Life-Changing Science: The BioBuilder Podcast
Life-Changing Science: The BioBuilder Podcast
Transforming High School Science Education: an interview with Daniel Kemp
Daniel Kemp shares his transformative journey in integrating synthetic biology into high school education. Listeners will gain insights into practical applications in the classroom, the establishment of the BioBuilderClub, and the significance of bridging theoretical knowledge with real-world skills.
• Introduction to Daniel Kemp and his experience with synthetic biology
• Overview of the BioBuilder Professional Development Workshop and its relevance to teaching
• Importance of hands-on learning experiences in biology education
• Insight into launching the BioBuilderClub at Hampden Hall
• Current projects and the evolving role of students in science
• The necessity of updating curricula to reflect modern scientific advancements
• Advice for teachers interested in incorporating synthetic biology into their teaching
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Hello and welcome to Life-Changing Science, the Bioboulder podcast. Today I'm thrilled to introduce my wonderful guest, daniel Kemp, a superstar high school biology teacher Originally from the UK. Daniel's passion for education led him to earn an MSc in Learning and Teaching from Oxford University. A few years ago he made the leap across the pond to the US where he now leads a thriving bioboulder club at Hampden Hall Country High School. Let's learn more and dive right into this episode the story of how you first encountered synthetic biology. You know what aspects of the field captivated your interest and, extrapolating from that, what motivated you to integrate synthetic biology and sort of this new field into your teaching practice you to integrate synthetic biology and sort of this new field into your teaching practice.
Speaker 2:So synthetic biology is something that's really new to me. It wasn't something that I was overly familiar with, so I'd previously taught in the UK before moving to the US, and there's a big emphasis in the curriculum on bioengineering. Things perhaps were more familiar with genetic engineering, you know that sort of thing. Um, and actually my head of um head of department at hamden hall suggested bio builder to me. Um, so we both signed up for the bio builder summer school and that's really where I started to learn a lot more about synthetic biology and you know what it can actually do let's, uh, talk more about the summer school.
Speaker 1:So was this like a like a weekend sort of crash course in symbio and biobuilder and how to sort of build a like a biotech curriculum for high?
Speaker 2:schoolers, sure? So the um biobuilder summer school was we. It was centered, I think it was, in two parts um. Both parts involved a lab and also some online learning so you could do the online learning you know in your own time and then you know, having done all the reading and the theory, then you go into the lab and then you do the actual lab. You know experiments that bio builder sends out. So we we both did, we did the learning independently and then we met on the, the days where we have the lab and we did the the lab parts together. Because I think it could be it could be quite boring if you're just doing, like, all of the online learning and then just doing the labs on your own. It was actually quite nice to pair up with somebody and go through the labs with somebody else as well at the same time. So you know, I'm always looking to use my time wisely and I thought it was actually for for me, it was a really good use of my time yeah, and what were the?
Speaker 1:what did the labs involved were there? You know um some new concepts, or was it more so um the focus was how can you actually build a curriculum out of this?
Speaker 2:so the the labs, without going into too much detail, they were, um, using the terminology that they use as part of the program. Look, it was investigating the different, what they call chassis, so the different microorganisms that you're using to integrate the technologies. So the first lab, I think, was called OVAT Smell and it was using bacteria. You know, bacteria can smell quite nasty when you're growing them in the lab. So the bacteria that we're using didn't produce, I think it's indole. The chemical, is it indole that makes the bacteria smell?
Speaker 2:I think yeah, yeah so they, they've been, um, bred so that they don't produce the indole, so they don't smell. So we involved us smelling the petri dishes, um, you know, and then comparing it against a scale to see, um, you know, which one was generating the most banana scent.
Speaker 1:And it sounds quite bizarre, but they did actually quite small banana, or you know the synthetic banana banana scent that you can, you can buy that that would have been like something like new and different, like, uh, lots of different teachers in a room, it sort of felt would have felt like undergrad again in a way yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's my. My head of department has a lot more experience in a lab setting. That's her background. It's not my background. So it was useful to work alongside her as well and pick up new techniques I could use with my own students.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and how do you go from you know learning about synthetic biology saying, okay, here's bio builder and they're sort of building this amazing curriculum, and to then going part of the summer program? How do do you get from that to then trying to integrate BioBuilder into your own classrooms?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so the primary driver for the summer school was so that we could potentially launch our own BioBuilder club at Hamden Hall. So it wasn't necessary. I don't think. For me personally, my intention I didn't go into the training thinking, oh me reflect on. Actually this is relevant to the students that I teach. Some of the genetics that perhaps we're covering in class is like quite old school now and it's not really reflective of what's actually going on in industry and perhaps isn't necessarily what students would experience when they go into the workplace. So it's definitely got me thinking about okay, so when I do genetics this year, how am I going to change it? So it's more useful, potentially more useful to students you know once they leave school, rather than just the theory. You know it's. What are the potential? You know what are scientists doing in the, in the real world with this technology?
Speaker 1:so I guess, in a way, bringing some of those students to like sort of bridging that gap between the theory you learn in high school and the practical sort of elements and then preparing them for because it is a big jump from high school, uh, to college- yeah and then to industry.
Speaker 1:And you know, these days, a lot of students are required to maybe even some to get that first internship, are required to have a lot of lab experience from the first year of undergrad as well. Yeah, though, it can be a be a challenge to be like okay, you know, biology has, you know, been around you know since start of time in a way.
Speaker 1:Uh, so a lot of the core concepts don't really change, but there also just seems to be new technology every day that's being used in industry there also just seems to be new technology every day that's being used in industry and also in academia as well.
Speaker 2:Some of the technologies that are being used today are so far removed from what I was taught at school. Biology is changing all the time, and I think as teachers, we need to keep ourselves updated with what's going on in the industry, and so, for me, I found that really useful, and some of the potential uses of synthetic biology as well. Some of the really big world problems could potentially be solved with this sort of technology, which I think is something that our students should be familiar with, and some of these issues like students really care about them as well, so they're really keen discussion with the students, so we're interested about you know potentially um modifying coral polyps so they're able to withstand you know higher water temperatures and they do care.
Speaker 1:It's very interdisciplinary.
Speaker 2:Like the engineering aspect as well. The problem solving is something that they often have discussions with students and they say oh, that sounds too much like chemistry or that sounds too much like engineering. I'll show you, it is everything it's the whole, yeah, the whole.
Speaker 1:I think design, build, test learn cycle, where it is, senpai, is very much an engineering discipline in a way, a way of solving, like approaching problems that you saw students realize when you introduce some of the bible, the concepts, to them yeah, definitely, um, I think it's something.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna be honest, I think it's something that they grappled with. Um, I think it was something that I grappled with because we were, as teachers, over the in the part, the summer program. That was something that we were tasked to do as well, to come up with a problem that needs solving. Um, but it's I think it's good for students to come up with generate ideas. You know it's a skill to be able to generate ideas and think creatively. I think you can be quite creative with this field. So it was good to hear them have those discussions. They did have a proper discussion about what ideas they wanted to explore, so it was a really useful activity for them.
Speaker 1:So I was curious as how you're integrating the BioBuilder Club curriculum into the current high school curriculum at Hampden Hall.
Speaker 2:So the extracurricular offer at Hampden Hall is really quite important. We encourage students to enter into clubs that they've got interests or particular passions with. So the BioBuilder Club is run as an extracurricular club as part of the club offering and we meet every week on a Thursday afternoon, and we've been meeting since October. So it's still early days, still early days for the club, but, um, we're at this stage now where we've held a number of sessions, we're starting to hone in on a single project idea. Um, I think the students have decided it's going to be something to do with biofilms and potential potential uses of biofilms for, um, treating wounds. That's an area that they want to pursue. And then this week, later on this week, we've been paired with our mentor, so they'll have their first discussions with their, their mentor, which I know they're looking forward to, and then I think that sorry no, no, please go ahead and then I think the final poster conference is in March, so it's quite a short period of time for them to develop their ideas.
Speaker 1:How many students are so far in the Bible Club and which grade is this? Grade 10, 11, grade 9?
Speaker 2:So we've got, at the moment, 10 students, I think, with grade 10, 11 and 12. So, yeah, 10 through 12 this year.
Speaker 1:And can some of the work they're doing be counted towards like extra credit, or can it sort of help them prepare for some of the AP exams or they're, you know, alongside their, I guess, mandatory study as part of their normal, the standard school curriculum?
Speaker 2:I think it goes. It probably go hand in hand with some of the work that they're doing. Not all of them are doing ap biology, um, some are doing ap bio and I could see that the two could go quite well hand in hand with with ap bio. Um, certainly, we've had discussions last week around um carrying out undertaking literature review. So not only is it potentially useful for AP Bio, but it could also be useful for other subjects as well.
Speaker 2:You know how do you access online journals. You know what's the difference between a literature review compared to a journal article. A literature review, what's, you know, compared to a journal article, um. So you know, um, I think it'll be you. I think it will be useful for students, um, as part of their wider studies, if not for ap bio but or, you know, during their schooling, but it might be something that would be useful for them once they've left and they're at college and it's not going to be, you know, quite a surprise to them that they're expected to to do that sort of thing yeah, and I can definitely see that like it's.
Speaker 1:It's because it's such like an engineering discipline and you're sort of being like a scientist for the first time in a way. It's not just, hey, okay, you got to memorize it, because there's a lot of memorization in biology, it's part of the field. It's not just okay, memorize this, do this exam. There's a lot of critical thinking involved, but also just thinking like a scientist and an investigator in a way, with literature reviews. Okay, where's the gaps? Oh, if I make this chassis, how do I color and optimize something? And sometimes there's no protocols for any of this. No, so that's, I guess, sort of that's where the, the bible, the curriculum, can come in in a way, yeah, and there's not necessarily any wrong or right answers as well.
Speaker 2:It's um, and it's teaching them that there's soft skills as well, that working with peers, collaborating with others. I've already seen quite a few of the students take on more of a leadership role. It's not something that we've said. We need to have X number of student leaders, but you can already see there's a few in the group who are looking to take on that extra responsibility and that's really good to see. That's really good to see. And trying to communicate your ideas with other people, um, influencing involved. They're trying to get your ideas across. You know why is your idea perhaps better than somebody else's?
Speaker 1:it's, it's all healthy looking ahead, what are your goals for the bible? The program at hamden, yeah, at hamden hall, sort of, yeah, looking, you know, a few months down the line, maybe a few years down the line, like how do you envision, envision the program, uh, evolving to further benefits, you know, yeah, further benefit students taking part yeah, I think it's a really exciting time.
Speaker 2:I'm really proud of the students to see how well they've embraced the bio builder club at hamden hall. They really have. It's a real privilege to work with them. They're so passionate about what we're doing um I would. I think, looking ahead to the future, I'd like to see this group potentially taking their ideas a step further. I think this year we're probably only going to have time realistically to do the design phase already, seeing that potentially next year they could, you know, move into the next stage, which would be the build and test phases of this um. I think. Also, personally, I would like to incorporate more of this into the biology curriculum as well. So I teach ninth grade biology and can already see how I could improve the microbiology sections that I covered later on in the year incorporating some of the BioBuilder labs into the curriculum, more of the microbiology, and also incorporating some of the or making sure that students are aware of what synthetic biology could potentially be used for.
Speaker 1:Final question is what advice would you have to teachers who are interested in learning more about BioBuilder and that sort of the zero to one phase can be really, really tricky. Yeah, and should they, you know, know, get in contact with natalie, call the website that that. Yeah, that zero to one phase for new, uh, high school biology teachers or high school science teachers, chemistry teachers, uh, where can they start learning? But, hey, I'm really interested in bioboulder. How can I, where can I learn more in terms of just not just the website, but taking it out of that?
Speaker 2:just want to test it out so that I found that the summer program was really useful. It's informative, it's accessible as well, that the program comes along with a textbook which, um, you can use with students as well. So I think it's the. The language in the textbook is suitable for people that don't potentially have much in the way of background knowledge about synthetic biology, um. So the textbook I think that's available online and this summer program as well, as a really nice segue into bioBuilder, it's eases you in gently but makes sure that you've got everything that you need to be able to teach it to your students. So, yeah, the summer program, I would say, is the best to root in Perfect. That makes an honest thought. I would just say as well Chloe, who is the liaison for BioBuilder. She's answered so many of my emails to date. She's super helpful, really, really helpful. So if you have any questions, she's a really good contact to have.
Speaker 1:Thank you once again for tuning into this episode. What stood out to me as particularly insightful was Daniel's perspective on bridging the gap between what's currently being taught and what skills are truly needed in industry. He highlighted how Bibles can play a pivotal role in sort of connecting the dots between theoretical learning and practical industry relevant applications. I believe this episode will be useful for high school teachers looking to learn more about synthetic biology and how to get started with BioBuilder to really train the next generation of scientists. And that's a wrap on the BioBuilder podcast for 2024. Thank you all for your incredible support this year and for celebrating life-changing science with us, Wishing you a warm and joyful festive season and I'll see you next year with an amazing new guest. Until then, take care.