Part 1 Biotechnology in context: what is biotechnology? - the development of biotechnology, the attractions of biotechnology, what is the future for biotechnology?; biotechnology and the school curriculum - the curriculum debate, curriculum change in the 1980s, the place of biotechnology in the curriculum. Part 2 Biotechnology in action: biotechnology and the food industry - food biotechnology in the past, recent and novel applications of biotechnology in the food industry, the contribution of biotechnology to food additives; biotechnology and medicine - antibiotics, antibodies, genetic engineering and the production of therapeutic products, application of recombinant DNA technology and other biotechnological methods in medicine, genetic engineering and the diagnosis of disease, bioconversions; the improvement of plants, the production of biological pest control agents, plant tissue culture; water pollution, sewage disposal, compost - a rotten way to deal with waste, biodegradation of xenobiotic compounds, industrial wastes, microbes in metal recovery and mining; fuel from energy crops, ethanol from natural vegetation, methane production from wastes, hydrogen production, biofuel cells, enhanced oil recovery, chemicals from fermentation. Part 3 Teaching strategies for biotechnology: biotechnology through problem solving - why use problem solving in science?, case studies in problem solving, the design of problem solving activities, pupil responses to biotechnology problem solving; biotechnology through discussion-based learning - why attempt discussion-based learning in science?, case studies in discussion-based learning, problems and difficulties associated with discussion-based learning. Part 4 Practical considerations and resources: practical considerations - biotechnology and safety, biotechnology and the use of fermenters, legal, ethical and moral issues, introducing biotechnology to pupils; resources - books for pupils - lower secondary and GCSE, reading and resources for teachers and sixth form students, useful contacts and addresses, videos and slides.
