Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Thursday, August 28, 2008

When Tates Creek High School science teacher Liz Inman talks about “cool genes,” she’s not passing judgment on teenagers’ wardrobe choices. After attending an intensive workshop called “Hot Topics, Cool Genes” at Princeton University, Inman can’t wait to share what she learned with her students this year.

Inman was among 23 secondary school teachers from across the country who studied biotechnology this summer at Princeton. During the two-week workshop, the teachers extracted DNA from soil samples and checked it for “oil-eating” bacteria, tested grocery items to see if the food was genetically modified, and analyzed their own DNA fingerprints from cheek cell samples.

“When you do one of these labs and isolate out a section of DNA unique to you and see these groups of segments, it’s a great way to connect with the kids. It’s actual, real science that you can connect to,” said Inman, who is teaching her first forensics class at Tates Creek this fall, along with advanced human anatomy and an International Baccalaureate biology class.

The July workshop, sponsored by Princeton’s Department of Molecular Biology and funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, was designed to help teachers bring cutting-edge science into their schools. Inman and the other alumni teachers now can borrow equipment and receive free lab supplies from Princeton.

Inman, who came away more confident in using new materials and new technology, placed her first order before the start of school. “I’m planning on incorporating experiences and labs from this workshop into my classroom,” she said.

The professional development opportunity at Princeton focused on hands-on work in the lab; ways in which discoveries are made in the natural sciences; and the application of molecular biology and genetics principles to health issues.

“This whole idea of DNA technology is totally doable in the high school classroom,” Inman said. “Our kids need to be exposed to the fact that (advanced research is) out there.”

Inman is starting her third year at Tates Creek High; she also taught for a year in Mercer County. She earned her bachelor’s in psychobiology at Centre College and her M.A.T. in secondary biology at Brown University in Rhode Island.

“Our students are living in a time when the world of scientific research is much larger than they may have ever imagined,” she said. “It is our job as science teachers to lead our students into these amazing avenues of research and laboratory skills so that they can jump into our ever-changing world with confidence, knowledge and excitement for scientific inquiry.”