In 2001, LifeScan, a Johnson & Johnson company, partnered with the Santa Clara County Biotechnology Education Partnership (SCCBEP) and Milpitas High School to enrich the science curricula for schools throughout the San Francisco Bay area, demonstrating how classroom concepts have real world applications.
To build on the expertise of LifeScan, BTE-Milpitas targeted diabetes technology. Through a six-week summer externship experience, Milpitas science teachers and LifeScan researchers co-developed a mobile "Diabetes Technology Kit" -- a hands-on, lab-based curriculum that includes a teaching guide, background information on the disease, student handouts and science labs, equipment and materials (glucose meters, test strips, glucose solutions, lancets, etc.), assessment tools and portfolios.
Science labs focus on the biochemistry of the disease, metabolism, physiology, anatomy, using control solutions, and calibrating equipment. Reagents are provided to device unknowns in order for students to predict how a person living with diabetes has to monitor their blood glucose and to balance with diet and exercise. The lab also includes optional bioethical discussions center around stem cell research.
