| EDUN N25-02-004 02702
19 July 2002
NEW PUSH IN LIFE SCIENCES: MOE'S COLLABORATION WITH DOLAN DNA
LEARNING CENTER, COLD SPRING HARBOR LABORATORY
1. As part of MOE's efforts
to enhance the learning of the Life Sciences in schools, MOE has signed an agreement with
Dolan DNA Learning Center (DNALC), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, to collaborate in three
areas:
| a. |
Training of teachers and teacher-trainers in the
teaching of the Life Sciences in Singapore; |
|
|
| b. |
Development of curriculum and learning resources for
the Life Sciences in Singapore; and |
|
|
| c. |
Consultancy on the establishment of infrastructure to
support the teaching and learning of the Life Sciences in Singapore. |
2. The Agreement is the
culmination of discussions between MOE and DNALC officials arising from the visit by
Minister for Education RAdm Teo Chee Hean to the DNALC at the Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory in Oct 2000.
DNALC AND COLD SPRING
HARBOR LABORATORY
3. The DNALC is a leading
science centre devoted to public genetics education in Long Island, New York. It is an
operating unit of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), a renowned research centre on
cancer, neurobiology, plant genetics, genomics and bioinformatics. During this past half
century, seven Nobel Laureates have worked at the Laboratory. James D Watson, who shared
the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 for the co-discovery of the DNA
structure, has served as the Director of CSHL for 25 years and continues as its President.
AREAS OF COOPERATION
4. The DNALC will be
collaborating with MOE in three main areas. The first area is in teacher training.
Selected teachers are sent for attachment programmes at DNALC, New York. In addition,
Master Teachers from DNALC will conduct workshops for teachers in Singapore. These teacher
training programmes have been conducted since 2001 (refer to Annex A
for details).
5. Second, the DNALC will
assist in the adaptation of the DNALC-developed curricula for use in Singapore.
Furthermore, the Gene Almanac, an interactive educational website, will be mirrored at one
or more institutions in Singapore.
6. Third, DNALC will provide
consultancy in the area of infrastructure development. Two Life Science education centres,
based on the DNALC concept, will be set up. One will be located at the Singapore Science
Centre to focus on student enrichment and public outreach. The other will be based at NIE
to support teacher training. These centres are expected to begin operations in January
2003.
7. In addition to these three
main areas of collaboration, DNALC has also agreed to facilitate up to two visits per year
to Singapore by eminent scientists from the USA. These scientists could be invited to
sharing sessions with our teachers and students to stimulate their interest in the life
sciences.
8. For more details on the
collaboration, please refer to Annex B.
Websites
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory - http://www.cshl.org/
Dolan DNALC - http://www.dnalc.org/
Annex A
Training Programmes conducted by DNALC for Teachers in 2001 and
2002
A. ATTACHMENT OF TEACHERS AT DOLAN DNALC, CSHL, NEW YORK
This is part of the professional development for science teachers to
help them to make the connections between teaching and learning in the classroom and the
recent developments in life sciences by exposing them to cutting-edge research practices
and innovative teaching methodologies. These teachers are immersed in DNALC's culture of
teaching and learning, which is as much driven by the passion for the Life Sciences as it
is by the rapid pace of developments in molecular biology. Teachers attend hands-on
workshops, observe lessons by Master Teachers and attend seminars on current research.
They also have opportunities to work with scientists, interact with local teachers and go
on field trips.
| |
Programmes |
Target Group |
Programme description |
Remarks |
1 |
Fun with DNA |
Primary/ Lower Secondary |
The workshop immerses participants in an
environment of hands-on preparations, activities and laboratory experiments designed to
increase genetic literacy, encourage critical and creative thinking, and spark interest in
the field of biotechnology. Fun With DNA includes the following laboratories and
activities:
 Constructing cell and DNA models
Extracting DNA from bacteria
Microscopic examinations
Genetically engineering bacteria
Observing mutations in fruit flies. |
|
4 teachers attended this programme. |
2 |
World of Enzymes |
Primary/ Secondary |
World of Enzymes builds on basic
concepts of genetics and involves a variety of activities designed to increase the
participants' knowledge of biochemistry. Through direct observation and manipulation of
enzymes, participants develop an understanding of the importance of proteins and their
relationships to DNA. World of Enzymes includes the following laboratories and
activities:
Constructing chemical models
Practical and industrial uses of enzymes
Cutting, separating and photographing DNA
Making a personal DNA fingerprint
Enzyme engineering of bacteria. |
|
4 teachers attended this programme. |
| 3 |
Green Genes |
Primary/ Secondary |
This workshop challenges participants to
apply the skills gained in the Fun With DNA and World of Enzymes
workshops in a five-day biotechnology workshop. In this workshop, participants use
recombinant DNA technology to clone and express a jellyfish gene. Green fluorescent
protein (GFP), from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria, has revolutionised molecular
biology research. When exposed to blue light, GFP glows fluorescent green, allowing
scientists to actually see into the world of the living cell. The ability to visualize GFP
helps participants grasp concepts of genetic engineering. The workshop culminates with the
participants isolating and purifying genetically engineered GFP. |
4 teachers attended this workshop. |
| 4 |
DNA Science |
Secondary/ JC |
The abstract nature of molecular genetics
can best be overcome by approaching the subject in the same manner as scientists - by
asking questions and doing experiments. The DNA Science workshop was developed to
introduce teachers to elegant tools of modern biotechnology. This intensive workshop is
centred around laboratory work.
The DNA Science workshop is designed specifically for teachers
with little or no research experience in molecular genetics. Participants perform nine
experiments entirely based on the safe, convenient Escherichia coli genetic
system. The five-day workshop introduces the basic techniques needed to construct and
analyse recombinant DNA molecules including DNA restriction/ligation, bacterial
transformation and plasmid isolation. |
4 teachers will be attending this programme in Aug 02. |
| 5 |
Genomic Biology & PCR |
Secondary/ JC |
The workshop focuses on the use of the
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to analyse the genetic complement (genome) of humans and
plants. In the human DNA module, participants identify several types of polymorphisms in
their own DNA, including a "jumping gene" that makes up about 12% of the human
genome. Participants then use their own DNA polymorphisms to search online DNA databases
and explore human population genetics. The human module culminates with participants
sequencing part of their own mitochondrial DNA.
The plant DNA module includes an experiment to test for
genetically-modified foods and to show how a "jumping gene" can be used to
identify genes in Arabidopsis, a model plant with a small genome. The plant
module culminates with a visit to the Genome Sequencing Centre at Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory. |
4 teachers will be attending this programme in Aug 02. |
| 6 |
Leadership Institute in Human and Molecular Genetics |
Secondary/ JC |
Participants perform laboratories from the
DNALC's new module in human and plant genomic biology. Experiments on the human genome
investigate insertion polymorphisms, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and DNA
sequencing. Plant genome experiments examine genotype-phenotype relationships and
chromosome mapping in Arabidoposis. Another set of experiments looks at plant
transformation and detection of transgenes in genetically modified organisms.
Participants make extensive use of the new Biomedia computer
laboratory. Results from the human polymorphism experiments provide an entrée to studies
of population genetics. Culminating the lab and computer experiences, participants work
independently to develop new curriculum materials, refine experimental protocols, and
produce teacher guides to multimedia WWW sites. |
7 teachers attended this programme. |
| 7 |
Bioinformatics |
Secondary/ JC |
The workshop gives participants
up-to-the-minute techniques and applications of modern genomic biology: the study and
comparison of the information encoded in organisms' genomes. In addition to biochemical
methods for manipulating and sequencing DNA, participants learn how bioinformatics
"mines" the information content of DNA. The workshop mixes theoretical,
laboratory, and computer work with team projects and practical advice on classroom
management. |
4 teachers will be attending this programme in Aug 02. |
Note: Some teachers attend(ed) more than one programme in an
attachment.
B. WORKSHOPS CONDUCTED LOCALLY BY DNALC TRAINERS
Master trainers from DNALC bring along a wealth of experience to
conduct these workshops for teachers. Teachers are exposed to teaching approaches which
are innovative, and taught new skills and techniques relevant to the teaching and learning
of molecular biology in schools. The conduct of the workshops is very much hands-on for
the teachers and encourages close interaction with the trainers.
| |
Workshops |
Target Group |
Course description |
Remarks |
| 1 |
Fun with DNA |
Primary/ Lower Secondary |
Please see p 1 of Annex A for details. |
53 teachers attended the workshops in Jun 2002. |
| 2 |
DNA Science |
Secondary/ JC |
Please see p 2 of Annex A for details. |
63 teachers attended the workshops in 2001 and Jun 2002. |
Annex B
Background Information on MOE's collaboration with
DOLAN DNA LEARNING CENTER (DNALC)
A. General Information
1. The reasons for the
collaboration
The collaboration with DNALC is part of MOE's efforts to enhance the teaching and learning
of Life Sciences in our schools. The value in collaborating with DNALC lies in developing
a long-term relationship with and benefiting from DNALC's links with Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory, to keep up with cutting edge developments in the Life Sciences. We can embed
the knowledge and expertise of DNALC into our systems to help deliver our mainstream
curriculum and enthuse our students in the Life Sciences.
The DNALC is the world's first science centre devoted entirely to
public genetics education. The DNALC's expertise in delivering laboratory instruction in
genetics is well-known and has benefited large numbers of pre-college students and
teachers in the USA. It has an excellent staff who produced many best-seller textbooks, of
which the text DNA Science has sold 30,000 copies, and has been translated into
Japanese, Italian, and Russian.
The Agreement between MOE and DNALC commenced on 1 May 02.
2. Benefits of the collaboration
The collaboration with DNALC, together with other Life Sciences initiatives, will help to
achieve MOE's objective to push for Life Sciences in schools. There are two obvious
benefits to schools. Firstly, the training that teachers will receive from DNALC will add
to the repertoire of pedagogical skills they already possess. It will help teachers to
make their classes more interesting and enable them to enthuse pupils and stimulate their
interest in Life Sciences. Teachers will also be plugged into the latest developments in
Life Sciences through the DNALC, which in turn enhances their professionalism. Secondly,
students will benefit from better teaching and a more diverse and challenging curriculum
from DNALC's experience in curricula design and instructional programmes. When students
are more enthused about learning, they will do better and want to pursue their interest in
Life Sciences at a higher level.
Besides teacher training, the collaboration extends to using DNALC's
excellent web resource materials. For a start, a customised DNALC web site will be
mirrored at one or two sites locally.
Teachers and students will also be able to adapt other resources that
DNALC has developed as well as those that are being developed to suit their own teaching
and learning
.
B. Teacher Training
1. Teacher Training at DNALC
The teachers who have gone for the training in the USA generally felt that it was an
enriching experience. They were exposed to cutting-edge research practices and innovative
teaching methodologies. Mr Loo Ming Yaw of Anglo-Chinese Junior College said that the
DNALC instructors had taught him how "to distil complex research protocols to a
suitable level to be used in schools" for the students. The in-house seminar and
talks conducted for the teachers also provided them with new insights on how to guide
students in their career developments. All in all, teachers felt that the training had
raised their competency levels, increased their confidence, and injected in them an
enthusiasm to teach Life Sciences in an interesting way that will benefit the students
immensely.
2. Teacher sharing
Teachers who are attached to the DNALC in New York will share their knowledge through a
number of ways, e.g. sharing sessions for teachers and students1,
and the development of a resource package of laboratory protocols for use in schools.
Expertise can also be transferred through facilities at the National Institute of
Education and Singapore Science Centre, thus enabling us to reach out to more teachers and
students. Master Teachers from DNALC have also trained 116 teachers locally.
3. Overseas Attachment Programme
at other Life Sciences-related institutions
The attachment at DNALC is part of the Overseas Attachment Programme for science teachers
which started last year. This year MOE is sending a total of 24 teachers to 7 Life
Sciences-related institutions, e.g. the University of Washington in Seattle, the Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle and the Chesterfield Research Centre in St.
Louis.
1So far, 130 teachers have
been trained under this programme. They have shared with about 400 Heads of Department and
Level Heads of Science, and conducted enrichment workshops for students. |
