As part of the year-long 2008 Frontiers in
Physiology Fellowship program, 11 science teachers from across the nation
took a week-long break from their summer research experience in APS members’
research laboratories at the end of July. The research teachers (RTs)
convened for an intensive workshop week known as the “APS Science Teaching
Forum” at the Airlie Center in Warrenton, VA.
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| Mentor/Instructors (far left),
Physiologists-in-Residence (far right), and Research Teachers from
across the country participated in the 2008 Science Teaching Forum
as part of the year-long Frontiers in Physiology Fellowship program. |
Three APS members served as
Physiologists-in-Residence, and included 2008 K-12 Outreach Fellows, Keisa
Mathis (Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans) and
TanYa Gwathmey (Wake Forest University School of Medicine), and APS Careers
Committee member, Thomas Schmidt (University of Iowa Carver College of
Medicine). Additionally, three past RTs led the instruction as
Mentor/Instructors, and included Tonya Smith from Mayewood Middle School in
Sumter, SC, Isabelle Camille from Coral Reef High School in Miami, FL, and
Robert Manriquez from Stanley High School in Shreveport, LA. Martin Frank,
APS Executive Director, welcomed and congratulated the research teachers for
participating in the APS fellowship program.
The teaching team facilitated sessions using APS curriculum units for middle
and high school students. Additionally, the RTs explored inquiry-based
teaching strategies, integrating technology, and addressing equity,
diversity, and learning styles in the classroom. 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
both by the National Science Education Standards and each of their own
respective state standards.
As part of the fellowship this fall, the RTs are developing, refining, and
field testing their own inquiry-based lab activity that can be used in the
science classroom. They continue to be mentored by their Mentor/Instructors.
Some RTs will also be inviting their research host into their classroom
sometime during the first week in November for a Physiology Understanding (PhUn)
Week 2008 event (visit:
http://www.PhUnWeek.org). The fellowship concludes with the RTs
attending and participating in EB 2009 this coming April. Follow the
progress of the 2008 fellowship year at:
http://www.the-aps.org/education/2008rts/index.shtml.
The Frontiers in Physiology fellowship program has been sponsored by the APS
over the last 18 years, impacting more than 400 teachers and APS members who
have volunteered as research hosts and/or Physiologists-in-Residence. The
program has received funding from the National Center for Research Resources
(NCRR) Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA), and the National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the
National Institutes of Health.
For additional information about the fellowship, visit the program’s new
website at:
http://www.frontiersinphys.org, and consider hosting and mentoring a
teacher fellow next summer for the Frontiers in Physiology Professional
Development Fellowship for science teachers.
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| Darrell
Coston (North Carolina) representing the heart pushes Jennifer Reis
(Pennsylvania) as blood carrying oxygen molecules through a narrow
vessel represented by two chairs controlled by Monica Erwin
(Pennsylvania) and Regan Lawson (Colorado). |
Karen Walton (South
Carolina), Mike Griffin (North Carolina), and Jonathon Tuttle (Utah)
designed and performed an experiment on the relationship between the
radius of a tube and flow rate. |
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