KABT BioBlog

Princeton University Molecular Biology Department along with Howard Hughes Medical Institute is holding a Summer Workshop for Science Teachers July 8-20, 2012

Molecular Biology Hands-On: Cool Genes, Colorful Proteins

Experiments include:
PCR analysis of your DNA, Testing your snack’s DNA for Genetically Modified Organisms, Creating multicolored bacteria by plasmid transformation, Visualizing fluorescent proteins by agarose gel electrophoresis, and Hunting for the super rhizobium!

For more information please visit our website:

http://www.hhmi.princeton.edu/

Please note that the deadline to apply is January 31st.

Several KABT members have taken advantage of this opportunity in the past to improve their understanding of biology and research while working on teaching strategies.  This program has a history of great outcomes.  Consider applying to expand your horizons.

FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY SUMMER RESEARCH TEACHER FELLOWSHIP

Eligibility:       Middle and high school science teachers in U.S. schools

Dates:             Fellowship year: April 2012 – April 2013

Online application due no later than: January 23, 2012

Notifications: March 2012

Fellowship payments:

·      $5,700 for research work and assignments

·      $300 for a classroom materials grant

·      Travel expenses to Experimental Biology, Boston, MA, April 20-24, 2013

Research Teacher Fellows Program: www.frontiersinphys.org

In this year-long professional development fellowship, teachers nationwide

1)      immerse themselves in cutting-edge biomedical research for 7-8 weeks;

2)      enhance their teaching skills in Six Star Science principles (student-centered instruction, diversity/equity, technology, assessment, current scientific content, and reflecting on teaching and learning); and

3)      build networks with scientists locally and nationally by attending a scientific conference.

EXPLORE Effective Teaching Strategies. The APS Six Star Science framework for supporting excellence in science education:

·   student-centered instruction

·   valuing diversity among students

·   integrating technology

·   developing authentic assessments

·   utilizing accurate and current content

·   reflecting on teaching and learning

EXPERIENCE the Research Process. Learn about:

·   the scientific method

·   generating valid hypotheses

·   connecting basic to clinical research

·   using animals and humans in research

·   research careers in physiology

ENHANCE Your Classroom Materials. Use toolkits of strategies and Six Star Science to:

·   transform cookbook labs into engaging student-centered, inquiry-based lessons

·   align lessons to your state and national science education standards

PROGRAM INFORMATION AND APPLICATION: www.frontiersinphys.org. Look for the “HOW TO APPLY” GUIDE document at the Research Teacher Fellows program website. DEADLINE: January 23, 2012.

TESTIMONIALS from past Teacher Fellows about the Frontiers in Physiology program:

On the fellowship experience: “Enjoy every minute of the fellowship experience because it goes by so fast. You are so absorbed in the material and assignments that it will take you a year just to compress and reflect on it all. So soak it up, relax, and enjoy the incredible journey that the APS will take you on!”

On the skills on transforming cookbook labs: “I have learned a lot through these transformations. Where I once thought my labs were student centered and inquiry based, I am beginning to see just how teacher directed they were. I think I will have a great deal of transforming to do this year.”

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Questions? Contact the Interim K-12 Programs Coordinator: Margaret Shain: mshain@the-aps.org

FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY is supported by the APS, a Science Education Partnership Award (R25RR025127) from the National Center for Research Resources, and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R13DK039306) at the National Institutes of Health.

Scarletta Whitsett

Science Fair Coordinator/Project Asst.

The American Physiological Society

Education Office

9650 Rockville Pike

Bethesda, MD 20814

301-634-7228
301-634-7098 (fax)

Science Fair: www.the-aps.org/education/sciencefair/index.htm

ISEF: http://www.the-aps.org/education/isef/index.htm

An enthusiastic student who participated in Girls on Ice last summer is looking for 2012 summer programs or opportunities in any area of biology. Does anyone have suggestions for her?

Important Announcement

The Johnson County Science Cafe for Tuesday, Nov. 8, is cancelled

It is with sincere regret that KCFS announces that there will be two near-misses next Tuesday, the comet and the science cafe’.

We just learned that, despite a construction plan to be in their new location by Nov. 1, Coaches Bar and Grill will not be open by Tuesday.

Do not dispair, we really are going to be back in business. The speakers from the Astronomical Society of Kansas City are still available for December and will present at our next meeting, Dec. 3.

You will all have to find your own tables to crawl under if the near-miss becomes a near-hit. I thought about using the duck and cover I was taught back in the 50s and 60s, but decided it wouldn’t work any better now than it would have worked back then. I just hope I have enough emptied from my pint to see the asteroid/meteor-to-be clearly as I raise my glass.

Johnson County Science Cafe’

Welcome back to our science cafe’. Our host, Coaches Bar and Grill, has been moving these last two months, but KCFS is pleased to resume a regular schedule of monthy science cafes and we hope to see you on Nov. 8.

Near-Earth Asteroids and the Nov. 8 Flyby of 2005 YU55

Speaker: Jay Manifold and Dick Trentman – Astronomical Society of Kansas City

Date: November 8, 2011

Time: 6:30 pm

Location: Coaches Bar and Grill, one block west of 135th and Antioch, south side of 135th St.
Please note, this is a new location. Still Coaches, but they have moved

Kansas Citizens For Science and the Astronomical Society of Kansas City invite you to attend a presentation on asteroids and the flyby of near-Earth asteroid 2005 YU55. The asteroid will pass within 0.85 lunar distances from the Earth on November 8. The ASKC is providing two speakers, Jay Manifold and Dick Trentman, who will give an overview talk about asteroids with special attention to the asteroidal orbit-refining work done at the ASKC’s Powell Observatory.

The presentation will begin at 6:30 PM on Tuesday the 8th at Coach’s Bar & Grill, in its new location on the south side of 135th just west of Antioch in Overland Park. Weather permitting, around 8:00 we will go up on the roof and observe various celestial objects, including the Moon and Jupiter, through telescopes provided by ASKC members.

Special note: This is an asteroid passing between the Moon and the Earth. In case it is closer than that, why not have a beer in your hand and enjoy the sight with friends as the Earth experiences its next mass extinction.

For more information: biologycctrack@hotmail.com

Check out iGEM  for a great challenge for you and your students.

Accept the Biology Challenge: Become part of the USA Biology Olympiad

The USA Biology Olympiad (USABO) is the premiere US biology competition for high school students. After two rounds of challenging exams, 20 students are invited to a residential training program at Purdue University where they experience labs and lectures with advanced biological concepts and exacting lab skills. The top four students go on to represent the USA at the International Biology Olympiad (IBO) in Singapore July 8 to 15, 2012. Online registration is open from October 24, 2011 to February 3, 2012 at http://www.usabo-trc.org. For more information on how your students may participate in the USABO, please contact Kathy Frame at kframe@cee.org.

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I had a student today ask me for some website recommendations to learn more about Ecology.  Do any of you have some suggestions I could pass along to him?