Finding Your Niche

If you walked into Jennifer Lumia's classroom at Jamestown High School, you might find seniors in white lab coats working diligently on a molecular biology research project. Tage Boggs, Liz Hallberg, Matt Marsh, Vincent Morales and Morgan Myers, seniors, are taking JCC's "Biology, a Molecular Approach" class to receive four college credits that will transfer as a freshman biology course at most universities. The high-level science course allows students to become real-life research scientists, learning important skills while they are still attending JHS.

"This class does an excellent job of preparing students for upper-level biology coursework," Lumia said. "Here, they acquire skills like micropipetting, lab notebook writing and critical thinking that will set them apart from their peers and hopefully lead to internships and job opportunities in their futures. In this class, my students are actually implementing the scientific method. They are collecting data and adjusting the parameters of their experiments based on their results. It is a great exercise in thinking critically."

During the course, students understand how science is actually performed, with a special emphasis on the interdisciplinary nature of science. Basic principles of biology are taught in the context of fundamental principles of chemistry and physics to broaden understanding of the natural world. Students perform research projects that focus on gene expression/cell biology and ecosystems to reinforce these basic principles. In September, students began their project by trapping area mosquitoes. In October, a representative from the Health Department guided the students in identifying the mosquitoes by genus and species. Students extracted DNA from the mosquitoes and sent it to Jamestown Community College to see if the sample was usable in their research. Students then use the DNA to check for the presence of bacteria in the mosquitoes though gene amplification and gel electrophoresis.

Article Photos

Morgan Myers, Liz Hallberg and Tage Boggs, JHS seniors, are pictured working on their research projects during Jamestown High School's college-level "Biology, a Molecular Approach" class. Myers was extracting DNA from locally caught mosquitoes and Boggs was pipetting reagents to amplify the DNA in PCR.Submitted photo

Additionally, through their authentic applications of scientific method, students learn basic skills like laboratory-relevant math and Regent preparation. This course is intended for those students with an interest in pursuing a career in fields related to genetics, molecular biology or cellular biology (including medicine).

"I am planning on majoring in biology in college and am interested in research," Boggs said. "It is exciting to have a class like this at JHS. I just visited Allegheny College and a lot of the topics we cover in this class were mentioned when I visited the college classroom. Traditional biology courses don't have as much lab work as this course so it is providing the experience we need in that kind of environment before we get to college. Also, before I took the course I wasn't sure I was even interested in molecular biology but now that I've taken it I'm very interested. I think having a course like this helps students to find a niche."

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JHS Academies

In the 2013-14 school year, Jamestown High School reorganized into six Academies: Academy of Business, Management, Marketing and Technology; Academy of Communications, Performing Arts and Visual Arts; Academy of Natural Science and Resource Management; Academy of Pre-Engineering, Manufacturing and Industrial Technology; and Academy of Pre-Medicine and Health Science. Each academy is designed to increase engagement and better define academic and career pathways for students to help guide them toward making earlier decisions about their initial career goal.

Source: Finding Your Niche