Hello CPS Biology Teachers,
I am in charge of a biotechnology outreach
program based at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign. Our program has been running for over 10
years and has served teachers throughout Illinois, including many in
the Chicago area. The program offers courses in biotechnology
education, as well as equipment loans to teachers who complete our
training course. We currently supply biotechnology equipment
and supplies to teachers in many Chicago Public High Schools,
including Kelly, Taft, John Marshall, and Kenwood and Chicago
Vocational Career Academy.
This fall, Dr. George Kieffer (the founder
of our Biotech outreach program) and I will offer a biotechnology
course for CPS high school teachers. The course, entitled
"BRINGING BIOTECHNOLOGY TO YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM",
will be held on three Saturdays: Sept. 22, Oct. 20, and Nov.
17 from 8:00am - 1:00pm at Whitney Young High School.
Teachers who successfully complete the course can use our program's
biotechnology equipment in their classrooms. Teachers will also
receive Lane Promotion Credit and CEUs through the ISBE (our program
is an approved provider of recertification credits).
Course Overview: "BRINGING
BIOTECHNOLOGY TO YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM"
The course will address Illinois State
Science Goals 11A, 12A, 13A, and 13B. The following hands-on
laboratories will be performed by all participants. In addition
to these laboratories, the course will include lectures and
discussions on issues related to biotechnology. Biotech
equipment and supplies to carry out these laboratories in the
classroom will be loaned to teachers who have successfully completed
this training.
Hands-on Biotech Laboratories:
Biotechnology laboratory safety issues and practices
Extraction of DNA from a variety of sources
Measurements used in biotechnology laboratories
Sterile microbiological technique
Antibiotic screening for resistant bacteria
Digestion of DNA with restriction enzymes
Separation of DNA fragments using agarose gel electrophoresis ("DNA fingerprinting")
Transformation of bacteria with plasmid DNA
COURSE ENROLLMENT DETAILS:
Hands-on Biotech Laboratories:
Biotechnology laboratory safety issues and practices
Extraction of DNA from a variety of sources
Measurements used in biotechnology laboratories
Sterile microbiological technique
Antibiotic screening for resistant bacteria
Digestion of DNA with restriction enzymes
Separation of DNA fragments using agarose gel electrophoresis ("DNA fingerprinting")
Transformation of bacteria with plasmid DNA
COURSE ENROLLMENT DETAILS:
Because this course is being offered for
Lane Promotion Credit, all interested teachers MUST sign up
and pay for the class through the CPS Teachers Academy for
Professional Development. For details, contact Pat Edwards at
the Medill Prof. Dev. Center (773-553-6080). The Lane Promotion
Credit Fee is $20 (payable to CPS Teachers Academy). Our
program is charging teachers no additional course fee.
Please pass this information on to your colleagues who are not on this list. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Cheers,
Carolyn Zanta
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Carolyn A. Zanta, Ph.D.
HHMI Footlocker Program for Biotechnology Education
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
427 Natural History Building, MC-106
1301 West Green St.
Urbana, IL 61801
phone: 217.265.0816
fax: 217.244.1224
www.life.uiuc.edu/hughes/footlocker
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