Jeff Alan Davidson 
Alliance for Science Education 
73150.1623@Compuserve.com 

The Pennsylvania Biotechnology Association (PBA) in cooperation with the Alliance for Science Education (ASE) publishes the biotechnology science magazine YOUR WORLD/OUR WORLD to introduce middle and high school students to the underlying science and the social issues raised by modern biological research and technology. In the Spring of 1996, with partial DOE funding, a special enlarged issue of YOUR WORLD/OUR WORLD dealing with the underlying science of genomics, and the ethical, legal, and social issues raised by the Human Genome Project (HGP) was published.  

PBA and ASE are developing additional instructional materials for use by middle and high school students to facilitate a more extensive presentation of the subjects covered in the special issue. These materials are being built in two phases. First, by developing new materials by PBA to create a comprehensive supplemental materials package that provides resources in several different media. Second, by running a national contest for science teachers and students to encourage classroom development of new and original approaches to teaching the material. Materials from both phases will each in turn be packaged and made available to the 45,000 middle school and high school biology teachers in the United States over the next 24 months.  

Phase I Materials  

Eight multimedia lectures designed for teacher use and richly annotated with teacher notes have been developed that can be presented directly from a CD-ROM or from color or laser printed overheads that can be printed from the disk. The lectures make extensive use of three-dimensional animations to explain the science clearly and interestingly. The materials also include an extensive glossary and directory of internet resources.  

The lecture topics are summarized below:  

• Inheritance and Uniqueness - The Role of DNA
• DNA Structure and Function, DNA Replication (Highlights from Animations and Your World), DNA Transcription and Translation (Highlights from Animations and Your World) 
• The Human Genome Program and Gene Mapping (Animation & Lecture) 
• Genetic Testing
• Molecular Evolution
• A Glimpse Into the Future of Gene Discovery and Application 
• Careers in Fields Related to Gene Discovery and Research 
• Introducing a Gene Teaching Material Development Contest to the Students 

• DNA Structure and DNA Replication
• DNA Transcription and Translation - An Overview
• DNA Transcription and Translation - A More Detailed Exploration 
• Searching an Online Database for a Matching Gene
• Three Levels of Maps - (Genetic Linkage Map, Physical Map, Sequence Map) 

• Additional Teaching Plans 
• Graphics, Art, Photographs 
• Additional Science and ELSI Text & Animations 
• Additional Experiments, Demonstrations, & Activities 
• Multimedia Presentations and Graphics, Web Sites, Games 
• Role Playing Exercises 
• Science Fair or Research Project Suggestions 
• Plays or Literature - written or performed and videotaped 

Articles for the General Press or Radio or Television