Eighteen
Teachers Attend APS Science Teaching Forum
At the end of July, the 18 Research Teachers from this year’s Frontiers in
Physiology and Explorations in Biomedicine Fellowship programs gathered at
the Airlie Center in Warrenton, VA. During this intensive workshop week, the
Research Teachers (RTs) explored inquiry- and equity-based teaching
strategies, how to integrate technology into their classroom and the use of
animals in teaching and research. The RTs participated in numerous hands-on
laboratory and web-based activities, shared their summer research
experiences, evaluated their current teaching techniques, and
collaboratively developed strategies to implement teaching methods promoted
by the National Science Education Standards. The RTs also started developing
their own hands-on, inquiry-based science activities. The teachers left the
Airlie Center exhausted but pleased with what they had learned and the
vibrant collegial network that had formed over the week.
 |
|
Coming from all over the
United States, the 18 2005 Research Teachers gathered at the end of July
at the Airlie Conference Center in Warrenton, VA for the 2005 Science
Teaching Forum. |
The 2005 RTs spent the most of the summer
conducting research in APS-member laboratories, learning first-hand how the
research process works. Over the last 15 years, the APS has partnered with
many of the nation’s leading biomedical academic, private, and government
research facilities to provide research opportunities for over 300 teachers.
The Frontiers in Physiology and Explorations in Biomedicine Professional
Development Fellowship programs seek to build on-going connections between
science instructors and the biomedical research community. The summertime
workshop and research experience are components of the competitive yearlong
Fellowships.
In April the RTs will attend the Experimental Biology meeting in San
Francisco, CA, to further their science experiences and learn about the
latest life-science research findings. Many RTs will present their own
research findings and/or activities at poster sessions.
The Frontiers Fellowship awardees teach at middle and high schools across
the United States. Frontiers in Physiology is a program of the 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.
The Explorations in Biomedicine Fellowship is sponsored by APS and the
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)/Minority Access to
Research Careers (MARC) Program. Explorations RTs teach primarily Native
American students at middle and high schools, and tribal colleges on Indian
reservations.
Mentors and Curriculum Development: Deepening the Learning
Another vital component of the weeklong Professional Development
Workshop is the guidance provided by the Mentor/Instructor team composed of
former RTs and Physiologists-in-Residence. During the workshop week, the
Mentor/Instructors facilitated sessions using APS curriculum units and
worked with the RTs one-on-one as they developed their own lab/lessons. The
Mentor/Instructors work with the 2005 RTs throughout the Fellowship year via
email and online activities.
 |
| Mentor/Instructors are
former Research Teachers who, having participated in the fellowship
program, are great sources of information and encouragement for the
group: Bruce Dudek, Louise Harwell, Tonya Smith, Cathy Box and Margaret
Shain. |
Returning Mentor/Instructors were: Cathy
Box, Tahoka Middle School in Tahoka, TX and Margaret Shain, Our Lady of
Perpetual Help Jr. High School in New Albany, IN. Joining the Mentor team
were Bruce Dudek, St. Labre Catholic Indian School in Ashland, MT; Louise
Harwell, Eastside High School in Covington, GA; and Tonya Smith, Southeast
Middle School in Hopkins, SC.
APS Members Serve as Physiologists-in-Residence
During the 2005 Science Teaching Forum, two dynamic physiologists served as
Physiologists-in-Residence: Andrea Gwosdow, President of Gwosdow Associates
in Arlington, MA, and Rudy Ortiz, Assistant Professor of
Physiology/Endocrinology in the School of Natural Sciences, University of
California, Merced.
As Physiologists-in-Residence, Gwosdow and Ortiz actively and effectively
fielded the RTs’ numerous questions related to science content, the use of
animals in research, and classroom equity issues. Both were also called on
to assist the teachers as they began developing science labs and activities
to use in their classrooms.
 |
| Rudy Ortiz and Andrea
Gwosdow joined the 2005 Research Teachers, Mentor/Instructors and APS
Education Office staff for the week long workshop at the Airlie Center.
As Physiologists-in-Residence, Gwosdow and Ortiz played key roles in
explaining the physiology content in the labs and serving as resources
in the teachers’ lab/lesson development. |
Applications for the 2006 Professional Development Fellowships are available
on the APS website at
http://www.the-aps.org/education/frontiers/app.html. For additional
information about the summer research programs, email the APS Education
Office at education@the-aps.org,
or call 301-634-7132.
 |
 |
| Katrenia Hosea-Flanigan,
Ginna Barreda Myers and Silas Counts demonstrate a classroom model that
explores the relationship between exercise and oxygen and carbon dioxide
clearance. |
Toni Lafferty, Tara
Goetschkes and Jessica Tiatia explore and evaluate websites to
incorporate into classroom labs and lessons.
|
|
|
Advisory Board Brainstorms for Skills Training Program
The Professional Skills Training Advisory
Board Meeting was held on August 22-23, 2005, at the Aspen Wye River
Conference Center in Queenstown, MD. A total of 21 Advisory Board members
(of the 34 total members) were in attendance. The Board includes members of
the Career Opportunities in Physiology, Education, Porter Physiology
Development, Trainee Advisory, and Women in Physiology Committees; Council;
and underrepresented graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and
established investigators.
The objectives of the meeting were to:
-
finalize topics for the two
professional development short courses;
-
select dates and potential
locations for the initial short course;
-
finalize criteria for
selection of participants;
-
develop the content and
publicity plan for the initial short course.
The first Live Short Course #1
will be on “Writing and Reviewing for Scientific Journals” (see related
article).
The Advisory Board members present divided into five groups to draft the six
sessions for the short course. These are “Authorship,” “Writing a powerful
abstract,” “Writing the manuscript,” “Journal selection and submission of
the manuscript,” “Getting through the review process,” and “Serving as a
reviewer for a journal.” A list of potential speakers and breakout group
leaders for each session was compiled along with suggested participant
activities. Issues that minority trainees specifically face in each of these
areas were discussed for inclusion in the sessions.
The second live short course will be either on “Communication Skills for
Oral Presentations and Posters” or “Career Planning and Management,”
depending on whether the topic selected can be successfully transformed into
an interactive course online. It will be offered in January or February 2007
and again in fall 2007.
Once these live short courses are finalized, they will be developed further
to become interactive online courses that will be offered both as moderated
versions and as self-taught versions. The Advisory Board previewed and
approved the Project Wise web site (http://wise.berkeley.edu/)
as a potential vehicle for the development of the interactive online
courses.
The Professional Skills Training project is supported by a grant from the
National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the NIH (Grant
#GM073062-01). Over the next three years, the project will develop two live
short courses and two interactive web courses for minority trainees based on
portions of the APS/ACDP Professional Skills document (http://www.the-aps.org/education/skills.htm).
APS Launches New Professional Skills Training Program
APS is pleased to announce that it will be
holding its first Professional Skills Workshop on “Writing and Reviewing for
Scientific Journals” on January 12-15, 2006 in Orlando, FL. The course is
supported by a grant to APS from the National Institute of General Medical
Sciences at the NIH (Grant #GM073062-01).
This workshop will allow up to 40 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows
who are US citizens or permanent residents to:
-
improve their skills at
writing and submitting manuscripts;
-
learn how to better respond to
reviewer criticisms;
-
learn how to be a good
reviewer themselves;
-
find out how their skills in
these areas will impact their career advancement;
-
discover how diversity issues
may be influencing how they write and review manuscripts;
-
learn about resources that can
further develop their writing and reviewing skills.
The workshop is especially
designed to attract underrepresented minority students. It will bring
together trainees from both APS and its partner, the American Society for
Microbiology, with experienced mentors and scientists from the two
societies.
Trainee participants will work in small groups of four trainees matched with
a biomedical researcher in their field to better enable them to receive
individualized training and to allow for networking opportunities within
their field of study.
During the course, trainees will receive hands-on training at writing and
reviewing their own writing and that of their colleagues. They are required
to complete pre-workshop homework (readings, writing, sending in a draft
manuscript), as well as additional evening homework during
the course.
After this intensive 2.5-day course, trainee participants will leave with:
-
a clear concise abstract for a
manuscript or meeting;
-
a detailed plan for improving
your draft manuscript;
-
hands-on experience at
critiquing manuscripts;
-
network of peers and mentors
to share critiques and advice;
-
tools and resources for
developing future manuscripts and abstracts
A second workshop on the same
topic will be conducted again in Fall 2006. Dates and location are still to
be determined but will be announced this winter. For more information or to
sign up for email notification of a future short course, see the
Professional Skills website at
http://www.the-aps.org/education/professionalskills/.
New Streamlined Review for APS Archive of Teaching Resources
The APS Archive of Teaching Resource is
streamlining its review process beginning in January 2006.
Materials submitted to the APS Archive will be reviewed twice yearly. A
voluntary review panel will review all materials submitted within a specific
field. Special calls for materials in specific fields will go out twice a
year as well; however, any materials submitted by that date will be
reviewed.
New deadline dates for submissions are February 15 and September 15. Review
panels will be convened March 1 and October 1 and have two weeks to complete
reviews of submitted materials. Reviews will be sent to authors on March 22
and October 22.
This new review process allows for more APS members to be involved in the
review of materials submitted to the APS Archive. It also allows for a
timelier turn-around period for the authors to receive feedback on their
submissions.
For the February 15 submission deadline, calls for submissions of
undergraduate and graduate materials in the following fields will be sent
out via the section/group listservs: Cardiovascular, Comparative and
Evolutionary, Environmental & Exercise, Genomics, Hypoxia, Muscle Biology,
Renal, Respiration, Translational Research, and Water and Electrolyte
Homeostasis.
For the September 15 submission deadline, calls for submissions of
undergraduate and graduate materials in the following fields will be sent to
the section/group listservs: Cell and Molecular, Central Nervous System,
Endocrinology and Metabolism, Epithelial Transport, Gastrointestinal and
Liver, History of Physiology, and Neural Control and Autonomic Regulation.
Calls for K-12 materials and materials dealing with pedagogy will be sent
out separately.
APS is looking forward to streamlining the review process and involving a
greater number of APS members in both submitting materials and reviewing
materials for the APS Archive. |
