Biotech workshops prepare 85 teachers statewide

BT Catalyst, July-August, 2005

Eighty-five educators from across North Carolina took biotechnology workshops sponsored by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center this summer.

The workshops included "Introductory Biotechnology," "DNA Sequencing," "Biotechnology for Plants, Animals and the Environment," and "Biotechnology, the Flu and You: Using Bioinformatics to Learn About Disease." A fifth workshop, "Hands-On Biopharmaceutical Production," was held for community college and university faculty.

Offered since 1987, summer workshops introduce primarily high school teachers to hands-on activities that can be incorporated into the classroom. Teachers leave the workshops understanding the scientific concepts underlying the activities and how to incorporate the activities into their classrooms. Many teachers choose to use biotechnology to teach competency goals and objectives required by the N.C. Science Standard Course of Study because it captures the imagination of their students, said Dr. Bill Schy, who manages the Summer Workshop Program for Educators at the Biotechnology Center.

In addition to introducing current science topics through hands-on activities, the workshops also provide teachers with the rare opportunity for classroom discussions with both workshop instructors and their peers on issues ranging from curricula to bioethics.

"The opportunity for these types of professional interactions is extremely valuable for teachers who may sometimes feel isolated from their colleagues in their classrooms," Schy said.

More than 1,200 state educators at all education levels have completed one or more workshops since 1987.