Curriculum area in which you teach biotechnology

Technology

Favourite aspect of teaching biotechnology

Introducing biotechnology as a concept — ‘bio’ as living; ‘tech’ as making useful products, ‘ology’ as the study of — ways to make a useful product using living organisms. It is something so old, and something so new. And can include so many different things the children are aware of — from rongoa to washing powder to genetics. The kids get very engaged, especially when talking about genes and the potential of genetic engineering. They’re not too young … they already know about the words.

Most successful biotechnology teaching activity

We explore yeast as a living organism and determine the best conditions for growth. First we grow the yeast in test tubes in a sugar solution, collecting the carbon dioxide in balloons fixed to the tops of the test tubes. ‘Fair testing’ is introduced.

Next, we use breadmakers to see yeast ‘in action’. It’s very important to link the observations back to the previous ‘yeast alive’ experiment.

The last part of the unit is to make rewana bread by creating an environment (potato mash) for air-borne yeast to grow in. What evidence is there that yeast was present?

Finally, the children design their own bread including at least three different prototypes.

Favourite biotechnology teaching contexts

The most important thing for me is that the lessons can each be self-contained. Our school is a Technology Centre which runs a Technology Programme accessed by 13 local schools. The students spend one full day every two weeks for eight weeks doing Biotechnology or one of the other Technology areas.

I like using yeast to make rewana bread. It is a context that the students, who are mostly Maori, strongly identify with. They’re actually creating their own yeast colony. Biotech is about creating an environment for living organisms to grow in. As a technology unit, you can finish up talking about the design process and scaling up of production.

I also like the environmental aspects of biotechnology — worm farming for sustainability and planting crops next to plants that naturally produce pesticides.

Biotechnology contexts to investigate further

• Environmental biotechnology
• The production and use of bio-fuels

Favourite biotechnology resources

• “Rising to the future” video (the commercial production of yeast)
• The Baker’s Dozen (Janette Packman, 1997)
• “Flour, Bread and Baking” video from Classroom Video NZ

Links with the biotechnology community

We went on a trip to AgResearch at Ruakura to learn more about cells and DNA. The aim was mainly to give them someone else to listen to about DNA and genetic engineering, and to introduce them to careers in biotechnology. The children had the opportunity to separate DNA out of kiwi fruit. They seemed to really enjoy themselves.