A-ha Moments in Bio with 3D Molecular Models and Ms. Scott

Bio students explore learning with hands-on models.

Several years ago, the Melrose Education Foundation funded a grant for a group of Melrose High School educators to attend a professional development training on molecular models. Although the teachers received a handful of models for demonstration purposes in class, they found full implementation to be difficult without additional materials for the rest of their students. Thanks to a recent grant from the Melrose Education Foundation, teachers were able to purchase enough models to ensure hands-on access to all students, even with restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The models provided by this grant demonstrate a number of biological processes such as DNA replication, protein synthesis, mitosis, and cell division. The hands-on nature of the models provides visual learners with an opportunity to contextualize complex processes integral to biological function. “Hands-on visual learning is so important. With the models, students get a much better sense of how these complex biological processes work” said Science, Business, and Technology teacher Kerri Scott. 

The introduction of molecular modeling kits to Biology 1 at Melrose High School also ensures that students who continue on to other biology based courses are ready for more complicated topics. “The Bio-1 students use the kits to explore the basics. And when they take another class later, like Bio-technology or AP Bio, they are ready to dive deeper in their learning.”

In considering the value and impact of this grant, Scott summed it up by saying “the models allow students to experience the ways different processes relate and I hear the a-ha’s” as students recognize concepts for the first time.