The joint education program that SIP Innovative Bio-experiment Courses Co-development Group (SIP-BCCG) and Soochow University High School (SUHS) recently wrapped up has proved to be a great success as all of the 112 students under the program demonstrated remarkable accumulation of knowledge on biology after finishing a nine-experiment curriculum covering genetic variation and testing, virus infection and bacterial transformation.

It is learnt that SIP-BCCG, a contingent of highly proficient biology teachers from SIP-based schools and Cold Spring Harbor (CSH) Asia DNA Learning Center, was formed last March to offer training within the following three years to all biology teachers in local middle schools as well as pilot elaborately devised experiment-based biology lessons in several selected primary and middle schools. It aims to help the teachers acquire better teaching skills and introduce innovative courses to the local students for better learning outcomes.

The collaboration between SIP-BCCG and SUHS started last September. In the following months, Dr. Liu Zhiyuan from CSH Asia DNA Learning Center and several SUHS teachers jointly gave the students a series of biology lessons specially designed based on the knowledge points that they need to know for future college entrance exam. Besides, the students also had the chance to try their hands on a series of genetic engineering experiments at CSH Asia DNA Learning Center using the advanced devices there.

According to Du Cheng, director of the center, they will follow up the students for a long-term survey to observe the program's lasting effects in increasing their interest in biology and enhancing their understanding of what they learn.