Cincinnati, Ohio, December 18, 2013 – Saint Ursula Academy Biology Teacher Jennifer Broo is about to get national attention for her development of a new curriculum on cancer.
At the heart of St. Ursula Academy’s mission statement is encouraging students to “build a better world”. Biology teacher Jennifer Broo is not only encouraging her students, but she is leading by example as she “builds a better world” through her development of a high school biology curriculum focusing on cancer cells.
Mrs. Broo is constantly on the lookout for new ways to bring biology to life for her students. Several years ago she noticed the lack of information in biology textbooks concerning cancer, a disease that definitely has an emotional connection to most of her students who have known, or will know, someone with cancer. “Even though cancer cells are very complex, they are a very basic example of the cell cycle and cell mutations”.
And so began the development of “The War of the 21st Century: The Cell Cycle, Cancer, and Clinical Trials”, a curriculum that Broo co-authored with Jessica Mahoney, a biology teacher from Orlando. The two teachers received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to work in the University of Florida research labs to develop hands-on activities to teach high school students about cancer, from onset to clinical trials.
Throughout the two-week unit, students are challenged to think about cancer in a way that it relates to a cell cycle. The students examine cell structure and mutations of cells and begin to learn about how cancer cells grow and divide, and how chemotherapy drugs affect a cell’s growth. They learn about the history of cancer and begin to evaluate why certain lifestyle choices increase the risk of cancer cells developing.
In the end, students begin to understand the multiple players in the cancer industry; patients and doctors, as well as clinical researchers, drug companies, and scientists. They are exposed to clinical trials in our area and begin to look critically at whether or not they would participate in a trial based on a hypothetical diagnosis.
“This is heavy-duty biology,” says Broo. “But my students are really interested because they can relate. Cancer is such a common disease and this very basic knowledge can give the girls more information about cancer cells, doctors, and clinical trials. Most importantly, I hope the girls realize that biology is so important to their lives. It’s everywhere, including in a cancer diagnosis.”
Ms. Broo’s curriculum has gained national attention and presented her curriculum at the National Association of Biology Teacher’s Conference (NABT) in Atlanta at the end of November. She is excited that her published work will be distributed to other biology teachers for use in their classrooms all over the United States. She hopes her curriculum will inspire others to join the fight against cancer and knows that inspiration begins with the teachers charged with educating the future doctors, researchers, and scientists in our high schools today. She is living proof that the community at St. Ursula Academy is committed to “building a better world.”
To learn more about St. Ursula Academy, please visit www.saintursula.org.
St. Ursula Academy is a Catholic, college-preparatory, secondary school for young women known for academic excellence and rich tradition. St. Ursula welcomes students from more than 70 grade schools in the Greater Cincinnati area. In 2002 the Academy was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School. The campus, located at 1339 E. McMillan Street in East Walnut Hills has been the home of St. Ursula Academy and Convent since 1910. 87% of the class of 2013 earned college scholarships totaling more than $20-million.