Project Related:

Educational Resources

  • Teacher Workshops

    Grade: 9-12
    Resource: teacher institutes & workshops

  • Films, Videos, & Multimedia

    Grade: 9-12
    Resource: BiomedWorks films

  • Curricula/Literature

    Grade: 9-12
    Resource: inquiry-based biology curriculum

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institution image

BiomedicineWorks: How Doctors Use Evidence - Based Medicine

Grant Code: R25RR022698

Funding Years: 09/15/2006 - 06/30/2011

Institution: Foundation for Blood Research

Department:

Address:
8 Science Park Road
Scarborough, ME, 04074

PI:
ALLAN, WALTER,
Phone: (207) 883-4131
Fax: (207) 885-0807
Email: allan@fbr.org

OTHER CONTACT:
ERICKSON, JERYL,
Phone:
Fax: (207) 885-0807
Email: ericks@fbr.org

URL: http://www.fbr.org/swksweb/biomed.html
Audience

advanced high school biology teachers and students

Subjects Addressed

1) human body systems as they relate to the diagnosis and treatment of common medical conditions 2) clinical trials design and appraisal using mathematics (EBM tools) and critical thinking

Project Description

BiomedWorks is an innovative Phase I and II SEPA project that uses real physicians in filmed hospital settings and evidence-based medicine tools to explore and understand the importance of published clinical trials. BiomedWorks will: 1) engage student interest in clinical trials through filmed hospital patient encounters, 2) explore real clinical trials using mathematics (EBM tools) and higher-level critical thinking, and 3)promote understanding of the importance of clinical trials research in medical practice.

Resources for Sharing

BiomedWorks will provide a web page that supports the project and includes portions of the curriculum and streaming Quicktime video of a clinical case.

Dissemination Strategies

The specific aims are to: 1) have project staff and master teachers present the curriculum at state, regional, and national conferences, 2) provide workshops to school districts across the nation with up to 5 sessions a year for two years for up to 3 school districts 3) provide 5 one-day workshops during the school year for two years for New England teachers who introduce the curriculum regionally 4) provide 2 five-day summer institutes for teachers to introduce the curriculum nationally, 5) offer EBM classroom sessions through the ScienceWorks for ME school-year Learning Labs, 6) design a brochure and web site for national distribution describing the project, 7) distribute a DVD with the videos and instructional materials through the National Science Teachers Association.

Abstract

The goal of BiomedicineWorks is to improve high school teachers- and students- understanding of the clinical trial process and the advances in health science that arise from such trials. We have assembled a partnership that brings together physicians from Maine Medical Center (the major teaching hospital in Maine), a core of master teachers, The Center for Curriculum Development of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), experts in teacher professional development from the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance, and the staff of ScienceWorks for ME. The objective is to develop a novel curriculum that will pique the interest of high school students in clinical trials research while building critical science and mathematics knowledge and skills. To accomplish this, the project will develop, pilot, and field-test medically focused inquiry-based curricular units for advanced high school biology classes. The curricular units will introduce the evidence-based medicine (EBM) process of asking answerable questions, searching the medical literature for clinical trials, and evaluating evidence from trials. The units will be aligned with national and state standards thereby supporting learning areas of mathematics and science in a real world context. BiomedicineWorks will engage high school students in medical challenges via filmed vignettes of hospital rounds. A team of master teachers and medical doctors will define the clinical scenarios that provide a setting for framing the medical questions about therapy and diagnosis. The films introduce the clinical problem and provide background medical information students will need to understand the context for asking an EBM question. The curricular units will be piloted by the master teachers in their advanced science classes in years 2 and 3. Additional high school teachers will be recruited from New England in year 3 to attend a Field-Test Institute introducing them to BiomedicineWorks. Teachers will field-test the pilotd curriculum with their students during the academic year. During the final two years of the project, professional development and dissemination will occur through conference presentations, 1-day workshops at state science meetings, 3- and 5-day sessions at summer institutes in Maine, and school district requested 3-day institutes in various locations. BiomedicineWorks materials and associated professional development will also be offered through the NSTA bookstore.

Keywords

evidence-based medicine, clinical trials, advanced biology curriculum

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