|
|
Donation of microscopes by College of Medicine magnifies science futures for area students |
| By
Jim Winkler |
|
Oct 10, 2008
|
|
Hundreds of Toledo-area middle and high school students are getting a good look at objects as small as one-cell organisms, and more readily learning about them when they view them through microscopes.
 |
| Maumee High School anatomy and chemistry teacher Kristen Taylor, right, and student Avant'e Lewis prepared to study a slide using a microscope donated by the College of Medicine. |
The University of Toledo College of Medicine recently donated 200 microscopes to nine Lucas County middle and high schools, including Scott and Rogers high schools and Jones and Robinson middle schools in Toledo, as well as Whitmer, Springfield, Clay and Maumee high schools and the Toledo School for the Arts.
Also donated were sets of prepared slides of human tissues that demonstrate, for example, cell division and the difference between muscular and nerve cells.
The medical college no longer uses microscopes. First- and second-year medical students examine various slides of microscopic tissues on their laptops via a virtual microscope software program that provides the same magnifications and clarity available from a traditional microscope.
Dr. Robert Crissman, associate professor of neurosciences and College of Medicine assistant dean for admissions who organized the donation, said it was a win-win situation for the University and the schools.
“The microscopes, which are no longer of value to the medical school, are going to students in local schools who will benefit greatly in their science studies,” he explained. “This will not only help them develop an interest in science, but also prepare them to use science in everyday life.”
The teachers who received the microscopes studied in Health Science Campus laboratories this summer in the IMAGINE II career-development program sponsored by the College of Medicine and Judith Herb College of Education. Supported by a $750,000 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the teachers conducted fundamental research made possible by high-end research lab technology. They also attended weekly seminars to learn more about the nature of scientific inquiry and how technology is applied to biomedical science, and a two-week summer workshop on teaching project-based science.
Teachers said that they were grateful for the opportunity to acquire the valuable equipment.
Kristen Taylor,
Maumee High School anatomy and chemistry teacher, said the microscopes will help her students and allow her to “fuel their curiosity with the power of observation.”
Before, she had no microscopes in her classroom and often borrowed from colleagues.
“We will have the ability to use working microscopes whenever the need or desire arises,” Taylor continued. “There have been times in the past where I have wanted to spontaneously allow the students to see something, but couldn’t because I had no microscopes in my room.”
Mohammed Hegazy, who teaches human anatomy and chemistry at Rogers High School, said two students now can work at a microscope, instead of three.
“Also, these microscopes have much better magnification powers than the ones we already have, making it easier for students to see the details of the tissues and cells and spark their interest in science research,” he added.
“Giving students, particularly those in underrepresented populations, more hands-on learning is an important way to encourage their interest in careers in science and medicine,” said Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold, Health Science Campus provost, executive vice president for health affairs and College of Medicine dean, who approved the donation. “We must work to ensure high school students have a 21st-century understanding of science and get them enthused enough they consider careers in science, engineering and the other STEM disciplines.”
He added that the donation helps UT fulfill one of its strategic goals outlined in the “Directions” document of expanding its community outreach.
In addition, Crissman has volunteered to help the teachers integrate the use of slides into their classrooms.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
