Education

Abstract

Our team engaged in a series of educational outreach programs aimed at promoting synthetic biology, laboratory techniques, and general biological understanding across various age groups, from high school students to kindergarteners.

First, we partnered with National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU DBT) during student admission interviews to promote iGEM and synthetic biology to interested high school students.

Second, our team undertook a month-long experimental exchange program with the local high school team, HIA-Taiwan. During this program, we provided HIA with laboratory facilities, shared experience, and created a comprehensive guide detailing seven key experiments.

Following the high school exchange, we collaborated on an educational project for the STARS kindergarten. The program utilized interactive games and storytelling through picture books to teach young children fundamental concepts about germs.

High School (NYCU DBT secondary interview) 5/17

The three years of high school are a time for students to explore their interests, while university provides a platform for students to further develop and understand those interests. The Department of Biological Science and Technology in National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University will hold its annual student admissions interviews, and this year, to promote iGEM and synthetic biology to students interested in biotechnology, we decided to collaborate with them. Our collaboration included using posters to introduce iGEM and synthetic biology, providing questions related to biological experiments, and surveying students' feedback after our presentation.

Before we introduced the rules and process of iGEM, we briefly discussed the application of synthetic biology and the concept of biobrick. Then, we help students review the concepts of plasmids and recombinant plasmids that they learned in high school, as well as electrophoresis, which is a common technique used in biology experiments. After introducing the structure of iGEM, which is wet lab, dry lab, and human practice, we took a look at the project from NYCU 2024 and 2023. Finally, we asked students to help us answer questions about their understanding of synthetic biology and the suggestions that they wanted to give our team. Below are the questions and the feedback we received:

The average understanding level to iGEM before explanation is 1.65 out of 5 (SD = 0.81), while the average after explanation is 3.79 out of 5 (SD = 0.64). According to the result of paired sample t-test, people after explanation have a higher understanding of iGEM than before, the t-statistic for the test is -16.83, and the probability value for t-statistic is smaller than 0.001. The sample mean of the differences is -2.15, and 95% of conf. level is [-2.41, -1.89]. All of the results indicate that students' understanding significantly improved after the explanation.

Junior High School (HIA-Taiwan cooperation) 7/1 - 8/1

This July, we collaborated with the local team HIA-Taiwan to develop a program—a month-long experimental exchange program. Since HIA is a high school team, we hoped that by sharing ideas with them, our team would be inspired by their creative ideas. In return, we would provide them with laboratory facilities and share our experience in conducting experiments.

The entire project can be divided into three parts: first, we will write a laboratory procedure manual and demonstrate the experiments to them; second, HIA will provide us with weekly progress reports; and finally, at the end of the project, we will record a podcast to summarize the key learnings and insights from the project.

Let's discuss the comprehensive molecular and synthetic biology experimental guide we provided to HIA. The manual begins by outlining basic laboratory protocols and reporting requirements, emphasizing safety standards and data recording procedures. It then sequentially describes seven key experiments, ranging from bacterial culture and purification and plasmid DNA isolation, to restriction enzyme mapping and gel electrophoresis, and culminating in core BioBrick gene assembly and E. coli transformation. Finally, the manual provides detailed procedures, underlying principles, and troubleshooting tips for advanced techniques and supplementary experiments, including polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA purification, and bacterial storage.

In our podcast, we shared this year's topic, followed by HIA sharing challenges they encountered during their collaboration. They felt the greatest takeaway from the collaboration was the communication skills they learned from our team, while also overcoming time and experience constraints. In addition to learning how to gather feedback and improve organizational skills from their weekly reports, we also strengthened our familiarity with the lab procedures through the preparation of teaching materials and instruction. After hearing their responses, we were delighted that both parties enjoyed the educational process and exchange of ideas during this collaborative experience.

Kindergarden (STARS education) 8/4 - 8/5

During our collaboration with the HIA team this July, we developed a wonderful friendship. Towards the end of our collaboration, HIA proposed another educational project: providing educational activities for children at the STARS kindergarten. We were honored to accept their invitation and decided to structure our educational program around two main themes: interactive games and storytelling through picture books. In the picture book we created, we tell the story of a girl's encounter with probiotics, using their journey to teach children that bacteria can be both beneficial and harmful, and how to avoid the negative effects of harmful bacteria.

After telling the story to the children, we used a series of games to reinforce the concepts from the picture book. First, we hid slips of paper with pictures of "good bacteria" around the classroom to challenge their observation skills. Next, we played a memory game with cards featuring both good and bad bacteria. The final indoor game involved a "lava floor" made of gray bacteria shapes, designed to make learning fun. After the indoor activities, the children moved outside for more challenges. Once they successfully completed the "bad bacteria tag" game, they joined us for a handwashing dance. During these two days of educational activities, we enjoyed playing and teaching with the children. Besides the certificate of appreciation from the school, the greatest reward was hearing the children say "thank you."

Conclusion

Just like a torch being passed down from generation to generation, we have received the team logo from the past, and we also have the responsibility to carry this torch forward. To keep the flame burning, we will reach out to high school students looking to the future, aspiring iGEM teams, and young children who are still learning, sharing with them the valuable legacy we have inherited.

Through the process of sharing, we gain a sense of pride and admiration from the high school students, inspiration and creativity from the HIA team we supported, and heartwarming gratitude from the young children. Education is never a one-way benefit; as long as we are willing to share knowledge, we will undoubtedly receive rewards that are even more valuable than the knowledge itself.