Minnesota's Biotechnology Education Model

The

Minnesota Model

Minnesota’s Biotechnology
Education Model


Seth Naeve

Overview of our model

Quintessential example of the
uncoordinated

effort.


Why not?

Biotechnology Education requires

A
HUGE

multidisciplinary team

Examples of

Events Programs

K
-
12 science
teacher education

Science Center

University of
Minnesota

Food Science /
Consumer
education

Producer education

Extension
Educator training

GMO’s
Conference



“Biotechnology and Genomics
Extension Conference”

-
April 3
-
5, 2000
-

Leland Hardman

Strengths

Laid a basic framework for understanding
the technology and its implications

Introduced educators to a diverse set of
individuals and viewpoints


Governing GMO’s

--

Developing Policy in the Face of
Scientific & Public Debate
--

February 1, 2001
–

University of Minnesota

http://www.conferences.umn.edu/mn/policy/

K
-
12 Teacher Education

Minnesota Science Center

Microbiology Curriculum
Enhancement Institute

-
August 14
-
18, 2000
-

Susan Flemming

Response

“Outstanding!”




The Waksman Foundation

for Microbiology

What worked

Entirely

“hands on”


What worked

Field trips

BCI

Virology Lab


“Investigations

of Heredity and Energy”

-
June 19
-
29, 2000
-

U of M and the Dept. of Agronomy
and Plant Genetics

Mary Brakke


Investigations of

Heredity and Energy

Other strengths

Networking!

Teacher Faculty

Faculty Teacher


Student Recruitment

Consumer/Food Science
Education

Bill Schafer

Staff Development

Extension Educators

Secondary Educators

School food service employees


Producer
Education


Producer Education

Educational efforts

Basic production information

Economic analysis

Producer Education

Educational efforts

Basic production information

Economic analysis

Biology of Biotechnology

Producer Education

Educational efforts

Basic production information

Economic analysis

Biology of Biotechnology

Consumers and Consumerism

Although producers are themselves,
consumers
–

they are not a representative
sample of consumers as a whole.

Most do not understand
how

consumers
make choices


Challenges

in Biotech Education


Challenges

Keeping Pace

October 6, 2000


$58 Million Race Is On to Decode Mouse Genome
by February



By NICHOLAS WADE



ith the work on the human genome essentially complete, the


National Institutes of Health and others said today that they


would spend $58 million to decode the genome of the mouse by


February.


W

Challenges

There is not enough data on risk

Food and nutrition

Ecology

Economics


Challenges

There is
never

enough data about
risk

Challenges

Breadth of the issues and scope of
the debate (multiple hat syndrome)

Biology

Economics

Agricultural
-


engineering

Food science

Law

Bioethics

Sociology

Agronomy

Ecology

Etc…

Etc…

Etc..


Challenges

We are all in the middle

Where to play within the field?

Are we “champions of the technology”?

-
or
-

Cautious skeptics

Challenges

Our broad audience

Producers

Consumers

Fellow scientists

Biotech industry

Regulators

Those opposed to
biotechnology?


We need to educate our
audiences about each other

Producers

Consumers

Fellow scientists

Biotech industry

Regulators

Those opposed to
biotechnology?


The Beauty of Biotech
Education

It allows for so many “Educational
moments”

Biotechnology can be the perfect
platform for launching
“important” debates

Thank you



Seth Naeve

snaeve@extension.umn.edu

612
-
625
-
4298