LIFE SCIENCES
1998-99 Workshops or Short Courses at Hawkeye Community College DUE 9752081


TITLE(S):


Precision Agriculture
Professional Development Workshops

Introduction to Precision Farming

DATE(S):


June 24-26, 1998, or
July 29-31, 1998


February 18, 25, 1998
March 4, 11, 1998

APPLICATION DEADLINE(S):

call contact



call contact

SITE(S):


Hawkeye Community College
Waterloo, IA


Hawkeye Community College
Waterloo, IA


Precision Agriculture Professional Development Workshops will provide a working knowledge of the Global Positioning System (GPS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and computer technologies as they are applied to agriculture. Hands-on activities, curriculum and instructional materials will also be developed as a part of the workshop. Participants will include the following groups, with the approximate number in parenthesis:

  • Ag Science Instructors (18)
  • Pre-service teachers (seniors in Agriculture Education) (10)
  • Science, Mathematics or Physics Teachers (10)

Introduction to Precision Farming is designed for people who have an interest in precision farming, Global Positioning Systems and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and their possible use in home or business. There will be specific information about GPS/GIS, collecting field information with GPS and hands-on use of Hawkeye's GPS equipment and GIS software. Creating yield maps, adding field layers, processing data, and methods of analyzing data with a GIS will be demonstrated with students getting hands-on experience in the John Deere Computer Lab. Computer knowledge is helpful but not necessary.


CONTACT: Terry Brase
Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Hawkeye Community College
1501 E. Orange Road
Waterloo, IA
Phone: 319-296-2329, x1319
Fax: 319-296-1028
E-mail: agfdtech@hawkeye.cc.ia.us



Molecular Visualization in Undergraduate Biological Science Education DUE 9653427
APPLICATION DEADLINE:


DATE(S) OF WORKSHOP:

March workshop: February 27, 1998;
June workshop: June 8, 1998

March 1998*


June 1998*

SITE(S):


Long Island University
Brooklyn, NY

University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA

*See web site for dates

Free software on molecular visualization capable of running "movie" scripts (RasMol) and web-based tutorials (Chime) became available during the past year, making it feasible for every student of the biological sciences to produce colored, space filling, 3D images of biological macromolecules (DNA, RNA, proteins, etc.). Student and faculty responses to lectures accompanied by pilot scripts have been extremely positive, with immediate demand for scripts covering a wider range of topics. The goals of this project are to: (1) hold three-day workshops in the Northeast to prepare undergraduate faculty to use molecular visualization in their classes; (2) demonstrate "movie" scripts and web tutorials at large national meetings of biological scientists/educators; (3) develop a series of new tutorials on topics designed by faculty for use in large undergraduate classes; and (4) make the resulting resources freely available through Internet web sites. Workshop participants will be given follow-up support and encouraged to share experiences and educational methods through an e-mail listproc. Each participant will be required to mentor two additional faculty at their home institution in the use of educational molecular visualization.


For more information please see our web site at http://www.umass.edu/microbio/rasmol/workshop.htm.

CONTACT: Eric Martz
Department of Microbiology
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Morrill IVN Room 203
639 N. Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA 01003-5720
Phone: 413-545-2325
Fax: 413-545-1578
E-mail: emartz@microbio.umass.edu



Biotechnology for that Disappearing Budget DUE 9553720
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
DATE(S) OF WORKSHOP:
March 31, 1998
June 23-25, 1998
June 22-26, 1998
July 4-16, 1998
July 9-11, 1998
July 27-29
August 12-14
SITE(S):
Iowa Falls, IA
Pittsburg, PA
Portland, OR
Kingwood, TX
Goodwin, MS
Honolulu, HI


These three-day training workshops will provide high school and two-year college teachers with hands-on, investigative, cutting-edge, and low-cost activities that emphasize biotechnology's role in environment, medicine, plant and animal preservation, and agriculture. Participants are encouraged to develop partnerships with industry as modeled in this project to share equipment and expertise when implementing the labs.

CONTACT: Kathy Frame
National Association of Biological Teachers
11250 Roger Bacon Drive, #19
Reston, VA 20190-5202
Phone: 703-471-1134; 800-460-0775
Fax: 703-435-5582
E-mail: nabter@aol.com
http://www.nabt.org



Biology Faculty Development DUE 9752713
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
DATE(S) OF WORKSHOP:
No deadline: by invitation only
May 14-18, 1998


September 20-22, 1998

SITE(S):
Oregon Institute of Marine Biology
Charleston, OR

Archibald Biological Station
Venus, FL



The workshops are designed to develop teams of faculty at field stations who will gain experience in inquiry-based science teaching and learning, and preparation to become regional professional developers of biology faculty.


CONTACT: Dr. Jan Hodder
Oregon Institute of Marine Biology
P.O. Box 5389
Charleston, OR 97420
Phone: 541-888-2581, ext. 215
Fax: 541-888-3250
E-mail: jhodder@oimb.uoregon.edu



Human Genome Diversity: Student Allele Database DUE 9455075
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
DATE(S) OF WORKSHOP:
no deadline
April 3-5, 1998



May 1-3, 1998


May 8-10, 1998


call contact for dates

SITE(S):
Pierce College
Woodland Hills,
Los Angeles, CA

University of Washington
Seattle, WA

Kingsborough Community College
Brooklyn, NY

Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA


These workshops introduce a research technique for use in first-year biology classes. The experiment uses the powerful new tool of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to demonstrate the variable nature of human DNA. This workshop is aimed at faculty from two- and four-year institutions. Other topics include Mendelian inheritance, Hardy Weinberg equilibrium, molecular evolution, and transposable elements.

CONTACT: Mark V. Bloom
DNA Learning Center
Cold Spring Harbor Lab
Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724
Phone: 516-367-7240
Fax: 516-367-3043
E-mail: bloom@cshl.org



Physiology Insights: Enhancement Program for Undergraduate Facult DUE 9653425
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
DATE(S) OF WORKSHOP:
January 5 (annually)
July 13-19, 1998
SITE(S): Washington, DC

The American Physiology Society (APS), in collaboration with the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) and the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS), is supporting the formation of collaborative working relationships among life sciences faculty at two-and four-year colleges (including community colleges), physiology research faculty, and physiology teaching faculty. The project will promote collaboration through research and curriculum development experiences; computer networks; and the promotion and adoption of national reforms for undergraduate content and effective pedagogical techniques among undergraduate faculty. Initially, two-and four-year college faculty members will work with a physiology research faculty member on a summer research experience, attend sessions on effective pedagogy during a summer institute at the HAPS annual meeting and, subsequently, develop new curricular materials. Interested triads will then go on to develop and conduct a local professional development workshop for life sciences faculty in their region. Curricular materials developed during the project will be field-tested, edited, and published by NABT.
CONTACT: Marsha Lake Matyas
American Physiological Society
9650 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20814
Phone: 301-530-7132
Fax: 301-571-8305
E-mail: mmatyas@aps.faseb.org
http://www.faseb.org/education



Teaching Neuroscience in the Laboratory DUE 9555095
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
DATE(S) OF WORKSHOP:
April 1, 1998
June 21-27, 1998
SITE(S): Cornell University
Ithaca, NY
The section of Neurobiology & Behavior at Cornell University is presenting its third workshop on the use of invertebrate preparations in undergraduate neurobiology and physiology laboratory classes. The exercises presented are inexpensive, easy to prepare, and straightforward for students. They use simple invertebrate preparations to illustrate fundamental processes of all nervous systems. The use of invertebrates (crayfish and snails) reduces cost and administrative overhead as well as potential ethical objections on the part of students. These exercises have been successfully used and refined for over 15 years at Cornell and other institutions.

In addition to providing hands-on instruction in the execution of these laboratory exercises, the workshop will feature the use of an instructional CD-ROM directed at teaching faculty. This will review laboratory preparation, demonstrate dissections and use of apparatus, and illustrate results and troubleshooting during the course of a laboratory session.


CONTACT: Ronald Hoy
Department of Neurobiology and Behavior
Cornell University
W214 Seeley Mudd Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853-2702
Phone: 607-254-4318
Fax: 607-254-4308
E-mail: rrh3@cornell.edu



Molecular Genetic Analysis Applied to Evolution, Ecology, and Systematic Biology:
An Extended Laboratory Approach
DUE 9752712
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
DATE(S) OF WORKSHOP:
April 1, 1998
August 1-14, 1998
SITE(S): San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA

This project provides an intense 14-day laboratory short course in Molecular Genetics & Evolutionary Biology, in summer 1998; a four-day follow-up session the summer of 1999; and on-going technical and material support for each of the next two years. The format evolved from prior national Chautauqua and UFE courses. Twenty faculty will be selected from a national applicant pool composed of faculty from community colleges, four-year liberal arts colleges and universities, comprehensive universities, and research universities. Four pre-service teachers will be selected from San Francisco State University (SFSU). Participants learn the fundamentals of molecular biology through lectures and demonstrations, and conduct a series of experiments to develop skill in PCR amplification, restriction enzyme analysis, and various gel separation techniques.

In addition, participants investigate thematic research projects in research groups of six composed of a mix of a pre-service teacher, a mentor teacher, and faculty from community colleges and four-year institutions. Seminar topics include the use of molecular techniques to investigate procaryote, vertebrate, invertebrate, plant and fungal systems, the incorporation of these techniques into the undergraduate laboratory, and examples of effective teaching practices.

As a final exercise, each of the pre-service teachers and faculty will create teaching modules incorporating the new laboratory and teaching techniques developed during the workshop. Following the course the SFSU faculty will be available via telephone and e-mail to help participants incorporate molecular techniques and analysis into their research projects and their undergraduate courses. The instructional materials developed in prior courses, as well as materials developed by new participants are being placed on an SFSU/UFE web site.


CONTACT: Dr. Frank T. Bayliss
Department of Biology
San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94132
Phone: 415-338-1071
Fax: 415-338-0927
E-mail: fbayl@sfsu.edu