Education

Summer Research Teachers Attend Professional Development Workshop

    Sixteen 2001 APS Summer Research Teachers (SRTs) participating in the Frontiers in Physiology and Explorations in Biomedicine programs gathered at the Airlie Center in Warrenton, VA, July 23-29 to attend a week-long professional development workshop for the exploration of inquiry-based teaching strategies, use of animals in teaching, teaching students from diverse backgrounds, instruction in developing hands-on, inquiry-based science activities, and integration of technology into science education. SRTs participated in numerous hands-on laboratory and web-based activities, shared summer research experiences, evaluated their current teaching techniques, and collaboratively developed strategies to implement teaching methods and use of technology promoted by the National Science Education Standards (NSES).
    Frontiers in Physiology and Explorations in Biomedicine are American Physiological Society (APS) programs designed to build connections between science instructors and the biomedical research community through summer research experiences. Both programs promote the adoption of the NSES standards for K-12 in content and teaching pedagogies among science teachers.
    Frontiers in Physiology is a program of APS, and is sponsored by APS, the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) Science Education Partnership Awards (SEPA), and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health. Frontiers SRTs teach at middle and high schools across the US.
    Explorations in Biomedicine is sponsored by APS and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)/Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program. Explorations SRTs teach primarily Native American students at middle and high schools, and tribal colleges on Montana reservations.
    Each year, SRTs spend a major portion of their summer conducting research in APS-member host laboratories to experience “science-in-action” and learn how the research process works. The APS has partnered with many of the nation’s leading biomedical academic, private, and government research facilities in providing local research opportunities for over 250 Frontiers and Explorations teachers during the last 11 years.
    SRTs will also attend the Experimental Biology (EB) 2002 Meeting in New Orleans, LA, to further their science experiences and learn about the latest life-science research findings. Many SRTs will present their research findings and/or activities at EB poster sessions.

Curriculum Development Summer Research Teachers Present Web-Based, Interactive Science Activities
    In 2001, the Frontiers and Explorations programs expanded to include Curriculum Development Summer Research Teacher (CD-SRT) fellowships. These fellowships are designated for selected past SRTs, and offer teachers the opportunity to further develop their mentoring, educational technology, and curriculum development skills. This year, three teams of CD-SRTs are developing web-based science activities in collaboration with Project WISE, of the University of California-Berkeley. Project WISE (Web-based Inquiry Science Environment) is an online science learning environment for students in grades 4-12, supported by the National Science Foundation.
    CD-SRTs, Cathy Box, of Tahoka High School, Tahoka, TX, and Nancy Kellogg, of Brawley Union High School, Brawley, CA presented their unit, The Organic Food Controversy, focusing on the bacterial contamination of organically vs. traditionally grown foods. The interactive online unit asks students to address their assumptions, participate in web-based activities and discussions, conduct hands-on lab experiments, and research specified Internet resources. The online unit also integrates background information for teachers and online student assessment tools.
CD-SRT teams John Nishan, Manchester High School, Manchester, CT, and Lesli Adler, T.S. Wootton High School, Rockville, MD; and Barbara Arrowtop, Heart Butte School, Heart Butte, MT, and Kathy Knudson, Polson Middle School, Polson, MT, are also developing project WISE units. All CD-SRTs serve as mentor/instructors for SRTs throughout the fellowship.

APS Members Serve as Physiologists-in-Residence
    Susan Barman, Michigan State University, Rayna Gonzales, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, and Andrew Lechner, St. Louis University School of Medicine served as Physiologists-in-Residence during the workshop, where they fielded numerous questions related to science content, use of animals in research, and classroom equity issues. Barman, Gonzales, and Lechner provided assistance to teachers as they began developing science labs and activities to use in their classrooms.
    Susan Glueck, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and deputy editor of the APS journal, Physiological Genomics, presented a lively discussion on genomics. Glueck presented information on the Human Genome Project and current genomics research findings in government and private sectors. She also fielded numerous questions about the genomics field, and presented participants with a “hotlist” of related Internet resources.
Applications for the 2002 Summer Research Programs are available on the APS website at http://www.the-aps.org/education/edu_k12.htm. For additional information about the summer research programs, email the APS Education Office at educatio@the-aps.org, or call 301-530-7132.


CD-SRT Team: Cathy Box, Tahoka High School, Tahoka, TX, and Nancy Kellogg, Brawley Union High School, Brawley, CA.	Susan Glueck, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and deputy editor of Physiological Genomics, presents information on current genomics research findings to the 2001 Summer Research Teachers.	Physiologist-in-Residence, Andrew Lechner, St. Louis University School of Medicine leads a discussion on developing science activities with Summer Research Teachers: Tanja Horvat, Oregon Episcopal School, Portland, OR; and Melinda Hausenfluke, Barbara Bush Middle School, San Antonio, TX.

Nelene Harris, Fouke High School, Fouke, AR, and Varnessa Dorsey, Mansfield High School, Mansfield, TX explore factors which affect blood flow and pressure in Physiology of Fitness, an APS Physiology Learning Cycle Unit.	Summer Research Teachers explore The Organic Food Controversy, a web-based, interactive unit for middle and high school students developed collaboratively by APS CD-SRTs and Project WISE, of UC-Berkeley.