthetic Biology and what it means in practice
3. Explain a few Synthetic Biology experimental concepts and techniques
4. Promote thinking about why Synthetic Biology matters

Each of these goals was based on a question we wanted our audience to answer. They also reflected questions we had had when first learning about Synthetic Biology.

The first question we asked people was “What things come to mind when you hear the words synthetic and biology?” This question was designed to address our first goal. People find several definitions of Synthetic Biology when they look at external resources such as professors/teachers, on the internet, and books. However, we wanted the students to think internally about their conceptions of Synthetic Biology before our discussion. The key takeaway was to think about the intersection of engineering, biological systems, and new technologies in current scientific advancement.

The second question “How is Synthetic Biology used in current advances in technology?” was included to expose students to a broad array of fields and products which are developing using Synthetic Biology concepts and techniques. This would, in turn, allow students to easily connect our more abstract definition of Synthetic Biology with interesting applications. As many people have some knowledge about vaccines (due to their relevance during the pandemic), DNA and RNA vaccine technology was a specific area we made sure to explain. We also focused on the Pivot Bio PROVEN® 40 product as an example of a Synthetic Biology innovation now used in the agricultural sector.

The third question was “How is Synthetic Biology carried out by scientists?” One realization we had while talking to friends and family who are not involved in biotechnology was, for many, science seems like a black box model involving complicated processes too difficult to explain. To counter this, the lesson plan contained comprehensive yet accessible information on basics like genes (promoters and regulators), CRISPR gene editing, DNA plasmids, and Green Fluorescent Protein. It also pointed to our social media posts focused on breaking down scientific ideas into digestible pieces for a broader audience. We also zeroed in on the engineering process using the steps of Design, Build, Test, and Learn. By providing this framework of how real science works, we hoped Synthetic Biology would seem like a more approachable and accessible topic.

The fourth question we structured our lesson plan around was “Why does this matter?” This year, Washington iGEM chose an extremely personal project (PCB pollution) since the Duwamish Superfund Site is located in our city of Seattle. We described the health and equity issues PCB pollution causes on a local scale as well as our project and the interdisciplinary work our teams have done to propose our biofilm solution. It was important that our audience (mostly new students at UW who may not be from the Seattle area) understand issues facing the city, and if other people use or adapt our lesson plans, we encourage them to tailor this section towards a local issue as well!

Bioethics

The bioethics portion of our curriculum was intended to also be an entry-level lesson on a very broad and complex topic. Bioethics was vital in our lesson plans because it was important to us that the students and teachers who interacted with the material would be encouraged to ask questions about what they believe, the world around them, and their role in science, as well as be exposed to future careers in science they may not have considered. With this section, we wanted to introduce ethical theories and their reasoning, discuss how relevant bioethical considerations are placed on current Synthetic Biology research, and allow the audience to engage with the material given.

The first step in our lesson plan for bioethics was to define a few terms and aid in understanding what ethics, specifically bioethics, is. We defined the Kantian and Utilitarian theories while also providing a brief overview of the study of ethics and bioethics. This introductory section provides a brief glimpse into ethics as a study and why it is vital to science.

Our middle section of the bioethics curriculum focuses on a practical application of bioethics: DNA research. The section uses the 1975 International Congress on Recombinant DNA Molecules as a real-world example of bioethical thinking. We delve into a bit of history on what the conference was and why it is important in Synthetic Biology. This event, in particular, was chosen since it was the first scientific conference to allow radical transparency through journalists being invited to sit in on the conference and some of the policies agreed upon are still in effect today.

Finally, we wanted students to share, both with the teaching team and amongst themselves, their thoughts. Three hypothetical bioethics cases were discussed:

1. Is it morally right to test current medical advancements on animal subjects to prove safety and efficacy given the risk of death and serious injury?
2. Suppose a biologist is working on a vaccination for HIV and during clinical trials the scientist discovers that in a very select population of people who have a certain genetic mutation (1 in 100,000) the vaccination will kill, there is no feasible way to test for this mutation before giving the vaccine and there is no other vaccination for HIV. Should the scientist continue clinical trials with the vaccine or should they destroy their work and start fresh, potentially setting back having a vaccine for years?
3. Suppose a cure to a currently untreatable illness is developed. 500 doses are left over from clinical trials but due to lack of materials, other cures cannot be developed. They have been proven effective with arbitrarily minimal side effects, who do you believe should get that cure?

Designed to increase in difficulty and cover different areas of bioethics (General, Synthetic Biology research, and medicine), these scenarios were left purposefully vague for students to draw their own conclusions and make opinions from there. This was done so the education team leading the lesson could engage and ask the audience member about their reasoning. These questions, although designed to be decently accurate to real-world situations, do intentionally diverge from realistic paths occasionally for the sake of argument and ethical reasoning.

Adapting to Younger Audiences

For the fourth-grade to eighth-grade and kindergarten to third-grade lesson plans, we wanted the students to consider similar questions that we gave to the older students. The challenge was in simplifying the material in a way that was level-appropriate. To do so, we looked at the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which applies to several states, including Washington.

Standard MS-LS3-1 introduces the idea of genes for middle grades but in a mostly conceptual way. Additionally, standard MS-LS4-5 focused on understanding biotechnologies that impact society [1]. To address these standards, we removed some of the more technical aspects of the presentation and instead focused on getting students to consider ways they could see Synthetic Biology being used. We hope that people who use this lesson are able to promote healthy discussion or research time for their students in order to answer this question. The focus on engineering design was also pertinent as 6-8 standards focus on design, testing, and learning in an iterative process [2]. We compared the DBTL model to the Scientific Method (a model introduced earlier for many of these students). Finally, by continuing to explain our project, students will be able to see the “Influence of Science, Engineering, and Technology on Society and the Natural World,” an important cross-cutting concept for middle schoolers.

The kindergarten to third-grade plan presented some challenges as each year of schooling is more important for smaller children. However, we aimed to bridge the gap between kindergarteners and third-graders by connecting even abstract concepts at a very personal level. To define biology, we used a question meant to get the audience thinking about their own favorite organisms and the traits they hold. This matches with standards focusing on observations and understanding how different organisms need different traits to survive [3]. We also compared traits to building blocks (e.g., Legos) that can be passed down (e.g., to a student from their parents) or manipulated by biologists (e.g., trading blocks with a friend). This matches with the standards for the third-grade knowledge of traits being inherited and influenceable [4]. Standards for younger elementary students also focus on beginning the engineering process, so we thought it would be a fun activity for students to come up with their own chimeric animals that had super cool traits!

While we found educational standards to pair with the Introduction to Synthetic Biology lesson plan, finding complementary standards for the Bioethics plan was more difficult. Other than a small section in the high school standards mentioning that “Science is a Human Endeavor” and the feedback between science and society [5], we found the NGSS to lack a focus on the ethics issues surrounding biological sciences in all grades. This gap surprised us since we feel Bioethics is a field that can be adapted for younger grades and is critical in helping students think more deeply about science as a concept.

To address this gap, we modified our ninth-grade to college Bioethics lesson plan to create discussions that could engage and challenge younger children. These new discussions included personalizing the COVID-19 pandemic and making kids think about the different stakeholders, discussing who funds science, and considering who has decision-making power over potential products and innovations.

Social Media

Our social media section involved a series of weekly educational posts on Instagram throughout the summer wherein the categories and techniques of Synthetic Biology were broken down and explained shortly and simply.

We designed the Instagram posts to simplify the various types of Synthetic Biology and ease people into its topics. Since Synthetic Biology can be quite an intimidating topic, breaking down the processes into categories and further down into techniques helped narrow down the large field into smaller sections that are easier to understand.

Introducing Synthetic Biology by dividing it into three categories helps people pick out its key ideas and discover specific details.

The three categories and associated topics include: [6]

1. DNA-based device construction: create functioning biological components from the bottom up
1. Synthesis of DNA devices
2. Insertion of DNA devices in cells
2. Genome-driven cell engineering: synthesize genomes and insert them into cells
1. Bioinformatic analysis of the genome
2. Genome engineering
3. Insertion of genome engineering in living cells
3. Protocell creation: creating viable approximations of cells
1. Construction of cells and cellular sub-systems
2. Using synthesized and existing components

Throughout the post series, categories were introduced weekly one-by-one and discussed in detail. Our posts also clarified the similarities and differences between the categories and highlighted commonly misunderstood distinctions. To maximize viewer engagement and effectively explain the topics, the posts are concise and feature multiple formats including GIFs, interactive questions and activities, and various diagrams. Several posts also include various applications of the technology to demonstrate its significance in a multitude of Synthetic Biology-related industries.

The educational post series served well to preface our promotion of Byephenyl. In posting about the ideas behind our project and what particular discussed Synthetic Biology techniques were used, we aimed to introduce the project (and its science) to a broader audience.

Potential Extensions

Our Dawg Daze events had nearly 100 students attend and were the way we reached out to students this season. These events were accompanied by back-and-forth dialogue as students were curious about the techniques associated with Synthetic Biology and had clarifying questions on every situation raised in the Bioethics lesson.

Additionally, we have contacted several teachers across different grade levels for feedback on our designed plans. Our plans have a limited number of physical and tactile activities, which we know help some students learn more effectively. Hopefully, the feedback we receive will inspire new activities for our lessons while informing changes to our existing curriculum to enhance teachers’ current plans. Other valuable sources of feedback for us are camp counselors who run biology-related programs for kids of different ages.

It is also critical that we continue building on our social media presence and outreach. We hope to expand the educational post series with more formats like short video explanations as some add to posts which were shortened for easy understanding. We would also expand our YouTube channel with case studies, such as the Monsanto case study,where a company (Monsanto) has agreed to pay millions to settle PCB lawsuits with the city of Spokane, Washington, and cities in Oregon [7][8][9]. We also hope to finalize our research to set up various videos under our project.

References

1. NGSS Lead States. (2013). Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. MS.Growth, Development, and Reproduction of Organisms. Retrieved from ↗️link
2. NGSS Lead States. (2013). Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. MS.Engineering Design. Retrieved from ↗️link
3. NGSS Lead States. (2013). Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. K.Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems: Animals, Plants, and Their Environment. Retrieved from ↗️link
4. NGSS Lead States. (2013). Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. 3.Inheritance and Variation of Traits: Life Cycles and Traits. Retrieved from ↗️link
5. NGSS Lead States. (2013). Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. HS.Inheritance and Variation of Traits. Retrieved from ↗️link
6. A. O'Malley, M., Powell, A., Davies, J.F. and Calvert, J. (2008), Knowledge-making distinctions in Synthetic Biology. Bioessays, 30: 57-65. Retrieved from ↗️link
7. King, R & Choi, P. (2023, April 20). The Power of Water: City of Spokane receives settlement from Monsanto over Spokane River contamination. KXLY. Retrieved from ↗️link
8. Bush, E. (2020, June 24). Monsanto will pay $95 million in PCB settlement with Washington state. The Seattle Times. Retrieved from ↗️link
9. Wilson, C. and Profita, C. (2022, Dec 15). Oregon reaches nearly $700M settlement with Monsanto over PCB contamination. Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved from ↗️link