Donald Matthews at Findlay High School worked with his college prep biology class, observing live cells and bacteria under a microscope and bacteria as they interact with their environment as part of the Ohio Corn & Wheat-sponsored Feed the World biotechnology lessons. Matthews said, “Many of my students were shocked at the the properties of small microorganisms. Many had questions about the power of bacteria. I explained to them that we needed to simulate the atmosphere in a “real” microbiology laboratory environment, even more than that of the standard high school science classroom. Many students were fascinated that we were working with E. Coli bacteria because of all the negative information that is put out about E Coli.”
For Matthews’ class, these activities helped to reinforce all of the information learned about bacteria from earlier in the year.
“This workshop gave me new ideas for student investigative laboratory activities,” said Matthews. “I am always looking for something more to push my students to see more of the world around them. You cannot recreate the excitement of seeing bacteria, rather that just learning about it from a text. Authentic learning opportunities will always shine brighter than textbook material. Thank you for allowing me to pass on this information to my students.”
Watch our website for upcoming Feed the World events!