Kirkwood High School Honors Biology Students Explore Cutting-Edge Science with Washington University Partnership
Students in Kirkwood High School’s honors biology classes, taught by Kyle McFarland and Mandy Melton, recently participated in an innovative laboratory experience facilitated by Washington University’s Institute for School Partnership (ISP). With the support of professor Doug Chalker’s ASSET program (Advancing Secondary Science Education through Tetrahymena), students were able to explore biological processes just like real research scientists.
The focus of the lab centered around Tetrahymena, a single-celled, ciliated protist, which can be easily observed using the school’s compound light microscopes. Honors biology students were introduced to Tetrahymena as a model organism, a tool frequently used in research to understand complex biological processes. After studying osmosis, a type of passive transport, students were challenged to think critically about the intriguing phenomenon of bull sharks being confirmed in the Mississippi River, seemingly defying the known principles of osmosis.
To investigate, students experimented with Tetrahymena, exposing the organisms to various water environments and gathering both qualitative and quantitative data. The ASSET program emphasizes integrating math and computational thinking into science, giving students the opportunity to practice these essential skills. As the lab progressed, students expanded their understanding beyond passive transport, learning about active transport processes like the contractile vacuole that Tetrahymena use to regulate water levels in hypotonic environments.
Students also observed the fascinating process of endocytosis, specifically phagocytosis, or “cellular eating,” as Tetrahymena ingested India Ink, making their food vacuoles easy to observe under the microscope. This hands-on learning excited and engaged the students, who took their data analysis a step further by proposing models to explain how bull sharks, a typically saltwater species, might survive in the freshwater of the Mississippi River.
By the end of the experiment, Kirkwood High School biology students had gained a deeper understanding of scientific inquiry, with many expressing enthusiasm for the world of microscopic organisms. Two Nobel Prizes have been awarded for research involving Tetrahymena, and these young scientists are on a similar path of discovery. The honors biology teachers adapted the lab from resources provided by Washington University’s ISP, following Melton’s attendance at an ASSET Workshop over the summer.
With experiences like this, Kirkwood’s future scientists are well-equipped to think critically and solve real-world problems while having fun.
- KHS