Students from Germantown Friends School and Girard College have undertaken genetic research projects that are likely to be unprecedented in their sophistication at the high school level
GFS science teacher Gen Nelson notes, “To my knowledge, no other high schools in the country are doing this kind of authentic, collaborative research using large public databases as part of their science curricula.”
The innovative project, funded by a challenge grant from the Edward E. Ford Foundation, aims to keep students current with the rapid changes that are occurring in the study of biology.
The program was developed jointly by GFS’s Nelson and Girard College science teacher John Romano Recently, Nelson has been named the 2006 Outstanding Biology Teacher in Pennsylvania by the National Assoication of Biology Teachers. Nelson and Romano were assisted by a scientist from the National Science Foundation (who is also a GFS parent) in developing this new curriculum.
Biology students at Girard College and advanced biology students at Germantown Friends spent the fall of 2005 studying the new curriculum:> In order to better understand how certain genes work in humans, they examined analogous genes in fruit flies, bacteria, mice, worms, and other non-human species.
Students spent the winter and spring conducting research projects of their own design. They presented their research in May at Girard College, and then wrote research thesis papers describing their results.
Nelson stated, "We hope to engage students in authentic, collaborative genetic research so they will develop critical analytical skills and a deeper understanding of the evolutionary relationships between organisms." The symposia demonstrated the success of the first year of the program.