BioBits: A Cell-Free Tool for K–12 Synthetic Biology Science Education

• In Event: The Biomaker Ecosystem: Technologies, Spaces, and Curriculum for K–12 Making With Biology

Abstract

Active learning activities in life science fields have been shown to improve student outcomes and engagement in STEM classes (Prince, 2004), but can be challenging to achieve in public K-12 education due to reasons related to physical resource limits. For example, hands-on life science activities traditionally involve growing live cells to teach fundamental biology/NGSS topics about molecular biology and genetics (NRC, 2012; Moore et al., 2015). Because activities that involve living biological materials require specialized equipment and expertise, it limits the accessibility of these activities to classrooms with significant material resources. With no readily available substitute for hands-on experiential learning involving biological materials, there is a critical need for accessible tools for 6-12 grade groups—for whom decisions about whether to participate in the field begin to stabilize (Tai, Liu, Maltese, & Fan, 2006; Wiebe, Unfried, & Faber, 2018).

To address this need, we developed a cell-free technology that’s commonly used in synthetic biology to develop freeze-dried, cell-free kits (BioBits® kits, 2020) for hands-on active life science learning with authentic biological materials (see figure 1). BioBits® kits are uniquely inexpensive (<$100 per 32-students), user friendly (just-add-water reactions with portable laboratory equipment), safe (contain no live cells) and have real-time visual readouts that students can see. Students simply need to rehydrate the reactions by adding water with DNA and the BioBits® reaction will express the protein encoded by the DNA. Our research goals were to: (1) identify the possible molecular biology topics that could be taught using this platform, (2) evaluate the possibility and feasibility of using such activities in the classroom, and (3) assess student perspectives about using these approaches and potential future field engagement.

Using quantitative and qualitative data sources, we report on three key findings. First, we identify key biological learning concepts engaged using this system, which ranged from basic gene expression to more advanced topics such as biosensors and CRISPR gene editing. We also report data showing (n=252) high school students from diverse populations in a northeastern urban United States school district were able to perform a set of five prototype activities and obtain successful experimental results. Finally, survey results from these groups suggest the kit was easy to implement, affordable, supported learning about molecular biology topics, and provided opportunities for students to carry out fundamental research techniques. Students reported high degrees of self-identification with being a scientist after completing the activities, which is a critical measure of engagement. Survey results also revealed a significant increase in student understanding of the molecular biology topics.

These findings suggest that synthetic biology-based BioBits® kits have the potential to increase accessibility to molecular biology education among high school student groups. This finding is especially relevant since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic—where BioBits® kits might be a critical access point for providing remote hands-on learning at home due their affordability and minimal equipment requirement. Future efforts should consider the affordances and constraints of bringing these and similar tools to broader age groups (e.g., middle school groups) and at scale.

Author

• Ally Huang, miniPCR bio