I love coming to work everyday to see and teach my students! They are very creative, curious, and bright young adults. They enjoy the science classes I teach and they really enjoy the engaging lessons I provide for them.
My students learn best when they are actively participating in the classroom.
They love doing labs and activities and feel well prepared for college when they leave my AP Biology class.
A lot of my students learn they have interest in science after taking my classes. I hope that by incorporating more biotechnology, it will push them to pursue STEM related jobs in their future.
My Project
A large portion of my students do not seem to have an interest in science when they get to my class. After taking my class, about 90% of the students have a new found love for science and want to further their education in the science field. I am able change their minds by engaging them in real world science. Most of the things I do are simple labs with household products. Having the opportunity to gain STEM scientific/biotechnology equipment will greatly improve the resources in my classroom.
By donating to my project, students will be able to do various labs such as assessing the presence of transgenic elements (GMO's) in processed foods and in plants by extracting DNA from food samples and analyzing DNA using the essential molecular biology
techniques of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and gel electrophoresis. This lab illustrates real world
applications of molecular biology in agriculture and the food industry such as the genetic engineering of plants for introduction of novel traits through recombinant DNA technologies.
Another lab they will be able to do will allow the students to examine how single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can change our ability to perceive the world around us. The human sense of taste is composed of an intricate neurophysiological network,
but it only takes small changes to one gene to change the way we taste. tudents will explore SNPs associated with their own phenotypes. They will assess their ability to taste the chemical phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and determine how that ability correlates with their genotype at the TAS2R38 locus. There are two common alleles for the gene, a ‘taster’ allele and a ‘non-taster’ allele. The goal of this lab to illustrate how very small genetic changes can have significant functional consequences.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Snelling and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
