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As we think about the content that must be introduced in biology education, we really
are talking about the need to teach future biologists, doctors, chemists, and poets,
and my grandchildren's future science teachers, and US presidents and members of Congress
and state legislatures, and school board members. Vision and Change, A Call to Action
Much has been written about our nation's students falling behind other students in
math and science. Research shows that the quality of teaching makes an enormous difference
in filling gaps in achievement. Students who have teachers with the knowledge and
skills needed to teach math and science effectively are more likely to be able to
succeed.
Summer Institute
Each summer On Campus Discoveries in Science offers workshops for high school and
college science teachers on the Kingsborough campus. The Summer Institute is designed
to deepen teachers knowledge of biotechnology and to help them offer their students
challenging, up-to-date learning experiences based on real-world learning. There are
two separate workshops, one on Gene Transfer and Genomics and the other on Gene Cloning
and Proteomics. New York City teachers are informed about the Summer Institute in
several ways, including mass mailings to Science Department Chairs, meetings with
Kingsborough College Now high school faculty, word of mouth from previous participants,
and Kingsborough's Department of Biological Sciences dedicated email link.
The Summer Institute workshops involve eight days of hands-on laboratory training
in biotechnology with expert faculty, delving into topics such as gene modification,
food production, and drug testing. There are field trips to science sites such as
the Brookhaven National Laboratory and the American Museum of Natural History. There
are also opportunities to hear from biology faculty about their current research,
and meetings with industry representatives to learn about current trends in the field
of biotechnology. The workshops also provide teachers with access to a lending library
of lab supplies that can be used in their classrooms and a selection of kits that
will facilitate science teaching in the high schools. After participating in the
Summer Institute, teachers can make arrangements to bring their own students to the
Kingsborough campus where they will have a hands-on experience in biotechnology in
a college laboratory and meet students who are majoring in college science.
A major goal of the Summer Institute is to inform teachers about the articulated program
of study in which their students can become qualified to enter the city's growing
biotechnology workforce. Students can complete an A.S. degree in Biotechnology at
Kingsborough and then can transfer to a degree program in biology at Brooklyn College.
The A.S. program is the only two-year degree program in biotechnology in the City
University of New York system. A special feature of the curriculum is that it is
front-loaded students gain most of their specialized knowledge in the first two years
and can move into entry level jobs, and/or choose to work toward a higher degree and
more open-ended career pathways. For more information about the A.S. Degree in Biotechnology,
visit our link.
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NSF # 1205013