Is it possible to build a better dialysis device? How could a group of high school students help make that happen? Children receiving peritoneal dialysis treatment for kidney failure currently use Baxter International's HomeChoice dialysis instrument, but Baxter wondered whether the instrument could be improved to meet the specific needs of children. Biotechnology students at Lindblom Math and Science Academy in urban Chicago agreed to help.
As part of their problem-based learning project focused on obesity and how it can lead to renal failure and end-stage renal disease, the students learned about how genes contribute to obesity and how obesity is related to a hormonal imbalance that is a precursor to diabetes. These concepts led students to an understanding of how diabetes and insulin relate to kidney failure and why dialysis is important.
As a connection to the biotechnology curriculum, students explored nutrigenomics, a biotechnology field that explores the connection between genes and nutrition. Baxter brought in staff from IDEO, a design engineering corporation, to help the students learn about market research, prototype design, and data analysis. IDEO encouraged students to think creatively about customer needs and how to translate those needs into design options.
Students used all this knowledge to redesign Baxter International's peritoneal dialysis equipment for juvenile and pediatric patients. The students' solution synthesized their newfound knowledge of biology, marketing, and design to create prototypes that incorporated all the necessary tubing and equipment but appealed to the youth market by being packaged in a compact, brightly colored, portable case with a safe way to disconnect from the machine for short periods. The head of sales for Baxter's Renal Division was so impressed with the innovative thinking that she showed her staff the prototypes the students developed.
In 29 high schools across Illinois, the education and business communities have partnered to create compelling scenarios like this that require students to solve real-life problems. The Illinois Innovation Talent Pilot Project united these groups around the common purpose of piloting this program during the 2008–09 school year. An advisory board of key business and education entities strategically designed the program to stimulate innovation and creativity.
This project is a replicable model that transforms the teaching and learning environment into a meaningful and collaborative community in which students engage in solving real problems and teachers function as coaches and facilitators. (For ideas on how education leaders can initiate or join a similar project in their own districts, see Four Steps to Connecting the Classroom and the Business Community on p. 73.)
The Problems
The curriculum used a problem-based approach in which each student group developed solutions to problems posed by their business and community partners. Students learned curricular content that was embedded in the problems while developing habits of mind that inspire lifelong learning. Each problem was aligned with at least one of the International Society for Technology in Education's six National Education Technology Standards for Students (www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007.htm).
Standard 1: Creativity and Innovation
To fulfill Standard 1, students must use technology to develop innovative products. The Illinois Department of Transportation challenged students on a robotics team at Rolling Meadows High School in suburban Chicago to develop a plan to use robotics to increase the efficiency and safety of the inspections of the nearly 8,000 bridges in Illinois. Students used computer animation to simulate a robot about the size of a shoebox that could be attached to cables stretching across the length of a bridge. An inspector could control the robot and cameras from a safe location on land. Department officials will share the students' ideas with their operations staff for future implementation.
At O'Fallon High School, in a Metro-East suburb of St. Louis, teachers in four subject areas (art, environmental science, geometry, and industrial technology) collaborated to guide students in converting a stalled building project into a marketable green subdivision for the City of O'Fallon. Students built models, identified green design elements, planned for low-impact landscaping and recycling, and designed a marketing campaign. The collaboration among these disciplines led students to design a roof that changes color with heat. The team presented its proposal to a builder who intends to help the students patent that idea.
Standard 2: Communication and Collaboration
Standard 2 requires students to use digital media to communicate and collaborate. Students working on each of the 29 problems used wikis, blogs, and other networking tools, as well as e-mail, Google Docs, and similar work tools, to collaborate and communicate with other members of their group; with their business, community, and government partners; and with experts who could help them solve the problems.
Some projects focused specifically on communication. For example, the Chautauqua Wildlife Refuge requested that students at Astoria High School in rural West Central Illinois help them market their facility by developing a brochure with trail maps and information. Those students expanded on their solution by finding a way to reach out to multiple audiences through a series of short videos about the refuge that they plan to post on YouTube once they receive approval from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees the wildlife refuge.
Standard 3: Research and Information Fluency
Using technology for research was a central feature of several problems. Students at Christopher High School in rural Southern Illinois learned about history, businesses, and services in their community as they used the Internet to research the Shawneetown–Kaskaskia and Shawneetown–St. Louis Trails as well as Silkwood Inn, the only original structure remaining on the trails.
They used Microsoft Photosynth 3D Imagery and GPS technology to locate and plot points on the trail on Google Maps, which helped them see the historic trail in its modern-day context. They evaluated variations of the story of Priscilla, a freed slave who lived at Silkwood Inn and brought hollyhock seeds from her native Georgia to the inn. To share the information they had gathered and to attract tourists to the historic sites, students created brochures, radio ads, and TV commercials, using the green screen technology of Visual Communicator.
Standard 4: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
In several of the projects, students gathered information from multiple sources, evaluated the information, and made informed decisions. Maine East students in suburban Chicago learned about antibiotic resistance; classification of bacteria; disease-causing microbes; lab techniques; differences between viruses and bacteria; and prevention, symptoms, and treatment of diseases as they explored whether Astellas Pharmaceuticals should develop drugs to combat Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In addition, they learned how to conduct research, cite sources properly, work within a cooperative group, and use Google Docs, Google Earth, and Google Presentation.
In Decatur, students at MacArthur High School researched and evaluated differing attitudes in Europe and in the United States about genetically modified food products in order to advise Tate and Lyle, a large corn refiner, on which market to pursue. The young entrepreneurs recommended pursuing both markets, using different processing sites for each, and designating specific states for farming genetically modified products, which would lessen the chances of cross-contamination.
Standard 5: Digital Citizenship
Standard 5 requires students to understand the ethical and societal issues surrounding digital technology and to practice responsible behavior. Students enrolled in the Project Lead the Way engineering course at Niles North High School in suburban Chicago partnered with PCTel to explore various issues related to laptop usage by designing an inventory and tracking system for the school's Netbooks to ensure that students used the Netbooks appropriately and returned them to the lab.
Students in rural New Athens explored the lack of connectivity in small communities. They began their hands-on learning about connectivity by developing a way to connect the school's gym to the school's intranet. They then looked at security and acceptable use issues and created a plan for the city council to provide wireless access to the community.
Standard 6: Technology Operations and Concepts
Problems related to Standard 6 required students to manage complicated systems. The Nestlé Distribution Center in DeKalb is a complex operation that needs to track the thousands of pallets that enter the warehouse each day. Industrial technology students in rural Rochelle visited the Nestlé warehouse to better understand the problem and researched various tools available to inventory the pallets.
One team developed a plan using radio frequency identification tags; another team's plan required strategically placed video cameras. Students researched how much it would cost to build the equipment, and the teacher provided instruction on spreadsheet formulas so students could project costs for various set-ups. A student tutored peers in using Google SketchUp to create a simulation of the movable stand for the video cameras. When the warehouse supervisor decided the identification tag idea was viable for further development, the students acquired the radio transmitter, the tags, and a server to develop a model system.
Schools and Communities Together
Districts or states can develop programs like the one described here by locating partners and connecting them with schools, but this formalized structure is not necessary to establishing meaningful partnerships. Individual teachers and schools can establish different levels of collaboration by reaching out to local businesses and organizations. Partners may provide problems for teachers and students to resolve, or they may simply provide expertise on problem topics.
One teacher in the program noted thatteachers alone can only simulate real problems. Excel Foundry [one of the business partners] gave them the real deal. That kind of experience can only take place if the schools are willing to work with a business partner and the businesses are willing to work with the schools.
Engaging the community in meaningful partnerships benefits students, teachers, and community partners. Students learn valuable skills that transfer to many different career settings. The experience is transformational for students, who see their schoolwork as having meaning. It can be even more transformational for teachers, who not only realize the potential in their students but also reevaluate the roles of both teachers and learners as they make a paradigm shift toward student-centered learning. Business partners are able to use the work of the students to inspire their own thinking. All involved get a fresh perspective on their work, and this fresh perspective can feed their future efforts in learning, teaching, and innovation.
