DNA isolation at a distance: Undergraduate experiential learning to create a virtual elementary outreach program.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the realities of science education, and the move to remote learning has made laboratory instruction particularly challenging. Extensive efforts have been made to design virtual labs,1, 2 including efforts to create at-home wet lab experiments.3 In addition to remote wet labs, we experienced an additional challenge: continuing our elementary outreach program. Each year we host a STEM outreach for several hundred local students. Undergraduates help guide elementary students through an activity isolating their own DNA from cheek cells. To address the need for remote labs and to continue our elementary outreach program, we united the two in a virtual experiential learning approach. Undergraduate students, faculty, and instructional design staff worked collaboratively to create an interactive video of DNA isolation and a YouTube channel, SciKids Network, to share the digital content. Experiential outreach opportunities improve academic performance and STEM enthusiasm in both elementary students4, 5 and their undergraduate mentors.6, 7 With the suspension of our outreach program, we sought to continue this valuable experience through a virtual format. Working collaboratively, undergraduate students adapted the lab-based DNA isolation protocol to a version that could be easily performed at home. They converted metric units to US customary units, and identified reagents and equipment commonly available in a kitchen. Students learned how to trouble-shoot as they independently iterated through the protocol. After finalizing the at-home method (Figure 1a), students filmed themselves performing the protocol using smartphones or other devices. They provided age-appropriate commentary and instructions for their elementary audience. Student film clips were edited together into a single, cohesive video for the elementary audience. We used Adobe Premiere and Adobe Illustrator to create the final video, adding visual and auditory aids to improve the clarity of instructions and engagement. Three major goals for the outreach video were to: (1) make science fun and accessible, (2) teach the concept of DNA through a hands-on activity, and (3) create an inclusive experience for elementary students. By compiling many students' clips, we sought to celebrate diversity and show elementary students that everyone can be a scientist (Figure 1b). Studies have demonstrated that early intervention in elementary students' perception of scientists can increase enthusiasm and participation in STEM, particularly for underrepresented groups.8 Our pre-pandemic outreach program was geographically limited to local schools, and the move to a virtual format created the opportunity to reach a broader audience. To share the video, we developed a new YouTube channel, SciKids Network (Figure 1c, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU23sXeFXVm98ScDcXRAmbA), hosted by our institution. We will continue to create biology content for the channel, as well as broaden the scope to other STEM fields. While remote learning has been challenging, it stimulated us to develop a digital outreach platform that connects with a larger audience, offers more equitable access to learning opportunities, and is primed for future growth of content to promote STEM literacy. We would like to thank the students who created the video content: Pablo Reina-Gonzalez, Emnet Sisay, and Shelby McVey. We would like to thank our instructional designer, Sacharja Cunningham for his support with software and the channel creation and our graphic designer, Brad Lewthwaite for his logo designs for SciKids network, as well as Hamilton College LITS and Communications departments. Our project was supported by the Social Innovation and Transformational Leadership Grant from the Hamilton College Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center and by the National Science Foundation: grant MCB-1925546.