1. In-school learning environment Out-of-school learning environment
Health in Our Hands: What Controls My Health? A New Genomic Framework for Schools and Communities
Weaving together schools and communities through models in action
Idit Adler, Jane Lee, Krista Damery, Renee Bayer, Joe Krajcik
In-school learning environment
Teachers, students, staff
Out-of-school learning environment
Museums, libraries, local organizations, universities
Community
The students’ social capital - family, friends, peers, neighbors
Develop and assess new curriculum materials for middle school science classes
Linking genomics & evolution
Relate learning to community health
Incorporate discussions of ethical issues
Develop and assess a partnership model linking various schools and organizations
Community meetings where students share classroom work
Use of museums, libraries, and research labs as resources for learning
Promote racial and ethnic diversity in the science community
Stimulating interest in science careers
Narrowing the achievement gap in science
Health in Our Hands - Goals
Learning & developing a model of genes environment interactions
During the lessons, and through various class activities, the students gain an understanding and develop a model of gene environment interaction.
The models are starting point for the students’ community projects.
Models in action : The Community Action Project
In the community action project the the class is transformed into a research group whose goal is to examine a health issue in the nearby environment that can be changed to improve the community’s health. Together, the students will: (a) develop their inquiry question; (b) design the investigation; (c) collect and analyze data; (d) draw conclusions and generate potential actions; and (e) report back to their community.
The process of inquiry informs their models with the action component, and reinforces an understanding of the role of models and modeling in science.
Community
action projects
Using SageModeler (Concord Consortium) to develop models
Lesson
Driving Questions
Lesson 1
Why does Monique have diabetes?
Lesson 2
How can we describe Monique’s diabetes?
Lesson 3
How does Monique’s family affect her diabetes?
Lesson 4
How does where Monique lives and what she does affect her health?
Lesson 5
How do Monique’s characteristics affect her health?
Lesson 6
What can Monique do to make her environment healthier?
Lesson 7
How can we work together to make our environment healthier?
Lesson 8
How is our community affected by what we inherit, where we live, and what we eat?
Possible questions for the community action project
How does social pressure at school affect my eating habits / exercise habits / healthy lifestyle?
How do science / health exhibitions affect children’s / youth’s healthy lifestyle? (such as in museums or documentaries)
How does access to exercise facilities in the neighborhood affect children’s / youth / adults’ exercise habits?
How do commercial advertisements in my neighborhood affect my community’s food consumption / healthy lifestyle?
How does the town’s transportation facilities (roads for bicycle, safe sidewalk) affect my exercise habits?
How do school health, breakfast, or lunch programs affect the students’/ teachers’ eating habits?
Project collaborators include: University of Michigan School of Public Health and College of Engineering; Flint Community Schools, Community Based Organization Partners, the Sloan Museum, the Flint Public Library, the Concord Consortium in Massachusetts and multiple partners in Detroit: University Preparatory Schools, Detroit Public Schools Community District, the Detroit Public Library, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Michigan Science Center and Friends of Parkside.