Expanding the Impact: Bringing Effective Biotechnology Instructional Resources to Diverse Students and Teachers

The overall goal of this award is to expand the impact of previous work supported by the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program in order to increase the number of well-prepared individuals, including those from under-represented groups, entering technical positions in the biotechnology work force. This goal is being accomplished through two tightly interrelated objectives. The first objective is focussing on faculty enhancement workshops related to biotechnology methods and the biotechnology workplace. The second objective is focussing on the dissemination of quality biotechnology instructional materials directly to secondary school classrooms. Activities for both objectives incorporate instructional materials created by other ATE projects. This project involves partnerships with the Wisconsin School for the Deaf, the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Education, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board, and the ATE-funded "Cases in Industry Practices in Biotechnology", the "Shoestring" Biotechnology Project, and the Bio-Link Center of Excellence in Biotechnology.

Project objectives and outcomes are expected to be:

OBJECTIVE 1: To enhance the skills and knowledge of faculty from two- and four- year colleges and secondary schools so that they:

Effectively incorporate important biotechnology workplace skills into their curricula

Promote student awareness of varied technical career opportunities in biotechnology

Incorporate effective active learning and laboratory activities into their classrooms

Establish relationships among educators and industry representatives

Introduce laboratory and work place curricula into traditional baccalaureate programs

OBJECTIVE 2: To adapt and disseminate quality instructional materials for biotechnology technical education that were developed with previous ATE funds so that:

+ Quality materials are customized for different target populations of students, including those in under-represented groups

+ Secondary students are aware of biotechnology workplace opportunities

+ Secondary students' math and science skills improve

+ Secondary students' skills in biotechnology improve

+ Quality instructional materials reach diverse students

+ Pre-service teachers learn about biotechnology and the biotechnology workplace