Science students learning chemistry of alcohol use
New Egypt H.S. students take part in online course of study
BY BARI FAYE SIEGEL Correspondent

PLUMSTED - The scientists on television's "CSI" have nothing on a class of juniors and seniors at New Egypt High School.

Under the direction of Science Coordinator Kathleen D. Chesmel, 28 students are learning about fingerprinting, handwriting analysis and DNA evidence as part of the school's forensic science program. The class is a natural extension of Chesmel's usual instruction on chemistry and biology and, she said, the students are captivated by the hands-on course work.

But when Chesmel, who only entered classroom teaching six years ago after a career in engineering, brought RISE (Raising Interest in Science Education) to her class, the students really sat up, logged on - literally - and got involved.

RISE is a four-module In ternet-based curriculum de signed by Rochelle Schwartz-Bloom, a Duke University pharmacology professor, and Myra Halpin, a teacher at the North Carolina School of Science and Math. The intent of the curriculum is to teach the students how alcohol

affects the human body in a way they can understand and

internalize. When Chesmel

first taught this program

in her forensic

science class last year it

focused on drugs and

the body.

This year the focus

was on alcohol, including differences in alcohol effects based on gender; alcohol and impact on memory; the Breathalyzer test; and alcohol metabolism.

This is more than just another class with a blackboard and a textbook.

"I thought it was really interesting because a lot of high school students get interested in alcohol, unfortunately," offered junior Brittney Trevisan, 16. "It was really neat to see what happens inside the body when someone drinks."

Brittney enjoyed the course material and the "different way" of learning.

"I enjoyed learning in a different way. There wasn't the pressure of learning and testing. I really wanted to learn this information and I enjoyed getting to teach myself what was exciting and interesting," she said.

The students worked in pairs, reading case facts and the details that forensic scientists use to piece together what has happened in a particular alcohol-related situation. It brings real life into the classroom, Chesmel explained.

For example, one of the real stories grabbed the students' attention immediately.

"There was a girl who drove drunk and killed a friend. She said she chose to drive because she felt she was the least drunk; she knew she had the least amount of beer," Chesmel said. "But, in reality, she was the poorest choice to be the driver. She didn't know that alcohol metabolizes in a woman's body much differently than in a man's body. The alcohol impaired her far more than the same amount would have affected a male friend of the same age."

Senior Bill Campbell, 17, said the entire RISE experience was fascinating.

"I got to learn what alcohol actually does to your system. We hear that alcohol is bad, but we don't really understand why. Now we learned what goes on inside of your body that can be bad for you. It changes the chemical composition of your body in a way that is detrimental to your health. I don't think most kids think about that."

Chesmel was trained on the RISE material at the National Science Teachers Regional Meeting in October in Detroit, Mich. There are 130 teachers who are participating in a two-year program. All have taught the program for two years in a row; last year the course was taught in a traditional "book, blackboard and test" fashion and this year the program went online.

"Program coordinators will be collecting data from students' tests from both years to see if implementing the Internetbased curriculum will improve students' knowledge of basic biology and chemistry," she said.

Chesmel is considering the idea of putting together a program for parents on this information - when the final results of the two-year study are released at the end of this school year in June.And, in addition to adding the program's curriculum to her chemistry classes, she has invited her husband, FBI Special Agent Ed Frimel, to speak to her forensic science students.

"They are learning about something real that is or may be part of their lives someday," Chesmel said. "And, best of all, they are learning chemistry and biology at the same time."