Lifeedu.org: New Nonprofit Organization That Develops Nonbiased Educational Materials for Biotechnology Education

We first learned of Lifeedu through the education posters at Plant Biology 2003 in Honolulu. Lifeedu sponsored eight students involved in one of its courses (“Modern Techniques in Genetic Engineering”) to present posters there. Lifeedu bills itself as an organization established for the creation, production, and distribution of educational materials on DNA, genetics, and modern biotechnology for middle school, high school, general undergraduate, and the public. The aforementioned course is designed to provide students an in-depth experience with a “real” biotechnological problem. It is an example of how cutting-edge laboratory research can be fused with educational objectives to create an exceptional learning experience for undergraduate or high school students.

In the laboratory component of the course, each student is given a unique gene construct to be introduced during the first semester into either rice or turfgrass cells to produce stably transformed embryogenic cells; in the second semester, plants are regenerated and characterized at the molecular level. Each student is required to summarize the work in terms of a poster for presentation at a large national or international conference. Gene constructs and projects are arranged as academic collaborations with various universities (e.g., Yale, Cornell, Washington, Salk).

The fact that 12 high school students participated in the entire sequence shoulder to shoulder with undergrads demonstrates that these sophisticated techniques and concepts can be successfully introduced at the high school level. The high school students made their own poster, and two of them presented the poster on behalf of their group at the ASPB meeting in Hawaii.

Lifeedu continues to develop new courses along this same model. In particular, a new project-based course on vector construction and molecular cloning is being developed in which students will construct their own vectors for creating transgenic plants from the constructs supplied to them. These courses appear to be genuine productive collaborations between scientists (who gain an understanding of the results of expression of their construct in plants) and high school and undergraduate students (who gain real-world experience that results in training and publication of their work). Lifeedu is interested in contacting researchers who wish to collaborate in any way on developing these materials (e.g., by having their constructs analyzed in this setting).

Lifeedu also offers more “conventional” educational materials. One of its most popular offerings is the general biotechnology course entitled “The Way We Work with Life.” A survey of DNA and modern biotechnology for the general public, life science industry staff, high school teachers, and undergraduate students, the course aims to provide basic knowledge about DNA and gene expression; to present current applications in biotechnology and career opportunities in the growing fields that are related to biotechnology; and to examine issues and ethics concerning the future of biotechnology and our society. The course accomplishes these objectives through a modular approach. According to Dr. T. Page Owen (vice president of Undergraduate and General Education Development for Lifeedu), the course was very successful when it was presented at Connecticut College. The course was cosponsored by Pfizer and was open to undergraduates, high school teachers, and Pfizer employees wishing to learn more about biotechnology.

Adopters of the course are supported by services that include PowerPoint lectures on specific topics to enhance teachers’ background knowledge in the area and materials to aid in presentation of topics to their students (including CDs and suggested hands-on demonstrations).

In addition to support materials formally associated with “The Way We Work with Life,” Lifeedu is building a database of educational information and materials that teachers can use. This database, called lifeedu db, is a repository of slides, images, text, and web links to support education about biotechnology. This material is now available through subscriptions. Lifeedu also makes materials such as CD-ROMs, videos, written lesson plans, demonstrations, kits, and other materials to facilitate teaching and information transfer about DNA, genetics, and biotechnology.

Lifeedu supplies a variety of educational services that include consultation on designing curricula; educational materials; customized courses; information packages; in-house seminars; and workshops for specific academic, business, or government purposes. It also can deliver lectures and workshops (ranging from one-half day to a full week) on any desired aspect of biotechnology to science and non-science students at any level or background. These workshops have proven very useful for science and non-science staff in the biotechnology industry, and clients have included Pfizer, AMGEN, and various biotech investment firms.

For more information about Lifeedu, contact Albert Kausch at akausch@lifeedu.org.

ASPB EDUCATION FORUM

Compiled and edited by Sheila Blackman, Grand Valley State University, Biology, One Campus Drive, Allendale, MI 49401, blackmas@gvsu.edu