SALINEVILLE ­– Southern Local High School science students are utilizing some real-world studies in their classroom.

Dr. Lisa Houck, who instructs biology, environmental science, anatomy and physiology, is incorporating techniques she learned during a Feed the World workshop this past summer. She was among several dozen attendants at the event, which was sponsored by the Ohio Corn and Wheat Producers organization and held at Rhodes State College in Lima on June 17-18. While there, educators learned about plant biology, biotechnology and ethanol production.

The Feed the World workshops allow educators to take part in hands-on STEM lessons which address state science standards in chemistry, biology, environmental science and middle school science, plus they get a chance to talk to industry experts, tour an ethanol plant and collaborate with each other and learn how Ohio Corn and Wheat was helping to feed the world.Topics include advancing technologies to help produce more with less and the latest research in the field, plus they study biotechnology, soil science, water quality, energy production and sustainable agricultural practices.

Houck plans to carry on those lessons with her own students and they will conduct testing in their science lab.

“We will be doing several labs that we did at the workshop on water quality testing and the evolution of corn cladistics,” she said.

She received $300 worth of lab materials as part of the program and said about 75 sophomores, juniors and seniors will be involved in her environmental science class during the second semester of the school year.

“The purpose is to determine water quality during our hydrosphere unit in environmental science to help students understand the importance of clean water and how pollutants can contaminate it. Corn cladistics will be used to teach students the evolution of corn when we cover evolution in biology.”

Houck said it was her first time utilizing the program and she hoped students gained an understanding of the processes.