Outreach Program
Use cotton genetic and genomic resources to develop a Science and Biotechnology curriculum for middle-school students.
The training and education of undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers, especially those from minority groups, will be part of the interactive components in the project. Second, we will promote early exposure of students and teachers in middle schools to plant biotech since —middle school is the prime time to get students interested in math and science based on 23 years of teaching experience (Janice Borland, Letter of Support). Janice Borland, the science teacher, and Peggy Thaxton will coordinate this activity. Janice has been a science teacher for 23 years and Chair of the Science Department for 15 years. She has witnessed the benefits of early exposure of students to science, leading them to colleges emphasizing the sciences, including biology and genetics. Peggy Thaxton is actively involved in outreach activities. She has worked with Teacher‘s Alliance, a TAMU-based state-wide program to improve science, technology and math education in Texas. She has taught high-school science teachers about cotton biotechnology and growing cotton in a classroom and worked with pre-K and elementary children about cotton and picking cotton in the field. This training activity will provide teaching opportunities for undergraduate students and postdocs and hands-on experience for teachers and students in middle schools. We will tap into existing educational networks and develop a 3-day workshop for ~40 students and ~10 teachers.
Day 1. We will present a lecture on Plant Biotechnology 101, followed by a tour of major plant science programs in Crop Sciences, Biochemistry, Biology, Horticulture, and Crop Biotechnology Center. Students and teachers will go on a field trip to pick cotton and then gin the fibers using a gin machine that has been remodeled to install a child-protective features.
Day 2. We will teach DNA electrophoresis with hands-on experiments. Each group (5-8 students and 1-2 teachers) will isolate DNA from an A- or D-subgenome diploid or AD tetraploid and set up PCR using A- or D-genome-specific primers. In the afternoon, they will examine various fiber mutants and make display packets using a set of wild-type and fiberless mutants.
Day 3. We will present a lecture on Genome Duplication 101 and run a DNA gel to demonstrate parental loci in tetraploid cotton. The workshop will be wrapped up with a fun-quiz party. Every participant will receive a T-shirt custom-designed with NSF, TAMU and Cotton logos. To keep students occupied, we will plan some activities (e.g., set up PCR reactions) at night, watch educational movies on biotechnology, etc. This workshop will involve high-throughput DNA sequencing and influential scientists to make this an educational and memorable experience for everyone.
Development of educational modules on a web-site for plant biotechnology:
This project will develop teaching modules on a web site for disseminating information on biotechnology to middle school students and teachers. This will give them an idea of how genomics tools are being applied to research problems. We also will provide cotton fiber mutants for developing instructional packets. The website also will be used as an evaluation tool to follow up on the career path of every participant from the workshops.
