A collaborative STEM informed resource for teachers of SBI3C
created by Jennifer Baluk, Cheryl Madliger, and Alex Procenko
SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS AND APPLICATION FOR MICROBIOLOGY
STEM education, at its core, takes a holistic approach to teaching and learning. Approaching instruction with a STEM framework easily facilitates an emphasis on Science, Technology, Society and the Environment (STSE). Lessons in Science can easily be extended to included a societal impact, especially given my personal inclination towards a STEAM approach, which recognizes the interconnected role of arts and humanities in the lessons we teach. These kinds of lessons demand that we engage students in creative ways. Given the impact that microbiology has on the world around us, the lessons included on this site try to examine these complex relationships:
Did You Wash Your Hands?/Clean, Clean Kitchen? Labs
From the outset, students are introduced to microorganisms in a way that makes the microscopic world of microbiology real. Students will develop proper lab techniques as they investigate the microorganisms living on their skin and in their own kitchens. By growing bacterial colonies of the samples obtained from their hands and kitchens, students are able to connect the world of science to their worlds outside the classroom. These eye-opening, and “gross” labs, are an intentional way to start the unit so that students are engaged from the beginning.
Go to Did You Wash Your Hands?/Clean, Clean Kitchen? Labs
Case studies, which present students with real-life scenarios and focus on solutions, are a key teaching strategy in STSE instruction. While they facilitate the learning of content, they most importantly immerse students in an issue or issues relevant in today's society. In this case study, from the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, students step into the role of an epidemiologist and need to find the source of a neighbourhood wide case of severe food poisoning. Students will develop their problem solving and critical thinking skills as they connect the knowledge gained from the previous labs to the questions in this case study and be able to explain how this well known foodborne illness can be contracted. Students will learn how environmental pressures encourage the formation of resistant microbial populations and how outbreaks of infectious disease can occur.
Go to “Microbial Pie” Case Study
Giving students opportunities to apply what they are learning about in the classroom to what they are hearing about in the real world is an important way for them to engage in their education and make their learning meaningful. In this lesson, students will listen to two thought provoking and engaging podcasts by Radiolab that will challenge ideas about modern medicine and what students think about microorganisms. Topics include the race against resistance for antibiotic development and the widespread impacts of your personal microbiome on your overall health. Students will have the opportunity to develop their critical thinking skills while exploring information they may find contradictory to their own knowledge.
The controversy of genetically modified foods is one that frequently makes headlines, but a topic that few people are educated about enough to make informed decisions for themselves. In this lesson, students examine how the power of microorganisms are being cultivated by humans to majorly impact how we grow food. Students will be presented with facts representing both sides of the GM food controversy, enabling them to make their own opinions about this hot topic in science. Learning about GM foods delves right into how science and technology are impacting our society and environment.
Through the microbiology lessons I have constructed on this website, I hope that students develop an appreciation of the huge impacts that these tiny organisms create. The STSE aspects of the curriculum lend themselves to diverse and innovative teaching approaches, and should be seen as opportunities for genuine, memorable learning experiences.
