Bioscience Education:Past, Present and Future

Mr. Jamie Allison

Biotechnology Instructor – Loveland High School

Consortium Manager – Southwest Ohio Bioscience Education Consortium (SWOBEC)

The Past

Phase 1 - Business Partners Describe Workforce Needs

• Knowledge BaseChem, Bio, Engineering, English, etc.

• Degrees & DiplomasHigh School Grad, AS, BS, MS, PhD

• SkillsPipetting, Solutions, Dilutions, Lab Notebook, Sterile Technique, Safety

Phase 2 - College & University Partners Identify Current and Potential Programs and Degrees to Supply Workforce

• AS in Biotechnology, Chemical Technology, Clinical Lab Skills…

• BS in Biotechnology, Chemical Technology, Clinical Lab Studies…

• MS in…

Phase 3 - High Schools Invited to Create and Write Course and to Pilot Program

• A variety of schools are asked to participate in an effort to create a pathway and program

• Varied demographics and financial status

• Urban, Suburban, Rural• Financially Challenged• Financially Stable

This is when LHS Got InvolvedTech Prep Consortium invited school

guidance counselors to P & G Pharmaceuticals program presentation in Dec 2004

Program resulted in curriculum meeting at high school in Jan 2005

Addition of program was approved by the district curriculum director and superintendent

Phase 4 - Creation of Competencies

• Partners from Industry and the post secondary institutions form a futuring panel

• Futuring panel then creates a list of

the required skills and knowledge needed for a job in Bioscience/Biotechnology

This is the point where I became involved and

worked with the Greater Cincinnati Tech

Prep Consortium

Phase 5 - “Cross Walking” Curricula

• Each of the high school partners brings the course of study for their science curriculum

• Content and standards from pre-requisite and co-requisite courses are used to eliminate content from Bioscience Curriculum that would be redundant

• College partners eliminate content and skills that are too advanced for high school

Creation of Bioscience Pathway and a Community of LearnersAt this point in our history, we

officially became a pathwayWe operated in a spirit of

collaboration to create something that has rarely been done before

The atmosphere we created allowed each of us to bring our best (and sometimes our worst) to the table

Thus, our community of learners

Phase 6 - Final Curriculum

• The end result is a curriculum that flows seamlessly from high school to college to employment

• The curriculum is approved by all members of the partnership

Phase 7 - The Cherry on Top

• Articulation Agreements are signed between the high schools and the colleges which allow the high school students to earn college credit while still in a high school classroom

• Students in this pathway are given advanced standing when applying to colleges within the pathway

Uniformity

Creation of a Course Manual

• A manual has been created to ensure that the content taught in the program is uniform between the schools

• The manual ensures that the competencies developed by the partners are met beyond minimum levels

• The manual enables the colleges to have a level of expectation regarding incoming students

The Manual

The Manual Presents the Content in Two Levels since Academic Ability can vary by School

• The CoreContent and skills which must be delivered and mastered by the end of the high school component

• ApplicationOnce the skill competencies are met, they are applied in different ways within a variety of topics

The Manual Assists Instructors with Guidance on the Following Topics

• Lesson Planning (including sample lesson plans)

• Resources• Equipment• Bioethics• Financial Information

Each secondary partner (high school) in the consortium / pathway receives a copy of the manual

The manual is looked at as a working document that is constantly changing

As the science changes or as the needs of the workforce change, the manual is updated

The manual will be getting a facelift this year

The Present

Program History

Spring of 2004◦Program offered

Fall of 2005 ◦First class of juniors

Course Requirements• Prerequisites–“C” or better in Geo. Physical

Science–“C” or better in Biology–“C” or better in Alg. I –“C” or better in Geometry

• Co-requisites–Chemistry (take or have taken)–Algebra II (take or have taken)

• Must Commit to taking a 4th year of math

Program Layout• Biotechnology 1 – Term 1 Junior Year • Biotechnology 2 – Term 2 Junior Year• Biotechnology 3 – Term 3 Senior Year• Biotechnology 4 – Term 4 Senior Year–Students must take all 4 classes–Classes are limited to 22 students

• Proteomics – Ind. Study – Students that wish to have a bit more time to work on their senior capstone projects

Spring of 2006◦First graduating class◦Total scholarships offered $7,500.00

Spring of 2010◦Fourth graduating class◦Total scholarships offered $223,000.00

As of today…The class of 2012 has been

offered $323,000 in scholarshipsIt is very early in the award and

scholarship process

Junior Year

“The Core”◦ Standard Laboratory Operating Procedure, Microbiology, Nucleic Acids, DNA Manipulation (rDNA), PCR, Proteins, Transformation, Immunology, & Forensics

Senior Year

“Application”

Technique and Procedural Review, Environmental Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, Fermentation & Bioreactors, Plant Biotechnology, & Transformation & Recombination

Senior Year Capstone

The senior capstone process drives the research and laboratory experience throughout the senior year

This capstone demands authentic assessment that is paramount for ensuring quality within bioscience workforce operations

Equipment List (to name a few)

• Autoclave• Microwave• Incubators• Analytical Balance• Electronic Balances• Vortexers• 6000 G Centrifuge• 16,000 G Centrifuge• UV Spec• Spec 20• Thermocycler• UV Light Table• White Light Table• Micropipetters – Class Sets

– p1000– p200– p20– p10

• Rocker Tables• Clean Bench• Horizontal Electrophoresis

Cells• Vertical Electrophoresis

Cells• Water De-Ionizer• Lab Refrigerator (4 degrees

C)• Lab Freezer (-20 degrees C)

Accolades

Named as “Best Practices” at the state level by BioOhio and the Ohio Department of Education

Named as “Best Practices” nationally by the Biotechnology Institute

The Future…

Dual EnrollmentSchools using the model

described offer dual enrollment through Cincinnati State

Students pay $135.00 for three (3) college credit hours

Dual Enrollment offers a better alternative to articulation because the students may take their college credit to any college or university because they receive a college transcript

Tough LossesSycamore is closing their

programUC – Blue Ash placed their A.S.

degree program in abeyance

New ProgramsGahanna High School / Eastland

Fairfield Career Center – 2011/12◦Full 2-Year Program

Kings High School – 2011/12◦Modified 1-Year Program

Southern Hills Career Center◦Full 2-Year Program

Ft. Hayes – 2012/13Oak Hills High School – 2012/13

New Teacher Training ProgramsB.L.A.S.T.Mini – B.L.A.S.T.B.L.O.T.

B.L.A.S.T. & Mini – B.L.A.S.T.Bioscience Laboratory Awareness

Summer Teacher-TrainingA one week immersion program

offered to biology teachers that is designed to instruct them how to infuse Bioscience concepts and labs into high school biology curricula without disrupting the curriculum

Funded by the local STEM Hub (UC)

B.L.O.T.Bioscience Laboratory

Organizational TrainingA sequel to the B.L.A.S.T.

programs that assists schools in the implementation of bioscience programs

Funded by the local STEM Hub (UC)

Idea…B.L.A.S.T. and B.L.O.T. be used to

certify new bioscience programs and instructors

This would allow for training of the teacher and the school

One barrier to having new programs is the certification of the instructor

Reduce the barriers and we enable the creation of more programs

Adult Education / Job Re-Training

This is already happening across Ohio at the community college level

Adults are re-trained for bioscience jobs

Idea…Award graduating high school

students the same certification as the adults completing the re-training programs

Idea…Utilize existing high school

programs, instructors and labs to help with job re-training

State Wide CollaborationCreate seamless articulation

between all secondary and post-secondary programs across the state

Schools working together to analyze data

Instructors working together to solve problems

Industry working with schools and schools working with industry to educate the workforce

The Future is all about increasing

collaboration between industry

and education

Through collaboration there is

a the ability to overcome anything