Biochemical Society Outreach Event: Inside the Cell...Biochemical Society Outreach Event: Inside the...

BiochemicalSocietyOutreachEvent:

InsidetheCell

EvaluationReport

CovadongaHuidobroandAstaValanciute

Gijón,8-12May2017

BiochemicalSocietyOutreachEvent:InsidetheCell 2

INDEX

1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................3

2. Aims.........................................................................................................................................3

3. Workshop................................................................................................................................4

4. Evaluationoftheactivity.........................................................................................................8

5. Mediacoverage.....................................................................................................................17

6. Plansforthefuture................................................................................................................17

7. Acknowledgements...............................................................................................................18


InsidetheCell

1. Introduction

Science outreach activities are essential to increase awareness and understanding about scientificresearch.This isparticularly relevantwhen it targets youngaudiences,whocouldbuildup the futuregenerationsof scientists. In countries likeSpain, lackof fundinghinderspublicengagementevents tohappen in public schools. The experience thatwe, Dr. Covadonga Huidobro and Dr. Asta Valanciute,haveacquiredbyvolunteeringinoutreacheventsinparalleltoourworkaspostdoctoralScientistsintheUnitedKingdom,hasencouragedustoapplyforfundingtoorganiseourowneventsinaudiencesthatarehardtoreach.

Ourapplicationtocarryouttheevent“InsidetheCell”wasawardedwithoneoftheBiochemicalSocietyOutreachGrants.Theeventwasperformed inMay2017 intwostate-fundedprimaryschools inGijon(PrincipalityofAsturias,Spain),“ColegioPublicoClarin”and“ColegioPublicoRioPiles”.Itwasthefirsttime that the schools hosted a ScientificOutreach event.We carriedout a total of 21 sessions of 45minuteslong,reaching516studentsagedbetween6and14yearsold,andthecorrespondingteachers.

2. Aims

The main aim of this event was to bring Cell Biology closer to young students through a series ofdynamic presentations and exciting hands-on activities. This represented an alternative to traditionalmethodsbasedonlectures,whichwereveryengagingforthetargetedaudience.Mostofthechildrenwereunawareof the concepts taughtby the researchers. This, togetherwith thehands-onactivities,generated enough interest and excitement not only among children but also teachers, who wereenormouslyimpressedwiththeprotocolsandtechniquesinvolvedintheworkshopsandwouldbeverykeentohostsimilareventsincollaborationswithscientistsinfutureyears.

Inordertoachievethemainaimofthisevent,wehadthefollowingaspartialobjectives:

- TopromotepublicawarenessaboutBiologicalSciencesamongprimaryschoolchildrenandtheteachingcommunity

- TocontributetoScienceeducationthroughfunandvibranthands-onactivities,givingchildrentheopportunitytoperformrealexperiments,andbecomefamiliarwiththescientificmethod

- To inspireschoolteacherstoparticipate intheworkshops,wheretheywouldbeableto learnalternativestrategiestoengagestudentsmorevividlywithScience

- Totakeadvantageoflessonslearntfromexperienceofpreviousprojectstoimprovethequalityofourdeliverables

- To improve our expertise as scientists in public communication and to adapt ourselves tochildrenfromdifferentcultures

- Todeveloplinksattheinternationallevelbetweenresearchinstitutesandprimaryschools- To introduce theBiochemicalSocietynotonlyas the fundingbodybutalsoasaneducational

institution- Toperformtheeventwithintheprojectedbudget


Alltheaimsweresuccessfullyachieved,asexplainedbelow.

3. Workshop

Differenthands-onactivitieswererunduring45-minutessessions.We,Dr.CovadongaHuidobroandDr.AstaValanciute,wereleadingtheactivitiesinthepresenceofthecorrespondingteacheratalltimes.

Each activity began with a brief and dynamic presentation by Dr. Covadonga Huidobro using screenprojectorsanddigitalboardsavailableattheschoolsandwasfollowedbydifferenthands-onactivities.At thebeginningof thetalks,Covadongabrieflydescribedherroleasaresearcherandacknowledgedthosewhomadethiseventpossible,theBiochemicalSocietyasthefundingbody,thesupervisorswhoallowedtheresearcherstocarryouttheseactivitiesoutsidethelab,andtheschools,whichwerehappytobeinvolved.AstaandCovadongacreatedafriendlyandrelaxedatmosphere,checkinghowstudentswere coping with English (foreign language) and the new vocabulary, and trying to address all theirquestions.BothschoolshaverecentlystartedSpanish-Englishbilingual teachingsystem,sochildren ingeneralspokefluentEnglishbutwerenotfamiliarwiththescientificwords.

Themainfocusofeverytalkwasthecell:whatitis,whattheircomponentsareandwhattheydowithinthecell,howcellsworkandhowwegofromsinglecellstomulticellularorganisms.DuetotheexpertiseofCovadongainGenetics,specialemphasiswasgiventotheDNAandhowitispackedtofitinsidethenucleus. The complexity of these talks increased accordinglywith the age of the students. In Spain,primaryschoolisorganisedinto6years,andthehands-onactivitieswereslightlydifferentdependingontheyear:

- Cellcolouring,for6-7yearsoldchildren(1styear).Afterlearningaboutthecell,atemplatewiththe illustration of a cell highlighting themain componentswas distributedwithin children togivecolour.Childrenalsoneededtowritedownonthetemplatethenamesofeachcomponentandwereallowedtotakehometheirprojects.

Picture1.Childrenareshowingtheircellcolouringprojects.Attheback,Covadongaiswrappingupthesessionbyrevisingthenewwordsthestudentshadlearntthroughouttheactivity.


- Cell modelling, for 7-8 years old children (2nd year). After a brief talk about the cell, 10-centimetrePetridishesweregiventothechildrentogetherwithsomeairdrydoughofdifferentcolours. Children built their own cell inside the Petri dish, following guidelines from theScientists.Childrenwereallowedtotaketheirprojectshome.

Picture2.Studentsshowingtheir3Dcellmodel.Inthesquare,detailedpictureofoneofthem.

- DNAbracelets/keyrings,for8-10yearsold(3rdand4thyear).ChildrenlearntabouttheDNA,itsstructureandfunctionwithinthecell.FollowingthepatternofsomeDNAsequences,childrenlearned aboutDNA structure and complementary base-pairing using beads andwire tomakebracelets or keyrings. Pupils wore proudly their DNA bracelets and keyrings, and some girlssuggestedadifferentuse,hairdecoration!

Picture3.Afteridentifyingtheeyecolourtheygot,studentsbuildDNAbraceletsorkeyringsfollowingthesequenceandcomplementarybasepairingrules.


Picture4.SomepupilsworetheirDNAbeadsonastringintheirponytails.

- Visualization of cheek cells under microscopes, for 10-11 years old (5th year). A generalintroduction was given about cell structure and cell types to the children. For the activity,childrenwerearrangedinpairs.Theyusedcottonswabstogetthecellsfromtheinnersideoftheir cheeks, put them on tomicroscope slides and stained themwith food dyes to observethemunderthemicroscope.Childrenwerenotallowedtotakehometheslideswiththeirowncells,whichupsetsomeofthem.

Picture5.Studentsgettingcellsfromtheirmouth.


Picture6.Studentstryingtoseecellsafterstainingwithfoodcolorantsbynakedeye(left),andobservingthemunderamicroscope(right).

- DNAextractionfrompeas,for11-12yearsold(6thyear).Usingsoap,lemonjuice,apinchofsalt

and a little bit of alcohol (alcohol was exclusively manipulated by the scientists), studentsextractedDNAfromsmashedpeas.ChildrenwerenotallowedtotakethelaboratorytubeswiththeDNA sampleshome,butoneof the teachers asked if she couldwash them to repeat theexperimentwiththestudents,sotubesweredonatedtotheschool.

Picture7.StudentsweregroupedbypairstoperformtheDNAextraction.Inthesquare,detailedofone

oftheDNAsamples.


4. Evaluationoftheactivity

Thescientistswerewarmlywelcomeattheschools.Fromtheminutetheyarrived,theycouldfeeltheenthusiasm from both students and teachers; everyone was looking forward to starting theexperiments.

As thehands-onactivitieswentalong, itwaseasy to tell thatchildrenwereacquiringnewknowledgewhilehavingfun.Theatmospherewasveryfriendlyandstudentsdidnothesitateinaskingallshortofquestions relatedwith theactivitiesandtheunderlyingScience.Thescientists tried toaddressall thequestions raised. Children’s behaviour was in general extraordinary, being respectful by raising theirhandsandcallingresearchersforhelpwhenrequired. Insomeactivities, liketheDNAbracelets,morevolunteerswouldhavebeenextremelyhelpful.Inordertocompensateforthat,researcherskeptaverycloseeyetothestudentsmakingsureeveryonewasfollowingtheactivity.Activitieswerecarriedoutataslowpaceandalltogether,stepbystep,andthisstrategyworkedquitewell.Ifsomeonegotstuck,notonly scientists and teachers helped, but also neighbouring students, showing a great sense ofcompanionship.

However,thescientistsfacedsomechallenges.Thefirstonewastheratioscientist-studentratio,whichwasabit low.Therewerejust2Scientistsper25students(onaverage),so itwasgoodthatscientistsaskedteacherstostay intheclassroomduringtheactivities.MostoftheteachersengagedreallywellwiththeScientistsandgot involved intheworkshopsfromtheverybeginning.Someteacherscarriedoutthetaskinparallelwithchildrenwhileothersadoptedamoresupportiverole(helpingchildrenthatwerestruggling,keepingtherestlessonesundercontrol,andsoon).Afewteachersevenaskedfortheslidesofthepresentationsandtheprotocolstogoovertheactivitywithchildrentoconsolidatethenewknowledge. Counting on teachers was particularly useful when we faced children with learningdisabilities or behaviour disorders. For instance, one boy was extremely demanding in terms ofattention, and even though he had a tutor assigned at all times, the scientists realised he required“moreaction”.Theboywasofferedtohandinthematerialsandsurveysforhiscolleagues.Hehappilyagreedtodoit,andhiscolleagueswereverycomprehensive.Thesituationwassuccessfullyovercome,whichwehadnotthoughtaboutitbeforehand.

Inthefirstschool,thescientistswerenotallocatedinaclassroombutinsteadtheyneededtocarrytheirstufffromoneclassroomtoanother,wherethechildrenwerewaiting.Thiswasslightlystressfulsincescientists were not familiar with the school and also needed to pack and unpack differentmaterialsdependingonthesession,andcarrytheirstuffallaroundtheschool.However,inthesecondschool,theresearcherswere allocated in one classroom and the students headed by the corresponding teacherweretheoneswhoneedtomove.Thismadethetransitionfromonesessiontothenextoneeasierandquicker.

Regarding the activity of the cheek cells, scientists provided just twomicroscopes. Since there werearound 25 students per session, observing the cells under themicroscopewas a bit of a bottleneck.Thankfully,thiswassomethingthathadbeenbeardinmindbeforehandandstudentswereentertainedwithmagnifiersandcellmodels.Thiswaitingtimewasalsousedtoaskstudentsabouttheexperiments,makingsuretheywereunderstandingtheprocedure.

The activities were successfully completed within the schedule with exception of one of the cellmodellinggroups,whichwasextremelyrestlessandscientistsneedtostopafewtimesaskingstudents


tokeepcalm.Theystudentsmanagedtofinishthecellmodel,butdidnothavethetimetowritenamesintheirnotebooks.

Inordertoassesshowsuccessfultheworkshopshadbeeninamoreaccurateway,theresearchershadprepared a survey, which was given to the students at the end of the activity. The surveys allowedestimatingeasilythenumberofstudentswhotookpartin“Insidethecell”:

Activity NumberofStudents

Cellcolouring 47

Cellmodelling 126

DNAbracelets/keyrings 175

Cheekcells 120

DNAextraction 48

TOTAL 516

Table1.Numberofstudentswhoparticipatedintheworkshops.

To capture a responsequickly andeasily fromyounger children (“cell colouring” and “cellmodelling”activities),smileyfaceswereusedasascaletoratetheactivityasshownbelow:

Picture8.Templatethatwasdistributedamongchildrenafterthehands-onactivitytoassesshowtheyhadfoundtheactivity.Childrenjustneededtodrawamarkinthecolumnwhosesmileyfacebest

describedtheirfeelingstowardstheactivity.


Asshowninthepiecharts(Figure9andFigure10),thecellcolouringandthecellmodellinghands-onactivitieswereoutstanding:96and95%ofthechildrenlikedtheactivity,respectively.

96%

4%

CellColouring

Likeit

Idon´tknow

Dislikeit

Figure9.Piechartshowingresultsoftheactivity“Cellcolouring”survey

Figure10.Piechartshowingresultsoftheactivity“Cellmodelling”survey.

Regardingtherestoftheactivities,includingDNAbracelets,CheekcellsandDNAextraction,amoreelaboratedsurveywasprepared,whichconsistedinthefollowingquestions:


1. Whatdidyoulikemostaboutthisevent?

a. Newknowledge

b. Materialsused

c. Facilitators

d. Other

2. Whatdidyoulikeleastaboutthisevent?

a. Newknowledge

b. Materialsused

c. Facilitators

d. Other

3. Howdidyoufindtheeventonascaleof1to10,being1veryboringand10veryentertaining?

Veryboring Veryentertaining

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

4. Wouldyouliketoattendasimilareventinthefuture?

a. Yes

b. No

c. Idon´tknow

5. Wouldyourecommendthiseventtofriends/colleagues?

a. Yes

b. No

c. Idon´tknow

6. Doyouhaveanysuggestions,commentsorconcernsabouttheevent?


This survey turned out to be too difficult for some students because of themultiple-choice answer.Explaininghowthequestionnaireworkedrequiredslightlymoretimethan initiallyexpected.Theplanwastoletthechildrenfillthesurveyontheirown,butthestrategyneededtobemodified.Questionswerereadout loudonebyoneand furtherexplanationswereprovidedregardingthemultiple-choiceanswers,speciallyoption“d”(others)inquestions1and2,inwhichstudentswereexpectedtospecifywhattheyhadlikedthemostortheleastifitthatwasnotamongthepreviousoptions.

RegardingtheDNAbracelets (Figure11),35%ofthestudents likedthemost learningsomethingnew.Around50%pickedtheoptionothersfromwhichthemajoritysaidtheyhadlikedeverything.Regardingwhat the liked the least, thevastmajority said thatnothing.There is a10%whochose thematerialsused. This is related to the fact that some children struggled tomake knots, but received help fromscientist and teachers in order to improve and everyonemanaged to finish their DNA bracelet. Theactivity was found very enjoyable, since more that 95% of the students gave a mark of 8 points orhigher.Childrenwoulddefinitively liketoparticipateinasimilarevent(97%saidyes)andrecommendtheactivity(95%saidyes).

With respect to the observation of cheek cells (Figure 12), similar results were obtained. The mostpopularanswerwasthattheylikedlearningsomethingnew(46%)orthattheylikedeverything(77%outof the 25% who picked others). In question number 2, the results are overwhelming: most of thestudentssaidtherewasnothingtheydidnotlike(95%of88%).Again,theactivitywasconsideredveryenjoyable (marks 8, 9 and 10 gatheredmore than 95% of the students), and everyonewould like toattend a similar workshop or recommend the activity to friends and colleagues (95% and 92% ofchildrengavepositiveanswer).

Finally, taking theDNAextractionexperiment intoaccount (Figure13), awider rangeofanswerswasobtained.Oncemore,aroundhalfofthestudentslikeeverything(47%outof56%)buttherestoftheanswersregardingquestion1wasmoreequallydistributed:21%likedlearningsomethingnewandtheinstructors,andanother21% liked themost learningsomethingnewand thematerialsused.Nothingwasansweredby67%outofthestudentswhopickedothers(88%)tothequestionaboutwhattheyhadliked the least. Regarding the rest of the aspects they did not like, interesting things were raised. Itseemsour“youngresearchers”needtobemorepatient,sincesomedidnot liketheintroductorytalk(9%),thoughttheexperimentwastooshort (5%)ordidnotenjoythewaitingtimes(2%),whichwereusedtodiscussaboutthetheoreticalaspectsoftheexperiment.Oncemore,theactivitywasconsideredveryenjoyable(95%ofthestudentsgavetheactivityamarkof8orhigher).Also,thestudentswouldbewillingtogetinvolvedinsimilarevents(96%saidyes)andwouldrecommendtheactivityaswell(98%saidyes).


DNAbracelets/keyrings

1%

10%1%

88%

Whatdidyouliketheleast?

Learningsomethingnew

Thematerials used

Theinstructors

Others95%

2%1% 1%

1%

Whatdidyouliketheleast:others

Nothing

Tooshort

SpeakingEnglish

Indooractivity

Toodifficult

35%

8%9%

48%

Whatdidyoulikethemost?


Thematerials used

Theinstructors

Others

68%

11%

18%

3%

Whatdidyoulikethemost:others

Everything

LearningsomethingnewandthematerialsusedLearningsomethingnewandtheinstructorsMakingbracelets

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

%Stud

ents

Howenjoyablewastheactivity?

97%

3%

Wouldyouliketoattendasimilarevent?

Yes

No

Idonotknow95%

1%4%

Wouldyourecommendthisevent?

Yes

No

Idonotknow

Figure11.ResultsfromthesurveytoassesstheDNAbracelets/keyringsactivity.


Cheekcells

1%

8%2%

89%


LearningsomethingnewThematerials used

Theinstructors

Others

46%

25%

4%

25%


LearningsomethingnewThematerialsusedTheinstructors

Others77%

10%

10%

3%


Everything

Mousecells

LearningsomethingnewandthematerialsusedLearningsomethingnewandtheinstructors

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

%Stud

ents


95%

5%


Yes

No

Idonotknow

92%

1%7%


Yes

No

Idonotknow

84%

6%

5%2% 1%

2%Whatdidyouliketheleast:others

Nothing

Tooshort

Waitingtimes

Usingcellsfrommymouth

Mycellsdidnotstainedwell

SpeakingEnglish

Figure12.Resultsfromthesurveytoassesstheexperiment,whichconsistedinobservingcheekcellsunderthemicroscope.


DNAextraction

32%

9%

3%

56%



Thematerials used

Theinstructors

Others

47%

21%

21%

11%


Everything

Learningsomethingnewandthematerialsused

Learningsomethingnewandtheinstructors

Thematerials usedandtheinstructors

6%6%

88%



Thematerials used

Theinstructors

Others67%5%

2%

7%

5% 5%9%

Whatdidyouliketheleast:others

Nothing

Tooshort

Waitingtimes

SpeakingEnglish

StudentscouldnotdoeverythingThesmellofpeas

Thetalk

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

%Stud

ents


96%

4%


Yes

No

Idonotknow

98%

2%


Yes

No

Idonotknow

Figure13.ResultsfromthesurveytoassesstheDNAextractionexperiment.


Regarding the lastquestion,bywhichscientistpursued toget some feedbackonhowto improve the

workshop,someofthestudents’commentsandsuggestionsareshownhere:

This is the best thingI´ve doneatschool!

Iwish Ihad extractedmyown DNA...

DNAbraceletsareawesome!!

Love it! Pleasecomebacksoon

XOXO

Thebestactivity ofthe entireworld.

Thanks!

Imissednot seeingdifferent cell types

Watchingmyowncells,this is

amazing!!!

Reallyenjoylearningnewwords

The experimentworkedwell,incredible!!

NowIlove Genetics!

100%recommended

Didnot like thewaiting times,we

needmoremicroscopes

Instructors areveryfriendly

Nextyear Iamgoingtohigh school,please

go there too!

Comebackandteachus more

This is great asit is!

Figure14.Someoftheanswersforquestion6“Doyouhaveanysuggestions,commentsorconcerns

abouttheevent“inthesurveyfortheactivitiesDNAbracelets/keyrings,CheekcellsandDNA

extraction.

While performing the hands-on activities, the general impressionwas that not only children but alsoteacherslovedtheworkshops.Thisisnowsupportedbytheresultsobtainedinthesurvey.Forthefirsttime, these two schools could offer to their students a scientific outreach event and it has been anextraordinary success. Headmasters and teachers were really impressed with our work, since theyrepeatedly congratulated us on the workshop. To corroborate this, the headmasters of one of theschoolsevencontactedlocalmediaandwewereinterviewedabouttheeventsbytwonewspapers.Tohighlight,wealldiscussedhowusefulwouldbetohavethefundingtorunthisworkshopeveryyear.

As scientists thisexperiencehasbeenvery rewarding.Wehave learnthow toadapt toverydifferentsituations to the ones we live in our work every day life. We have without question improved ourcommunicationskillsandwehaveshownthatscientistsarereachabletopublicaudiences.

The positive feedback is an amazing reward for our effort in visiting these schools and reallyappreciated the opportunity the Biochemical Society is giving in order to promote Science outreachevent.


5. Mediacoverage

Covadongapostedsometwitswhiletheprojectwasbeenperformed,withpermissionfromtheschoolstoincludepicturesofparticipants.

LocalpressheardabouttheeventandtwonewspapersinterviewedCovadonga.Articleswerepublishedbothinprintedandonlineversions:

- ElComercio:http://www.elcomercio.es/gijon/201705/13/pulseras-piles-20170513024202.html- LaNuevaEspaña:http://www.lne.es/gijon/2017/05/13/extraer-adn-guisante-

detergente/2103785.html

6. Plansforthefuture

With “Inside the Cell”, Covadonga and Asta have laid the foundation for Science outreach events tohappeninpublicschoolsinGijón,asmalltownintheNorthofSpain.Theschoolsthathostedthiseventweredelightedwiththeworkshop,andtheywillremainincontactwiththeresearcherssothatsimilareventscouldbeorganised.Inaddition,since“InsidetheCell”appearedonlocalnewspapers,differentschoolshavealreadycontactedCovadonga.Theyareofferingnewaudiencespublicengagement.

CovadongaandAstawould liketokeeporganisingsimilarevents in futureyears,but the fact thatwedependexclusivelyonexternal funding isavery limiting factor.TherearenotmanyScienceoutreachcalls, so the one held by the Biochemical Society sustains our hope to continue our role as publicengagementfacilitators.

Forfutureevents,improvementstoimplementfromthisexperienceare:

- Recruitmorevolunteersifworkingwithmorethan10studentsperscientist.- Also,thenumberofmicroscopesavailablewasabitofabottleneck.Again,thiswasduetothe

budget available. Covadonga is now aware of the foldablemicroscopes co-invented byManuPrakash and Jim Cybulski in Manu´s laboratory, available at www.foldscope.com. Thismicroscopeismadefrompaper,durableandaffordable.Itemergesasanidealreplacementfortraditional researchmicroscopes in this typeof public engagement activities, as theexpenseswillsignificantlydecrease.

- If the event is run in schools, scientists will ask to be allocated in one classroom, so thattransitionbetweenthedifferentsessionsgoessmoothly.

- Regarding experiments, like the observation of cheek cells under the microscope and DNAextraction,promotehealthandsafetymeasureslikewearingsafetyglasses,labcoatandgloveswouldhavebeenmorecorrect.Duetobudgetconstraint,thiswasnotincludedthistimebutitissomethingthatshouldbetakenintoconsiderationforfutureworkshops.

- Simplifythesurvey.


7. Acknowledgements

We, Covadonga Huidobro and Asta Valanciute as the scientists involved in “Inside the Cell”, areenormously grateful to the Biochemical Society for providing the economical support to develop theproject.

WealsowouldliketoacknowledgetheHeadmasters’ofthetwoschoolsthathostedtheevent,AmalioNuñezfromtheschoolRíoPilesandSoledadGarcíafromtheschoolClarín,whotooktherisktoenrolinthe project without any hesitation and were very supportive from the moment we met. We alsothankedevery teacherwhosacrificedoneof their sessionswith their studentsso thatwecouldcarryouttheworkshopandbecausetheywereveryhelpfulandmadeourstayextremelyenjoyable.Finally,weneedto thankaswelleverychild for theirenthusiasmwhiledeveloping theirprojects. Ithas trulybeenapleasuretoworkwithallofthem.

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