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Kenya King
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Perimeter College
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DECATUR, Ga.—Under a humid June morning sun, a group of DeKalb County middle and high school science teachers pulled soil samples from the Georgia State Decatur Campus community garden. Their aim: testing for the presence of chemicals in the soil, as part of a project to teach their students real-world applications of how the environment can influence diseases, like lung cancer.
Perimeter College biology professors Drs. Samantha Andrews and Gladys Bolding designed the radon teacher workshop, now in its second year. The workshop was funded through a college grant from the Office of STEM and Research.
The three-day event also included collecting water samples for testing as well as the use of CRISPR technology to understand how gene editing can be used to correct cellular damage caused by environmental toxins.
Radon remains the No. 2 cause of lung cancer, said Andrews, and all the projects were connected to this naturally occurring – but potentially toxic – gas in the environment.
“We want to educate the public on radon—and one of the best ways is working with science teachers who can provide an authentic way of teaching this and hopefully excite their students and increase science curiosity,” she said.
The activities were designed to show the effect of human activity on natural resources as well.
As part of the workshop, Andrews and Bolding joined a research team, which included geology professor Dr. Pam Gore and Georgia State graduate students in chemistry, geosciences and computer science. The research team partnered with the teachers to show how to incorporate information about radon exposure and other environmental toxins into their biology, chemistry, physical science and environmental science courses.
“The radon workshop was a very enriching time and a learning experience of a real-life natural radiation pollution that can cause lung cancer, said workshop participant Dr. Manoranjini Chilkarmi, who teaches environmental science at Tucker High School.
“All three days of the workshop were engaging and equipped us with knowledge and resources for our classrooms. I’m excited to empower the students with the knowledge and education that I gained at the workshop;” she said.
Bolding was happy the program was a success. “It was an excellent opportunity to share cutting-edge technology, such as CRISPR and virtual reality, with K-12 educators to expand learning possibilities in the classroom.”
Andrews hopes to expand the workshop next year to reach more middle school and high school STEM teachers.
Story and photos by Rebecca Rakoczy