Curriculum Enhancement for Biomedical Science Courses

Moderation state
funded
Grant Applicant
Kathy Tallant
Grant Co-applicants
Ian Kuhn
Brittany Thomas
School Site
Truckee High School
Grant Category
Mathematics & Science
Grant Date
2023-06-15T12:00:00
Description

Truckee High has a large population of students interested in exploring the field of medicine and the biomedical sciences.  Truckee high currently has a two course series available for elective credit; Principles of Biomedical Science and Human Body Systems.  These courses were introduced to Truckee High about 12 years ago and were initially funded by a grant.  Part of the curriculum involves the use of Vernier sensors for data collection.  These include force and acceleration, gas pressure, EKG, and spirometer.  The current sensors are getting old and are not working properly and also require an intermediate device to connect to laptops.  Vernier now has a series of wireless sensors that connect via bluetooth.  We need to replace the old ones with new, properly working wireless probes.  Our yearly budget is not sufficient to cover this cost.  Also, the force/acceleration and gas pressure sensors would be used in our Physics and Chemistry courses as well.

The Human Body Systems course curriculum is also going to be updated starting in the 2023-2024 school year.  These updates will include new hands on activities and labs that we currently do not have the equipment to run.  Again, our yearly budget will not be sufficient to purchase all of the needed supplies.  The list of items is large and so is attached to this grant application for your review.  

Benefits of Program

All students who choose to take either (or both) Principles of Biomedical Science and/or Human Body Systems will be using all of the items requested in this grant.  Truckee high has a large population of students interested in going into the medical and biomedical science fields.  We have consistently had two to three sections of Principles of Biomed and at least one section of Human Body Systems each year.  I expect those numbers to increase next year based on feedback from students.  Additionally, the Vernier sensors will be used in our Chemistry, AP Chemistry, and Physics courses.  All students at Truckee need to take at least one of those Physical Science courses for graduation requirements and would benefit from this grant.

Success of Program

I think with upgraded and new equipment just seeing students learn how to use new materials that they will likely use in their future careers would indicate success.  I would also like to see more students gaining an interest in the Biomedical Sciences which would also show success for the program.  

This grant would greatly enhance our Science courses because the requested items are not only updated but are also ones that are actually used by professionals in the various fields of science.

Implementation

This grant will be implemented at the start of the 2023-2024 school year and would would be used continuously throughout the school year.  For the Biomedical Science courses the items requested in this grant are required to complete most of the Activities.  For Chemistry and Physics the sensors would allow the addition of several new activities for each class.

Can you share this grant with your grade level or subject team?

Yes.  As stated above, these items could be used in Chemistry and Physics in addition to the Biomedical Science classes.

Sustainability
All items requested in this grant are durable and will be reused year after year with the exception of the four Kits; Exploring Enzymes in Evolution, Model Organisms C. Elegans, Modeling Kidney Function, and Virus Quantification with Plaque Assays. These Kits include some durable items and some consumable items. The Durables would be reused and the consumables could be purchased with Science Department funds and so would not require additional funding from EEF
Amount Funded
$9490.00
Individual Budget Items(s)
$8451 - Please see attached product lists and costs
Shipping
$342.16
Taxes
$697.24
Other funding sources

Yes.  There were additional items not on this grant that we were able to purchase with site funds.  The items on this grant were above the amount we could fund.

File Uploads
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