UAF biomedical outreach program hosts master teachers group

Submitted by Marmian Grimes
Phone: 907-474-7902
02/13/09

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Biomedical Partnership for the Research and Education Pipeline program will host a teaching team from Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Fairbanks Feb. 16-18, 2009. The team’s visit will include workshops for middle and high school teachers and students as well as a public meeting to be held on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Wedgewood Gazebo Room.

The workshops will be focused on inquiry-based learning techniques that have been shown to reduce dropout rates and increase student success. All events are open to the public.

The Alaska BioPREP program invited the team to Fairbanks to learn more about how to apply their methods to the biomedical sciences. The visit has been expanded to allow the community to experience the learning method and to assess the Fairbanks community’s readiness to consider this model.

UAF and the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District are members of the new Alaska BioPREP program, which focuses on bringing the biomedical sciences into middle and high school settings throughout Alaska through molecular biology programs with connections to university faculty and research labs. Alaska BioPREP is funded through a National Institutes of Health Science Education Partnership award.

The Bard College at Simon’s Rock methods have been used across the country to increase student engagement and enhance critical and analytical thinking. Bard College at Simon’s Rock is considered a leading organization in the movement for successfully linking academic rigor and retention with the daily academic lives of students and teachers.

CONTACT: To schedule interviews with members of the Bard College team or for more information on workshop attendance, contact Sue Hills at 907-474-5106 or sue.hills@alaska.edu or Cathy Griseto at 907-474-1527 or cathy.griseto@alaska.edu.

ON THE WEB:
http://www.alaska.edu/inbre/outreach/alaska-bioprep/bard-college-at-simons-ro/
http://www.simons-rock.edu/about/affiliated-programs/early-college-institute/institute-faculty

JW/02-13-09/101-09