Brilliant Biology Students Crave Current Equipment!

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

My Students

As a former biotech scientist and newly credentialed science teacher, I am excited to share my expertise in the lab with my students. My classroom is situated in a 90 year old building with limited resources for teaching modern-day science to modern-day students.

My students are primarily high school sophomores.

Our student body is incredibly diverse, and the shared experience of using manipulatives and technology provide for an enriching learning environment. My students enjoy working with a partner or in small groups to learn science, and they learn best when conducting inquiry-based lab activities. Our school is 90 years old, and access to relevant lab supplies is constrained. Much of the existing equipment is severely dated and failing, and my classroom has limited infrastructure to support the old equipment. While, my students are quite adept at using their own personal technology to support their learning in the classroom, I hope to enhance their learning with the materials I have selected in order to inspire my students to continue learning science beyond their sophomore year.

My Project

Our school district has embraced the NGSS, and we are aligning our curriculum accordingly. The materials I am requesting align directly with the four NGSS High School Life Sciences domains. Specifically, the molecular modeling kits will provide students with hands-on experience building molecules (important learning during our units about ecosystems and Central Dogma) and will support them as they look ahead to chemistry as juniors. The micropipettes and tips, microcentrifuge, and slides will all be useful for studying cells and homeostasis. The dissecting microscope and tools will be useful for studying biological systems and structures. Because it is digital, the microscope will be connected to my teacher computer and the image will be projected. My students will be able to share their work with their classmates, practicing their presentation skills and making their findings public just like practicing scientists do every day.

My students are an amazing group of kids.

They come to school every day to learn biology in a classroom built 90 years ago, with minimal access to relevant technology. I want my students to finish out the school year not only having passed the biology end-of-course exam, but also having mastered key lab skills that will give them an edge on college applications, summer internships, or any number of other science-related opportunities beyond the classroom.