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Introducing Students to the Process of Science – through Modeling
Author(s) -
Herman Tim,
Colton Shan,
Franzen Margaret,
Nelson David,
Keck James
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.22.1_supplement.659.4
Subject(s) - outreach , presentation (obstetrics) , process (computing) , computer science , work (physics) , medical education , science education , mathematics education , psychology , engineering , medicine , mechanical engineering , political science , law , radiology , operating system
The MSOE Center for BioMolecular Modeling (CBM) is an instructional materials development lab focused on creating physical protein models by rapid prototyping. Protein images created in a computer setting can be built as physical models with this technology. For 6 years the CBM has trained secondary science teachers in model design. SMART Teams ( S tudents M odeling AR esearch T opic) have evolved from this program. They consist of a trained teacher and 4–5 of their students. After a training phase, the team is matched with a local research lab. The team visits the lab to learn about a structure‐based research project, then designs and builds a physical model of the protein. The program culminates with a poster and presentation. This outreach program is an effective, minimally invasive mechanism to introduce students to the “real world of science” in active research labs. By involving graduate students and postdocs as SMART Team mentors, we expose future faculty to principles of Scientific Teaching, in which the process of science is emphasized over the facts. We will describe our current efforts to disseminate SMART Teams and a related program – P roteins in A ctive L earning M odules – in which we work with educators to create physical models and supporting visualizations to teach difficult concepts to undergraduates. This work is supported by grants from NIH‐NCRR SEPA, NSF‐CCLI and HHMI Precollege Science Education Program.