Cutting edge science course planned at A-J

“It was a hot summer morning. A man contacted the police to report that he was worried about his next-door neighbor, a woman named Anna. 

“He tried to call Anna on the telephone, but no one answered. 

“Both the police and an EMT arrived at the scene. The EMT soon determined that Anna was dead. The police immediately notified your team of crime scene investigators as well as the medical examiner, both of which were dispatched to the house. 

“Your job is to determine what happened to Anna.”

This description might read like the synopsis for an episode of a primetime police procedural. 

But actually, it’s the premise of a new course being offered to Anna-Jonesboro Community High School seniors at the start of the next school year. 

Principals of Biomedical Science is part mystery, part immersive, hands-on science class. 

Students will spend the school year working on a single fictional case study. Their goal: find the cause of death of the subject. 

However, this isn’t just a course on crime scene investigation. It’s an in-depth exploration into human biology and the multitude of factors that make life possible (or the lack thereof in this case). It’s not a murder mystery; it’s a medical mystery. 

As they unravel Anna’s story, students are introduced to key concepts in the study of biology, physiology and medicine. 

This includes metabolism, maintenance of homeostasis in the body, inheritance of traits and defense against disease. 

A-JCHS director of curriculum and instruction Scott Finders hopes that this new course might bolster student interest in the field of scientific study and future careers in medicine. 

“Ultimately, we want to offer this course to students who want to find out more about the field of biomedical sciences,” Finders said.

“Our hope is that the course might spark a more intense interest in some students and lead them toward a career in this burgeoning field.”

To complete the real-world feel of the course, the course uses a variety of equipment similar to that found in a professional lab. 

The list includes cell zone molecular puzzles, DNA discovery kits, electrophoresis packages, a lab incubator and a high-speed microcentrifuge.

Funding for the course was achieved with a grant from Astellas Pharma. The purchase of the equipment and nearly all other costs needed to get the course started, including the training of Courtney Garner, the teacher who will be instructing the course, will be covered by the grant. 

Principals of Biomedical Science was developed by Project Lead The Way, PLTW, an organization that develops hands-on classroom learning experiences for grades k-12 in the fields of computer science, engineering and biomedical science. 

The course is designed to act as an introduction to a series of courses in biomedical science offered by Project Lead the Way. 

Finders is optimistic of the success of the course, and is open to adding similar courses in the future.

“We know that PLTW programs promote group collaboration, planning and organizing, time management, problem-solving, technical writing, verbal and written communication, decision-making, and creative thinking, and these are all skills we hope to help facilitate within our students,” Finders said. 

“Therefore, there will certainly be conversations about the plausibility of offering other PLTW courses, about the feasibility of fitting them into our schedule, and about the potential benefit to our students of doing so.”