Treating protein as Lego, high school students turn into "synthetic biologists"

Amanda Mayer, a lecturer at the MIT's Edgerton Center, is using brightly colored plastic to make protein
.

She picked up a small yellow square, moved it to the end of a string of blue and green squares, and clicked its position

The team has assembled a model of the complex molecules found in their food and body
.

"I used to think protein was just a thing," said a high school student named Fatima, who has the same building blocks at home

Mel is one of two biologists who are making models and teaching plans that are used by school teachers across the country and around the world to teach their students one of the most basic concepts in biology: how cells are used DNA makes proteins
.

She and Kathy Vandiver (Kathy Vandiver), a consultant at MIT's Accerton Center and director of the MIT Center for Environmental Health Sciences, Community Outreach Education and Participation Center, discovered after completing their PhDs that they both like to share biology with students.

Before joining MIT in 2005, Vandiver taught science in middle school for 16 years, creating classroom models during her career
.

In 2008, Mayer worked with her at the Edgerton Center to help her improve the models' courses and activity manuals

Creating life: from blueprint to building block

In school, students learned that DNA determines the characteristics they inherit from their parents, such as eye color
.

This is because DNA contains the instructions to make proteins, and proteins make up our cells

Vandiver believes that if students want to master a complex process like protein synthesis, they need more than just the labeled diagrams that are common in science classrooms
.

She said that tactile decision-making is a more attractive learning method than watching charts or even watching videos

Since students can learn by doing (hands-on), they will not be hindered by the pressure of mastering vocabulary, which is a typical obstacle in biology classes
.

These models are suitable for students at different levels: sixth grade students can simply use them as building blocks, while older students can use clever design details to learn higher-level concepts such as directionality and bonding strength

Vandiver and Mayer carefully put as many thoughts as possible on the lessons that accompany the model
.

For a protein to do its job, its components must be chained together in the correct order

"But it confuses the students
.
They have gone through so many steps without knowing what they are doing," she explained
.
Over the years, Vandiver and Mayer have taught thousands of students of different ages at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum, and they have observed that if students already know what the final product looks like, they can better learn protein synthesis
.
Therefore, in their course, students start with a finished protein containing a specific amino acid sequence
.
Then they start from scratch, learn and follow the steps of the body to put these pieces together
.

Collaborate with teachers

Throughout the year, Mayer and Vandiver hold seminars for teachers in Massachusetts, Texas, and Arizona to train them on how to use these toolkits
.
With the help of a grant, they distributed a set of teaching materials to 30 public high schools in Boston for teachers to use in the classroom
.

Mayer said that after using this set of teaching materials, teachers have a better understanding of the teaching materials and have more confidence in teaching
.
"Teaching the teacher is really great," she said
.
"Think about how many students they will teach in their lifetime, and by getting students excited about it, how many biologists they will create
.
"

Other countries are also using DNA kits: Vandiver has trained teachers in Italy, India, China, Singapore, Cambodia and Mexico
.
When the center occasionally receives students from abroad, they organize seminars for them
.

They also cooperate with local students
.
For the past five summers, the Department of Biology at MIT has been collaborating with the LEAH Knox Scholars project to host talented high school students from underrepresented communities in the sciences
.
Every year, the Edgerton Center provides students with a crash course in molecular biology
.
"With the DNA kit, I really feel like I got into the cell to some extent," said Britica Mahajan, a senior high school student who attended one of the seminars
.
"It's not like a boring high school textbook with only words
.
"

Look to the future

Mayer and Vandiver said they still have a lot to do
.
Since 2014, they have imported parts from Singapore and assembled them in Cambridgeshire with the help of volunteers
.
This allows them to provide these toolkits to educators at cost
.
They have a new set of chromosomes in progress, and they are constantly designing courses for new audiences, such as nurses, and they may soon take care of patients with customized DNA treatment plans
.

"The first comment we got from people was,'Oh, wow, if I had this, I might like biology
.
I might even become a biology researcher
.
"

Vandiver believes that this kit is a success because they embody Dr.
Edgerton’s memorable motto about teaching: “The trick to education is to keep them from knowing that they are learning until it’s too late
.
”