Music delight for the day

This is absolutely beautiful. Symphony of Science videos are downloadable from the project website.

World AIDS Day: Educate, support, prevent.

We spend considerable time during our ICORE: Emerging Pathogens program discussing the clinical and research aspects of HIV. Today marks World AIDS Day. TED has highlighted some jewels from their archives to mark this day. They offer varied perspectives on the current state of HIV/AIDS in the world today.

World AIDS Day: Educate, support, prevent.

Rock Stars of Science

Rock Stars of Science
Who knows? Maybe we will see one of our Bench to Bedside profs in this layout next year!

BSCS Field-Test Opportunity--Online Climate Science Module

I received an announcement from BSCS regarding a new module ready for field testing. Normally these are restricted to the teachers located close to Colorado, but this time, it is expanded to the entire country. There are different levels of participation and incentives.

BSCS announces a field-test opportunity for grade 9-12 science teachers

Scientific studies of land, atmosphere, oceans, and ice caps show that Earth's climate is changing. To understand these changes, BSCS, in conjunction with Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), is developing Carbon Connections, an online module to help students better understand the carbon cycle and the science of Earth's climate. The materials investigate carbon in past, present, and future contexts. The project, generously supported by NASA, consists of three interactive, internet-based units, combined with hands-on investigations.

The field test will take place April through June 2011, with an estimated teaching time of 3-4 weeks. Carbon Connections targets high school Biology (General, Honors, IB, or AP Biology) classes but would also be highly relevant for Earth Sciences or Environmental Sciences classes.

The goals of this three-unit module are to increase
• teacher and student understanding of the carbon cycle, systems-thinking, and climate science,
• understanding of photosynthesis and respiration in a global perspective,
• students' inquiry skills as they explore and interpret cutting-edge data from NASA and other scientists,
• student interest in science and careers in related STEM fields,
• student understanding of the vital role of NASA in monitoring Earth systems, and
• the ability of student-citizens to make decisions about contemporary issues in science.
Teachers and students are valuable, critical friends and help us design and improve programs like Carbon Connections. Teachers like you are key partners in the development process by helping us test what works in high school science classrooms—and what will benefit future teachers and students. Due to the online nature of the new materials, participating teachers will need computer and Internet access at school to complete most of the 15 lessons.

If you are a primary field-test teacher, you agree to attend a one-day field-test orientation in March 2011 (in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Portland, Oregon; or Orlando, Florida), teach the three units in Carbon Connections, complete brief surveys about the activities, and welcome project visitors to your classroom. You will receive a $500 stipend for your participation.

If you are a secondary field-test teacher, the materials will be available for you to test without attending the field-test orientations. Secondary teachers may choose to teach only 1 or 2 units, but still need to apply. Secondary field-test teachers give us valuable information about the usability of the materials for teachers who have not received professional development on the module.

The completed units will include video clips of teachers using select lessons. This is key support for future teachers using Carbon Connections. During the field test, an additional $500 per day is available for a subset of teachers who allow our team to visit and video their classroom while using the lessons.

If you are interested in field-testing Carbon Connections visit www.bscs.org/carbonconnections for additional information and to complete the application. The field-test application deadline is 17 December 2010. Applicants will be contacted about the field test in mid-January 2011.

If you have questions about the Carbon Connections field test, please contact BSCS Science Educator Steve Getty sgetty@bscs.org, 719.219.4148, or BSCS Science Educator Elaine Howes ehowes@bscs.org, 719.219.4163.

They Might Be Giants - Science is Real

Fun Monday science video

Biomarker for traumatic brain injury

Banyan Biomarkers is a UF Biotechnology Incubator success story. The small start up company has grown into a well-known and established company located in the Progress Park in Alachua. Researchers from their company spoke to our teachers regarding their work to identify biomarkers to indicate traumatic brain injury, allowing faster, more accurate diagnosis and therefore improved treatment and care. Their work has been in the news recently. There is a nice piece here that has many references and original source information.

Should students be paid for passing AP exams?

Massachusetts is among six states participating in a program through the National Math and Science Initiative that pays students $100 for each Advanced Placement exam they pass. In Massachusetts, 46 schools are participating this year. However, there is debate over whether such reward-based programs are effective. Boston Herald
Wow. A bit speechless. What do you all think? Comments welcome.

Open access journal collection

Love the concept of open access journals. Often on a University campus, with free access to so many journals, we forget that it is difficult for others not affiliated with a university to access the latest research. PLoS aims to assist. They recently added a Biology Education post to their offerings. Only one post so far.

The Education Series combines open education—which freely shares teaching methods, initiatives, and materials—with open access publishing to present innovative approaches to teaching critical concepts, developments, and methods in biology. It covers fundamental areas of biology, from evolution and ecology to cell biology and biochemistry, and takes full advantage of Web-based open-access research and multimedia tools to create an interactive, dynamic resource to further understanding of fundamental questions in biology and of current methods to investigate them.

Articles feature initiatives that incorporate current life sciences research and allow students to use authentic research tools to investigate real-world problems and generate solid data—crucial elements for nurturing students’ interest in science. Toward this end, approaches that use genomics databases and bioinformatics tools, with their easy online access and mathematical expression of biological concepts, are particularly effective in the classroom. Alternately, taking students out in the field to test questions about relationships between species abundance and the presence of contaminants can provide a memorable lesson in environmental science.

In the first article, Louise Charkoudian , Jay Fitzgerald, Andrea Champlin, and Chaitan Khosla show that Streptomyces-derived natural products provide an untapped source of pigments, showing others how to explore the potential of biopigments in the classroom as well as in art and industry. The authors share their experiences in harnessing these biopigments to create paint and paintings and provide educators with the tools to replicate their experiments in the classroom.

By mining the promise of open education and harnessing the collective imagination and talent of PLoS Biology readers and contributors, the Education Series creates a virtual biology education library that is available through PLoS Biology Collections.

Where did all the CPET stuff go?

What an incredibly busy summer we had at CPET! I'm afraid the hectic pace we kept then is still with us. As we wrap up summer goodies and start our school visits, Mini Medical School, conferences, JSEHS prep, etc there isn't much time to blog! So, to help with the effort of communicating the great things going on in science research and science education, we have started a Facebook page. Join us there and let us know what is going on in your world!

The Sound of Science

Good teaching: top ten requirements

The NSTA listserv is a wealth of information. Sometimes I feel like an interloper reading the discussions, not able to offer much comment. However, it is amazing to me the camaraderie that exists in the education community, specifically among science teachers. A soon-to-be first year teacher asked for advice and many educators from around the country have offered some great morsels. I thought the following was nicely stated:

. Good Teaching: Top Ten Requirements
By Richard Leblanc, York University, Ontario

One. Good teaching is as much about passion as it is about reason. It's about not only motivating students to learn, but teaching them how to learn, and doing so in a manner that is relevant, meaningful, and memorable. It's about caring for your craft, having a passion for it, and conveying that passion to everyone, most importantly to your students.

Two. Good teaching is about substance and treating students as consumers of knowledge. It's about doing your best to keep on top of your field, reading sources, inside and outside of your areas of expertise, and being at the leading edge as often as possible. But knowledge is not confined to scholarly journals. Good teaching is also about bridging the gap between theory and practice. It's about leaving the ivory tower and immersing oneself in the field, talking to, consulting with, and assisting practitioners, and liaisoning with their communities.

Three. Good teaching is about listening, questioning, being responsive, and remembering that each student and class is different. It's about eliciting responses and developing the oral communication skills of the quiet students. It's about pushing students to excel; at the same time, it's about being human, respecting others, and being professional at all times.

Four. Good teaching is about not always having a fixed agenda and being rigid, but being flexible, fluid, experimenting, and having the confidence to react and adjust to changing circumstances. It's about getting only 10 percent of what you wanted to do in a class done and still feeling good. It's about deviating from the course syllabus or lecture schedule easily when there is more and better learning elsewhere. Good teaching is about the creative balance between being an authoritarian dictator on the one hand and a pushover on the other.

Five. Good teaching is also about style. Should good teaching be entertaining? You bet! Does this mean that it lacks in substance? Not a chance! Effective teaching is not about being locked with both hands glued to a podium or having your eyes fixated on a slide projector while you drone on. Good teachers work the room and every student in it. They realize that they are the conductors and the class is the orchestra. All students play different instruments and at varying proficiencies.

Six. This is very important -- good teaching is about humor. It's about being self-deprecating and not taking yourself too seriously. It's often about making innocuous jokes, mostly at your own expense, so that the ice breaks and students learn in a more relaxed atmosphere where you, like them, are human with your own share of faults and shortcomings.

Seven. Good teaching is about caring, nurturing, and developing minds and talents. It's about devoting time, often invisible, to every student. It's also about the thankless hours of grading, designing or redesigning courses, and preparing materials to still further enhance instruction.

Eight. Good teaching is supported by strong and visionary leadership, and very tangible institutional support -- resources, personnel, and funds. Good teaching is continually reinforced by an overarching vision that transcends the entire organization -- from full professors to part-time instructors -- and is reflected in what is said, but more importantly by what is done.

Nine. Good teaching is about mentoring between senior and junior faculty, teamwork, and being recognized and promoted by one's peers. Effective teaching should also be rewarded, and poor teaching needs to be remediated through training and development programs.

Ten. At the end of the day, good teaching is about having fun, experiencing pleasure and intrinsic rewards ... like locking eyes with a student in the back row and seeing the synapses and neurons connecting, thoughts being formed, the person becoming better, and a smile cracking across a face as learning all of a sudden happens. Good teachers practice their craft not for the money or because they have to, but because they truly enjoy it and because they want to. Good teachers couldn't imagine doing anything else.

From:
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/topten.htm

HIV Vaccine

One of the diseases we look at during our ICORE: Emerging Pathogens program is HIV. Another timely disease for our 2009 program was H1N1. Recently, a talk presented by Seth Berkley discussed some fascinating research taking place to create a universal flu vaccine as well as an HIV vaccine. Our ICORE teachers had the opportunity to hear from Dr. Janet Yamamoto who created a vaccine for the feline version of HIV. She too was optimistic that an HIV vaccine is on the horizon.

This 20 minute presentation is well worth viewing. It would be a great addition to the classroom.

There is also a follow-up discussion with Dr. Berkley on the TED Blog.



http://www.ted.com/talks/seth_berkley_hiv_and_flu_the_vaccine_strategy.html

Electric Car

In light of the mess out in the Gulf, we need a little pick-me-up. I've posted this video/song before and I think it is just perfect.

Biotechnology Award

Many of our teacher enrichment programs use biotechnology as a tool to investigate research questions. Techniques such as PCR, cloning, and sequencing have revolutionized all of modern science. Many Florida teachers are now incorporating biotechnology and molecular biology content in their classroom, with some teaching entire courses specifically focused on biotechnology. I have discovered an award for teachers of biotechnology. The one given through NSTA is below:

Ron Mardigian Memorial Biotechnology Explorer Award
The Ron Mardigian Memorial Biotechnology Explorer Award will recognize and reward an outstanding high school teacher who has made biotechnology learning accessible to the classroom. This award has been established in memory of Ron Mardigian, the inspiration behind and founder of the Biotechnology Explorer program.

Eligibility: High school
Award: The award will consist of $750 towards expenses to attend the NSTA National Conference, $250 in cash for the teacher, and $500 in Bio-Rad products. The awardee will be honored at the Awards Banquet; the awardee and one teacher guest of the awardee will be invited to dinner with members of Bio-Rad's Explorer team.

Download an application

Perhaps a CPET alum might want to apply?

Our newest CPET additions

In 2009 we were awarded a grant from NIH NCRR SEPA for our new program Biomedical Explorations: Bench to Bedside (here and here). This summer we welcome our first Bench to Bedside cohort of teachers to investigate how a therapeutic, whether a drug or device, travels from the bench to the bedside. So this new professional development program is one new addition, and its addition brings another.

UF CPET is comprised of a very small staff so when we add another member to our eclectic bunch, it is cause for celebration. Bench to Bedside afforded us the opportunity to bring Dr. Kim Golart on board. Kim will be the Bench to Bedside liaison, working with program participants in their classrooms to assist with action research proposal implementation during the school year. She is a welcome addition to the UF CPET family and an individual all participants will enjoy working with.

Busy times at UF CPET

Spring is definately in the air here in Gainesville. The warm sunny days have returned and with them the anticipation of another busy summer at UF. We have three great professional development opportunities scheduled: Bench to Bedside, ICORE: Emerging Pathogens, and Summer Science Institute: Aquatic Solutions. Check them out and join us!

And of course, we have our summer programs for students as well. The Student Science Training Program and Science Quest are still accepting applications.

Update on our sea turtle

I have been keeping an eye on our sea turtle, Erika, who was rescued last summer by our wonderful Summer Science Institute teachers and transported to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. She has her own page under the current patients link. I had issues viewing the page using Internet Explorer, but the good folks there suggested using Firefox which worked perfectly. In case you are using IE as well, Stefanie sent along the following update:

Here is Erika's current information from the webpage:

Erika is an adult female loggerhead sea turtle who was found floating on the inshore side of Seahorse Key near the University of Florida’s Marine lab dock on July 10, 2009. Erika was named after our former Hospital Coordinator, Erika Kemler. A group of teachers found her while out kayaking and brought her to shore. After being evaluated we determined that she was floating due to a large amount of air in her body cavity presumed to be secondary to a lung tear. This is a very common problem in sea turtles and one of the most common causes of buoyancy abnormalities. It is thought that these tears occur as a result of blunt force trauma such as a boat strike. We have been removing the air from Erika’s body cavity on a regular basis, sometimes up to 45,000 ml with a needle and syringe. In most cases these tears will heal in a much shorter time period than has been the case with Erika. Unfortunately, when she first arrived, Erika was very depressed and not eating on her own. She was a challenge to tube feed due to her size and often regurgitated. Finally, after months of tube feeding, she began eating on her own and is now a healthy 215 pounds! We have actually had to cut back on her diet due to her being slightly over weight. Her attitude and activity level have improved dramatically. We are giving her some time to see if she will be able to heal the tear on her own. Last Friday (November 13) we aspirated 12,000 ml of air from both sides of her body cavity and she became lower in the water column and seems to be remaining low. This may indicate that the leak has at least slowed down some and possibly some healing has taken place. We will continue to draw air out more aggressively if it continues to help her buoyancy problem. If she continues to float, we may have to take more drastic measures such as surgically repairing the lung via a laparoscope. Cross your fingers.

I can also tell you that currently Erika is still floating and we have stopped aspirating air, as it didn't seem to be helping. We conducted an open MRI ~ 1 month ago (brain scan and back end) but it was inconclusive. We are also currently looking to schedule a laparoscopy in ~1 month, to see if there is a tear in the lung and if so, try to fix it.

Let's keep pulling for her. Hopefully she will mend soon and be able to be released.

UF's Dr. Morris visits MIT

There is a wealth of information available in the blogosphere...and some fun reading. I was reading one of the blog posts from The Intersection and saw the name J. Glenn Morris. I backed up and re-read. Yep, our Emerging Pathogens Institute Director, Dr. Morris, was visiting MIT and presented information regarding the abundance of E. coli present even in seemingly cooked hamburger. Bottom line: carry a meat thermometer with you if you think you might order a hamburger!

Alachua County tops the state for kid flu vaccines

I'm so proud of my county and my university.

Several years ago, a flu campaign was initiated by our beloved Dr. Parker Small. His goal: vaccinate the school children and prevent the spread of influenza through the community. This year, with the support of the Emerging Pathogens Institute, Florida Department of Health and the Alachua County school system, free vaccinations were administered to our students. Even in the private schools, nose tickles were given early in the fall. Kudos to all involved. There is a small article in The Gainesville Sun.

I had the opportunity to sit next to Dr. Glenn Morris during a dinner last week and spoke to him about the vaccination effort. He was very pleased with the results and the community effort that was involved. One advantage we have here at the University of Florida...lots of students! Graduate and professional students in the Health Science Center were instrumental in talking with parents, getting forms signed, and helping with classroom management.

Kid's Challenge

There are so many fantastic competitions for students to become involved with. The Kid's Challenge is a great one. The website has many resources for students and teachers. The grade range is geared more toward upper elementary/middle school, but we can all learn something. The deadline is very near for this year, but perhaps you will want to consider incorporating the idea in your curriculum for next year. Who wouldn't want a free planetarium for the classroom?!

The deadline for the Kids' Science Challenge is February 27th, 2010. The KSC is a free national competition for third to sixth graders, funded by the National Science Foundation. Students enter their ideas in three science fields: Bio-Inspired Designs, Detective Science and Imagining Sports on Mars.
If their idea is chosen, they visit and collaborate with scientists and engineers to see the idea come alive. Last year's winners were featured on NPR and the Today Show!

The first thousand students who enter receive free hands-on activity kits. We have about 200 kits left, but they are going fast!
We also have 8 classroom prizes left (including microscopes and planetaria) for teachers who send in 25 entries or more from their classes.

On our website, kidsciencechallenge.com you'll find entry forms, videos, downloadable activities, educational games and curricula aligned to national standards. Kids can enter individually or as teams. Thousands of students and educators have participated in the KSC and downloaded our curricula, including many NSTA members - see our ad in the January issue of Science and Children.

Emerging Pathogens Institute

The University of Florida Center for Precollegiate Education and Training (UF CPET) is pleased to announce applications are being accepted for our ICORE professional development opportunity.

The Interdisciplinary Center for Ongoing Research/Education (ICORE) Partnership is an exciting new opportunity for high school teachers, funded by a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, to engage in innovative and continuing professional development. The theme for the 2010 program is Emerging Pathogens, an area of cutting-edge and active research with ‘real world’ implications for Florida residents.

Teachers will perform hands-on research with scientists involved in the identification, understanding, and management of emerging pathogens; incorporate these ideas into classroom-ready modules; and present the results of their experiences to colleagues at professional meetings. ICORE also offers continuing university partnership support to teachers throughout the academic year and beyond.

An expanded program overview is below. More information, including the application materials, can be found at http://www.cpet.ufl.edu/ICORE/default.html

There are a limited number of seats. The ICORE program is open to all Florida high school teachers, but most appropriate for science and health related subjects. There is no registration cost; transportation and meals are the responsibility of the participants. On-campus housing is provided. Applications should be submitted as soon as possible; selections will be made on a rolling basis until all positions are filled.

HHMI ICORE Summer Institute: July 11 – 23, 2010
Gainesville, FL
Contact: Julie Bokor, julie@cpet.ufl.edu or 352.392.2310
http://www.cpet.ufl.edu/ICORE/default.html


*********************************************************************
Program Overview
The ICORE partnership program offers outcome-oriented professional development for high school teachers through collaborations with researchers across Florida. The initial program is organized around studies of Emerging Pathogens, a topic of major importance to the health and economy of Florida and the nation. The ICORE Partnership is designed to provide long-term collaborations, experiences, and resources to assist teachers in improving science education, and to offer ongoing opportunities and incentives for teachers to engage in laboratory workshops and earn graduate credit towards a Certificate in Biotechnology Education. Institute modules will focus on human, animal, and plant pathogens through laboratory investigations using the content and skills of biotechnology, structural biology, bioinformatics, host-parasite interactions, and translational research.

Teacher responsibilities:
• Attend the two-week HHMI ICORE Summer Institute at UF and create an Action Proposal, incorporating current research focused on emerging pathogens into a classroom-ready unit
• Implement Action Proposals in classroom with graduate student assistance; provide inservice training to other school and district teachers; share progress with ICORE program participants and coordinators.
• Present the outcome of Action Proposals at the annual Junior Science, Engineering and Humanities Symposium (JSEHS) held at UF (February 2011)

Upon completion of the ICORE program, teachers will receive:
• Access to biotechnology equipment lockers and professional support for classroom activities
• A $200 grant to implement action proposals
• A student field trip to UF Special Explorations for Teachers and Students (SETS), Florida Atlantic University (FAU), or the Ft. Lauderdale Research and Education Center
• Continued communication and assistance from UF and FAU partners (grad students, staff, researchers)
• Expertise and support in modifying curricula aligned with national and state standards
• Priority seating in teacher workshops offered by the UF Center for Precollegiate Education and Training (CPET)
• Opportunity to participate in summer research internships in laboratories at UF, FAU and industrial sites
• Three credits towards a Graduate Certificate in Biotechnology Education, further graduate studies, and/or Florida teacher recertification

Olympics in your classroom

There is so much cool science and math that can be showcased during the olympics. Bring the winter sports into your classroom with the help of the eGFI website. They have many, many resources including lesson plans, activities, and experiment for students. Give it a visit and perhaps build a luge in your classroom or discuss the aerodynamics of speed skating.

Research presentations

Have you ever wanted to show your students a presentation straight from a researcher? For our program participants, they go back to the classroom with all of their Institute presenations on CD, but now there is a new resource to draw from. http://www.hstalks.com

The University of Florida has a license to The Biomedical & Life Sciences Collection, a vast collection of audio visual presentations, specially commissioned from leading world experts. The 1,000 plus talks are divided into comprehensive series and are presented by many of the same speakers you would like to give a guest lecture or hear present at a conference. The talks are ideal for research scientists, graduate students and advanced undergraduates and can be viewed on campus now at

Mrs. Russ and the ImmunoStrip Assay - Williston High School

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Ms. Larsen's GMO lab

Make a Smilebox slideshow