{"id":599,"date":"2023-01-28T03:59:27","date_gmt":"2023-01-28T03:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cherylryan.com\/?page_id=599"},"modified":"2023-08-15T03:02:27","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T03:02:27","slug":"article","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cherylryan.com\/index.php\/article\/","title":{"rendered":"Article"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Teaching Science by Experiencing Science:<br>Biology Research is a Requirement in the General Biology Program<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The spark of enthusiasm is impossible to overlook as it travels throughout the poster session. Prancing wildly about, the spark quickly spreads to each of the presenters and guests. At first the room has but one sound, the result of so many conversations taking place at once that it is impossible to individually discern each. Step closer to the posters and you\u2019ll start to hear the passionate exchange of discovery and inquiry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Such is the consequence of a program requiring teachers to do real science. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The best way to teach science is to experience it<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou can\u2019t do science without asking the question, and you can\u2019t answer the question without doing research,\u201d says Jose Araya, a high school teacher from Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTeachers in this program are required to do real biology research. Doing research helps their students think about how to do research,\u201d adds Roxane Johnson, a graduate of the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The General Biology Program for Teachers (GBP) has evolved into a successful program. More than 200 teachers from all over the U.S. have taken courses to strengthen their science-teaching repertoire; many have earned their Master\u2019s of Science degree in General Biology along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne of the best ways to ensure the quality of undergraduates in the biological sciences is to have them arrive at the university with solid knowledge and skills. For this to happen, students must be taught by teachers who are well informed and up to date in their knowledge and teaching methods,\u201d says Dr. Lisa Elfring, program director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The typical GBP student is already employed as a high school teacher and has chosen to take courses and do research in the summer, rather than take a summer job. Many come from outside of Arizona, from as far away as Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Washington DC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The program consists of a summer master&#8217;s degree program with relatively few school year courses. Over four or more summers, students are expected to accomplish three things \u2013 present and defend their research thesis; present a workshop for other teachers; and develop a biology lesson unit. Participation in the Poster Session during the course of the research is required each summer the teacher is actively doing research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Call of the Scientist<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps the greatest appeal of the program is that it\u2019s based in science research. \u201cOther programs are humanities-based, but I think it\u2019s important to have your master\u2019s degree in your subject area\u201d says Garrison Smith, from Kent School in Connecticut. \u201cI need to continue to increase my content knowledge, and I\u2019m actually doing science in this program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The idea is to give teachers the opportunity to do actual biology research, an experience most of them didn&#8217;t have during their education,&#8221; says Lisa Elfring. &#8220;They get a better understanding that science is not just a body of facts, but rather a process of asking questions and figuring out ways to answer them.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, Bill Golladay is studying the feeding behavior of crustaceans. Jose Araya is using bioluminescent bacteria to create a low-cost luminometer. Garrison Smith is investigating the intriguing behaviors of burying beetles. Other topics include the discovery of formerly unknown parasites, determining bacterial loads in drinking water wells, and helping to characterize plant-derived vaccine for pneumonic plague.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Flexibility is an important component in the program\u2019s success.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019d never be able to completely focus on research during the school year, so being exposed to a daily dose of real science is being transferred directly back to my students\u201d comments Jose, who spends his summers in Arizona, taking classes and doing research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Garrison also appreciates the flexibility of the program. \u201cThere\u2019s more than one session, which accommodates the differences in teacher\u2019s summer schedules. And I\u2019m able to continue my research at home, throughout the school year. Since I\u2019ve become totally excited about insects, I\u2019ve been able to design a unit around my research and use my insect collection as part of my class\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Surprises ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The result of Roxane Johnson\u2019s experience in the General Biology Program illustrates that the program can produce exciting, unpredictable results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few years ago, she was an 8th grade teacher in Tempe, taking science classes at night and during summers to get into the General Biology Program. She was teaching all subjects but felt weakest in science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Roxane is now the Program Coordinator for The Fulcrum Institute at Tufts University, teaching K-8 teachers, improving their knowledge of physics, and getting them to think more about curriculum and asking inquiry-based questions. Having a Master\u2019s of Science degree, as well as the other experiences in the program, \u201cleft me in a much better position if I want to go back to teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s also a chance that students in the GBP will see their research published. \u201cMy students will be learning science from a genuine scientist, which might stimulate them to turn on their ability to learn and reason, and increase their knowledge beyond the basic ABCs of science,\u201d says Jose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe science spark gets re-ignited when I come here, and I take it back with me,\u201d says Jose. Adds Garrison: \u201cThe program put me back in the mode of doing, thinking, and reading about science.\u201d And Roxane \u201c[thought] about science in an entirely new way\u201c once she caught \u201cthe science bug.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Participation in the Poster Session offers a quiet bonus. Reflects Jose: \u201cThe poster will allow a visual experience to my administrators and students back home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The collaborative advantage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each teacher brings a unique perspective to the group, which is comprised of middle school, high school and AP teachers, and community college teachers from public, private, technical, rural, and inner-city schools. Working together in this program exposes them to a broader view of teaching methods, as well as the breadth of research taking place throughout the University of Arizona. By design, the program compels its students to use their research to teach other teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re all learning science and relating that knowledge to each other and our classrooms\u201d says Garrison. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adds Jose: \u201cIt\u2019s a great feeling when other teachers get excited about my research. Science advances by interdisciplinary collaboration, and that\u2019s exactly what\u2019s happening here. Science is a socially charged environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Collaboration is also readily available from the UofA community. \u201cSupport was just a phone call or an email away,\u201d says Roxane. Jose comments: \u201cThe UofA has been great about making lab space and time for us, and there\u2019s no better way to grasp science than by working in a lab.\u201d \u201cI\u2019d recommend it to any science teacher\u201d comments Garrison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAn on-going challenge is to find ways to provide financial assistance for the teachers in our program, as the cost of a University degree keeps increasing. Grant funding is becoming harder to obtain, and summer students don&#8217;t qualify for traditional graduate student financial aid provided by the University. Without fundraisers and donations from supporters, the majority of the teachers in our program would not be able to participate.\u201d says Lisa Elfring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m a better teacher, and a better scientist, because of this program.\u201d \u2013Garrison Smith<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Teaching Science by Experiencing Science:Biology Research is a Requirement in the General Biology Program The spark of enthusiasm is impossible to overlook as it travels throughout the poster session. Prancing wildly about, the spark quickly spreads to each of the presenters and guests. 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