By Cameron Morsberger | cmorsberger
Middle school is already difficult for young teens, but add on a global pandemic, and the situation becomes much more bleak.
Prajna Upadhyaya, 16, of Westford, was in eighth grade in 2020 when schools went virtual, and she noticed an immediate difference: Her peers lost their passion for learning.
Teachers, she said, feared returning to a physical classroom because of students’ growing disinterest in their work. It was at that moment that Upadhyaya said she decided to take matters into her own hands.
Upadhyaya, now a junior at Westford Academy, created Art of Biology, an educational website featuring science-related blog posts and workshops for middle and high school students who may feel disconnected from their studies or may need additional help. Her mission is to “spark that interest” that other teens may have lost over the last two years, she said.
“When we were doing (school) online, I always heard people saying, ‘Oh, I wasn’t really listening to the teacher, I’m watching Netflix on the side,’ or something like that,” Upadhyaya said. “And when we came back in person, I heard a lot of teachers say that people weren’t coming to classes, people were more relaxed not doing homework.”
Her main goal is to create learning material that acts as a “stepping stone” for students to explore their interests outside of the classroom, Upadhyaya said.
Ninth-grade biology solidified Upadhyaya’s passion for the subject, she said, and it was later, after she received an A on her semester report card, that she returned to the Art of Biology and published her first blog post on “How to Improve Grades for Biology in 5 Steps” in April 2021.
Since then, Upadhyaya has researched and blogged about autism and blood types, ways to “eat heart healthy” and COVID-19, garnering 50 to more than 100 views from people in Jordan, Brazil, India, Malaysia and elsewhere.
Accessibility is pivotal, Upadhyaya said, as she hopes to grab and keep young readers’ attention
“Sometimes, I get it, reading can get a little bit monotonous, I guess,” Upadhyaya said. “And so I really tried to make my blog posts very story-like. I put in rhetorical questions and stuff like that in there to get people engaged.”
That engagement is something Upadhyaya identified early on as one of her goals for Art of Biology, and she set out to create digital workshops covering topics outside of her biology textbook and typical curriculums. They also make quizzes post-workshop to test participants’ knowledge.
Her first Zoom workshop, back in January 2022, was “All About Cells,” which was geared toward middle schoolers. Their second, in July, centered on the “Basics of Blood.” All of the content in those presentations is available on their website.
With a team of four other local students, Upadhyaya takes the lead on research and creating those slideshow presentations that take months to complete. Juggling her schoolwork alongside her side gig as a biology teacher isn’t easy.
She combs through medical blogs, tutoring resources like Khan Academy and has even chatted with a Harvard Medical School professor to better understand the topics she tackles on her site.
“It’s a lot of work,” she said. “One of our goals in our website, workshops and blog, is to reach younger audiences and especially those of underprivileged backgrounds, because they don’t get as many opportunities as us to explore their passions.”
It’s not a solo effort, either. Upadhyaya has recruited a background content manager who assists in the workshop research, a blog contributor, a co-presenter and Social Media Manager Srunu Bhagavathula, also a Westford Academy junior.
About 10 people tuned into their last workshop, and Bhagavathula said social media helps with outreach — she tries to write a “fun fact” every Friday and recruits her family and friends to join the workshops.
For Bhagavathula, their biology lessons are a productive way for students to spend their time online. Though all the workshops are online, Bhagavathula said they plan to, eventually, host in-person ones.
“I feel like these seminars just provide some better information, rather than kids looking at their screens all day,” Bhagavathula said. “It’s a good takeaway for us.”
Upadhyaya’s love for biology originates from her family’s personal medical history — some of her loved ones have cardiovascular problems, like hypertension, and leukemia. Upadhyaya said she has also volunteered with the Red Cross, with plans to go into the medical field after college.
That might be why much of the website’s content delves into the molecular and human side of biology rather than ecology, Upadhyaya said. She said she’s looking to do hands-on activities to coincide witthe workshops.
Upadhyaya plans to take Advanced Placement Biology next year, and it’s safe to say she’ll have a leg up on some of her classmates.
“It didn’t fit in my schedule this year,” Upadhyaya said with a laugh.
