Introducing Synthetic Biology Using Co-Design for Sustained Community and Family Engagement

Synthetic biology is an emerging field that uses computation and design technology to modify biological cells for biological research and health applications. This new field is an important area for community involvement because synthetic biology has complex socioscientific implications and health applications. This project aims to engage youth and their families in this new field by developing participatory hands-on activities that involve living and biological materials as a first-hand context for engagement, synthetic biology will become accessible to these learners. Examples of potential biomaker activities include: an Agar Art activity (genetically modifying microbes to express color pigments that are then used to paint living art); Building with Mycelium activity (constructing and growing a substrate containing living fungus mycelium into a usable solid 3D object), and an Algae BioString activity (harvesting biological materials to design and create their own custom biostring). Participants will include middle school-aged youth and their families in Baltimore, Maryland, and rural areas in and around El Paso, Texas. Along with community partners and project staff, an initial group of youth and their families from each locale will collaboratively design and construct hands-on biomaker activities. These biomaker activities will be implemented through partner community organizations, reaching an estimated 500 youth and family participants. Resources designed for practitioners and researchers will include guidelines, lessons learned, and sample activities to help build educator knowledge and capacity to create and customize similar STEM experiences. Project findings and educational resources will be available on the project website and will be disseminated via conferences, research and education journals, and relevant networks such as REVISE (the Advancing Informal STEM Learning Program resource network).

Project research is designed to advance knowledge on designing hands-on, engaging activities that involve living biological materials used in informal learning contexts. The project will research the co-design processes along with the impacts of the synthetic biology activities and intergenerational interactions within the communities involved. This project places primary emphasis on community contexts, using a participatory approach to address the following research questions: (1) how co-designing hands-on activities can align with local priorities, (2) how co-designed biomaker activities support personal understanding and attitude formation, and (3) how intergenerational dialogues shape synthetic biology knowledge, perceptions, and engagement. Both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected and analyzed to address these research questions, centered on hands-on, sustained, and engaging activities; STEM knowledge, attitudes, and interests; and intergenerational social processes for STEM learning. Primary data sources include transcripts of interviews and co-design session recordings. Secondary data sources include co-design and activity session artifacts and researcher observation notes.

This Integrating Research and Practice project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for engagement in STEM learning experiences.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Award Number: 2607732
Principal Investigator: Justice Walker
Funds Obligated: $1,394,679
State: MD