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HS Teacher Workshops |
New Format! Biology is a rapidly changing field and scientists make discoveries daily that alter our understanding of biological principles and shape the direction of our future investigations. We have designed the High School Teachers' Workshops for the purpose of instructing high school teachers in current techniques, and to facilitate the introduction of contemporary topics and technological advances to their students. We have listened to your requests! After 12 years of successful summer workshops, we realize we can provide teachers with even more resources. There are great ideas generated during the summer workshops, but the difficulty comes when trying to incorporate these during the academic year. In order to tackle this issue, two extra days have been added to this summer's programs. These two days will focus on curricular design and the seamless integration of the workshop materials into classrooms. Newly designed workshops are open to all past participants. Don't forget your lesson plan! The teachers selected for this program will receive a stipend of $500. Following the workshop, teachers will have access to the Pitt Kits program, which provides all of the reagents and equipment necessary to incorporate the new topics and concepts into their curriculum at no cost to the teacher or to the school district. Recently we offered workshops in the three disciplines described both below. New Workshop : Evolution July 6 - 11, 2008
Held at the Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology, ten high school teachers from across western Pennsylvania participated in our all new workshop focusing on the theory of evolution by natural selection. Evolution is the grand unifying theme of all biology. Though there is a tremendous amount of evidence in support of evolution, it is misunderstood by the general public. The teaching of evolution in Pennsylvania high school courses is a requirement of the PA Academic Standards for Science and Technology. In this workshop teachers gained a greater understanding of evolutionary concepts, usable activities to help demonstrate the principles of evolution in the classroom and became more informed on the recent legal ruling in the Dover, PA court case. Teachers conducted a classroom activity with bacteria and amoebae demonstrating natural selection and fitness. Data collected in the classroom will be used in a continuing study at the University of Pittsburgh.
In addition, teachers designed their own experiments demonstrating natural or sexual selection in action by using easy to find small aquatic organisms. The first group found that small snails are selected for in low light when confronted with a crayfish predator. Learn more... The second group found that large snails have a selective advantage over small snails when a predator crayfish is present. They also found that increasing the temperature 12 C had no affect on survivability; there was no significant difference in the number of small snails eaten by the predator between the two temperatures.Learn more... The third group discovered that in the absence of a predator cue, female amphipods living near the shore select larger males, but in the presence of a predator cue, females select fewer large males. Learn more...In contrast, another group found that when deep water amphipods are studied, females also prefer large males in the absence of a predator cue, but continue to prefer large males when a predator cue is added to the water. Learn more... Extended Workshop : Experimental Design and Data Analysis in Ecology: Using Model Systems in the Classroom
July 13 - 19, 2008 This workshop focused on inquiry-based, hands-on approaches to education. At this year's workshop, twelve teachers utilized the scientific method, hypothesis testing, and data analysis to address questions in aquatic ecology. In this process, teachers became familiar with model study systems that can be used in classrooms. Held at the Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology, this seven-day workshop introduced the fundamentals of experimental design and data analysis. Participants learned about study systems amenable to classroom experimentation. Beginning with a discussion of the scientific method, participants traced the steps of the scientific process from beginning to end. During the week they set up several experiments, collected data, and analyzed the data using a variety of statistical tools. Participants also practiced interpretation and presentation of results.
The experiments concluded with a symposium in which participants gave presentations based on their findings. Participants are now in an excellent position to take advantage of the current shifts in pedagogy towards student-centered experiential learning by conducting sustained experiments in the classroom. A key component of the workshop is the execution of experiments designed by workshop participants. Teachers divided into two groups. The first group found that tree frog tadpoles have a lethal dose of dish detergent between 1/10,000 and 1/100,000 ppm, but dragonflies survived all dilutions. They also found that there is no significant difference in survivorship of tadpoles with or without dish detergent when faced with a predator dragon fly nymph. Learn more... Teachers in the second group found that the lethal dose of copper sulfate for the gastropod Helisoma trivolvisis between 0.5 and 0.8 mg/L. These researchers also found that that this copper sulfate toxicity is independent of temperature and pH. Learn more... High School Teacher Workshop at Allegheny College Extended Workshop : DNA Techniques
July 14 - 19, 2008 With a view to reaching additional teachers and students in the Western Pennsylvania region, we have established collaboration with Allegheny College, which is located approximately 90 miles north of Pittsburgh. This partnership will enable us to offer a broader range of workshop topics and to disseminate our Pitt Kits to classrooms in the area. The driving force behind molecular biology is recombinant DNA technology. While many students are aware of DNA technology through popular culture, the abstract concepts underlying the technology are complicated for students to conceptualize through lecture alone.
This workshop was designed to help teachers illustrate molecular details of nucleic acids through hands-on experience and inquiry based approaches. A wide range of topics were covered in this workshop, including understanding DNA structure, DNA isolation, working with microvolumes, enzymes used for DNA analysis, introduction to Bioinfomatics, PCR amplification techniques, molecular cloning and analysis using plasmid vectors, electrophoretic techniques and detecting genetically modified foods. |
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