# GENES AND MICROBES: NGSS-ALIGNED CURRICULA FOR SECONDARY SCIENCE

> **NIH NIH R25** · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · 2021 · $54,000

## Abstract

As COVID-19 vaccines become more widely available, vaccine hesitancy is rapidly becoming one of the
major barriers to achieving herd immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the US population. Lack of accurate
scientific information is one of the multiple factors contributing to this hesitancy. To address this need, the
Genetic Science Learning Center (GSLC) at the University of Utah will utilize its award-winning expertise in
developing effective, multimedia-rich curriculum materials to produce three lessons for grade 9 and 10 high
school biology students. The lessons will build on and extend a curriculum unit that the GSLC produced for the
SEPA-funded Genes and Microbes: Engaging Students and Teachers in NGSS-Aligned Curricula and
Professional Development project. The goals for this supplement are to:
 GOAL 1: Educate secondary-level students about the impacts of genes and microbes on health and
disease so they can contribute to choices related to their health in an informed way. Approach: Develop
three NGSS-aligned lessons on mRNA vaccines for grade 9-10 high school biology students. The lessons will
build on content in the Exploring Genetics Through Genetic Disorders unit, that the GSLC developed and
tested for the parent project. After learning how mRNA vaccines work, students will explore factors that can
influence an individual’s vaccine confidence level. Finally, they will develop and deploy social media
campaigns designed to educate the adults who care for them, peers and/or members of their community on
mRNA vaccines and increase vaccine confidence. We will conduct a within-subjects, mixed methods research
study to evaluate the efficacy and impact of the supplemental lessons, using validated instruments.
 GOAL 2: Prepare teachers to use the lessons through an online professional development course
and at least two workshops. Approach: The new lessons will be included in an online course that is taught
annually for teachers and will be presented in a workshop at a national science teacher conference and in at
least one virtual workshop.
 To further disseminate the new lessons, we will promote them to our email list of >20,000 educators
worldwide and via our Twitter account, and publish a paper in a high school science teacher journal. The new
lessons will be freely available on our Learn.Genetics and Teach.Genetics websites which annually receive
>14 million visits and >40 million page views, coming from virtually every country in the world. Thus, the new
lessons will be broadly disseminated, increasing their reach and use.
 The project will take full advantage of the GSLC’s synergistic expertise in curriculum development and
instructional design, teacher professional development, and research and evaluation. It will build on our 26
years of experience in producing highly effective educational materials for students and the public, and in
holding effective teacher professional development programs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10401201
- **Project number:** 3R25GM129202-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
- **Principal Investigator:** LOUISA A STARK
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $54,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2016-06-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10401201

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10401201, GENES AND MICROBES: NGSS-ALIGNED CURRICULA FOR SECONDARY SCIENCE (3R25GM129202-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10401201. Licensed CC0.

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