BioBuilding: Synthetic Biology for Teachers: Design Assignment: Difference between revisions
James Dixon (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
James Dixon (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
====Question 1: What is your focus area?==== | ====Question 1: What is your focus area?==== | ||
This table will help you pick broad areas on which to begin your design project. A word doc of this table may be found here. | This table will help you pick broad areas on which to begin your design project. A word doc of this table may be found [[Design_brainstorm_focus_areas.docx |here]]. | ||
[[image:Capture_brainstorm.JPG|Capture_brainstorm.JPG]] | [[image:Capture_brainstorm.JPG|Capture_brainstorm.JPG]] | ||
====Question 2: What particular problem do you want to address?==== | ====Question 2: What particular problem do you want to address?==== |
Revision as of 07:35, 11 August 2011
Eau That Smell Lab notes |
PDF of this page
Teacher ConsiderationsUsing the bacterial photography system as inspiration, this assignment asks the students (individually or in groups) to use their imagination as they propose a design for a genetic system. The emphasis is on the decisions made by engineers during the planning of the design process and not on the genetics. The students are asked to consider existing technologies, risk, reward, and testing. Of course, they are expected to imagine a genetic system that will make a significant contribution to life on earth. You can worry about its feasibility later. You may also find this design assignment useful for an iGEM team as it develops an idea for a project. Although the assignment itself is written for an individual student, it can be adapted for a group. The brainstorming exercises below lend themselves quite well to a group process, such as is needed within an iGEM team. Guiding your studentsThis assignment is open ended and can be adapted in many ways by you and your students. However, it might be helpful to take them through some exercises to help them to think about biological engineering design. These four questions, and the associated material, can help the students focus on a problem and begin designing a solution: Question 1: What is your focus area?This table will help you pick broad areas on which to begin your design project. A word doc of this table may be found here. Question 2: What particular problem do you want to address?Think about any topics in your area that you find especially interesting. These could be motivated by an article you've read, a personal experience, a research project you know about. You might want to have a couple of possibilities as you go forward. Question 3: Can you imagine a biotechnology to address this problem?Bacteria too smelly? Make them smell like bananas. Question 4: How will you narrow down your choices?It might help to compare all your favorite ideas along these five lines:
Going FurtherYou may want your students to take the design assignment further by breaking down the systems they design into devices and then, perhaps, the devices into parts. Resources (just a sample)Here are some background readings and videos that teach about synthetic biology, its goals and projects. You may wish to provide your students with these resources. Decoding Synthetic Biology (YouTube)
How to Make Life AssessmentGrading RubricsDesign Assignment Rubrics and Scoresheets (pdf) SurveyTo help us improve the labs, you can
Thanks!
|