We investigated the effects of our Bio-ITEST teacher professional development model and bioinformatics curricula on cognitive traits (awareness, engagement, self-efficacy, and relevance) in high school teachers and students that are known to accompany a developing interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. The program included best practices in adult education and diverse resources to empower teachers to integrate STEM career information into their classrooms. The introductory unit, Using Bioinformatics: Genetic Testing, uses bioinformatics to teach basic concepts in genetics and molecular biology, and the advanced unit, Using Bioinformatics: Genetic Research, utilizes bioinformatics to study evolution and support student research with DNA barcoding. Pre–post surveys demonstrated significant growth (n = 24) among teachers in their preparation to teach the curricula and infuse career awareness into their classes, and these gains were sustained through the end of the academic year. Introductory unit students (n = 289) showed significant gains in awareness, relevance, and self-efficacy. While these students did not show significant gains in engagement, advanced unit students (n = 41) showed gains in all four cognitive areas. Lessons learned during Bio-ITEST are explored in the context of recommendations for other programs that wish to increase student interest in STEM careers.

Vol. 12, No. 3

September 01, 2013

315-575

Supplemental Materials

Metrics

Downloads & Citations

Downloads: 617

Citations: 25

History

Submitted: 10 November 2012

Revised: 7 March 2013

Accepted: 4 April 2013

Information

© 2013 D. N. Kovarik et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2013 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Leena Pranikay, Joan Griswold, MIT, Reitha Weeks, PhD, and Jennifer M. Pang, PhD, for their assistance in program development and implementation and their review of the manuscript components. We also thank Lee Weigt, PhD, and Amy Driskell, PhD, of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, for their assistance in the development of the DNA barcoding laboratory protocols for use with teachers and students. Thanks also to the scientist and student curriculum reviewers: Brian Fox, PhD, a senior scientist of computational biology at Novo Nordisk; Mette Peters, PhD, then a director at the Institute of Translational Health Sciences at the University of Washington; and Carol Farris, PhD, then a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics at the University of Washington. Finally, we also thank the Bio-ITEST Advisory Board for their guidance and feedback and the teachers and students who made this research possible. This research was supported by the NSF ITEST program (DRL 0833779). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

PDF download