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Stem Cells in the 7th Grade Classroom
Nick Hartfield
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My background B.A. Human Biology, Stanford University
M.A. Urban Education, Loyola Marymount University 1 prior course in stem cells, 1 prior course in developmental biology
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School Context 7th year in the classroom
4 years as a K-5 science teacher in Oakland, CA 2 years as 7th grade science teacher in NYC and Schenectady Currently entering 2nd year at Central Park Middle School in Schenectady City School District teaching 7th grade science
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Curriculum Overview: 7th Grade Science
Introductory science course for grades 7-12 Strong focus on chemistry, physics, research, inquiry skills, engineering, scientific method Student background knowledge highly varied
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Engineering Unit Occurs after the introductory scientific method unit.
Students will be able to: Describe how engineers use the Engineering Design Process to solve problems Develop a model for solving problems
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NGSS / NYS Science Standards for Engineering
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NGSS / NYS Science Standards for Engineering
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Day 1 Pre-assessment Bridging conversation: how can we build living structures to help us? Background on stem cells
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Day 2 Students assigned teams and injuries, tissues, or diseases that they may want to find a solution for: Diabetes Heart tissue Tendon injury Etc. Students given scaffolded research sheet to learn more about the scope of the problem and current treatments or therapies
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Day 3 Students introduced to the concepts / vocab of:
Pluri/multipotency Differentiation Transcription factors As they progress through a differentiation “game” trying to engineer the cells needed for the tissue Students record paths taken and choices made as they attempt to create their tissue
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Day 4 Students read about challenges with stem cell therapies
Students suggest best course of treatment and possible future course of research regarding their assigned issue Post-assessment
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Future lab activities Working to develop gel-like materials to test rigidity/stiffness/suitability for different tissues Further current events or ethics readings Further research into biomedical engineering CRISPR module Integration with literacy units on bioengineering
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Research Dr. Corr’s lab Differentiation lab Drug delivery lab
Engineering tendon tissue Stiffness of substrates Differentiation lab Drug delivery lab
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