2007 Courses
Summer 2007 CoursesFall 2007 Courses
WisTEP/MMSD Partnership Courses
Past Courses
Summer 2007
Plants as Model Organisms for Teaching Biology New! Late summer offering!
1 credit, grades 7-12
Instructors: Kevin Niemi, Ph.D. and other UW researchers
Date: August 13-17. Both UW credit and non-credit options are available.
Location: UW-Madison, 445 Henry Mall
Arabidopsis and Rapid Cycling Brassicas (Wisconsin Fast Plants) will serve as instructional instruments for teaching and learning about biological concepts. This course represents two emerging partnerships. The Arabidopsis component is a partnership with PREP (Partnership for Research & Education in Plants, an NIH-supported initiative based at Virginia Tech. UW-Madison is responsible for Midwest region dissemination of this national teacher professional development program.
Multi-disciplinary Teaching and Research New for WisTEP!
3 credits, grades 6-12
Instructors: Robert Bohanan, Ph.D. and Andy Cassini
This course for teachers participating in the Precollege Enrichment Opportunity
Program for Learning Excellence (PEOPLE). combines science content,
research, theory, and classroom applications enabling teachers to review
and experience inquiry-based science models as a framework for instruction.
Teachers will be involved in multidisciplinary laboratory and field
experiences (biology, ecology, microbiology, chemistry, physics, geology,
and atmospheric science) that focus on issues and problems in the Lake
Wingra watershed.
The following two classes, Addressing School Violence in K-12 Schools and Mental Health and Related Issues Facing Troubled Youth have tuition waived, however, you will be required to pay the segregated fee of $62.50 for two credits. If you don’t want credit, you can still come, however, you still need to fill out the WisTEP form and send it to Ruth Owens. If you don’t and you show up for class the first day and you haven’t told Ruth you are attending, you will be asked to leave. Class enrollment is limited to 20 participants. Morning breaks and one lunch will be provided.
Ruth Owens
UW-Madison, Genetics Department
3428 Genetic-/Biotechnology Center Building
425 Henry Mall
Madison, WI 53706
Addressing School Violence in K-12 Schools
June 25-29, 2 credits
Instructor: Jean Leisen-Bondoc
Location: Room 1408, Genetics/Biotech Bldg.
Bullying and other school violence can traumatize individual students
and disrupt the entire education process. This course helps you understand
causes of, and strategies for preventing and intervening in youth-on-youth
violence. Examine curriculum programs, healthy school environments,
peer-to-peer programs, and family and community connections. You develop
and submit a plan to implement one aspect of the program model presented
in class. Prerequisites: licensure and current placement as a health
educator, school counselor, psychologist, or nurse; or responsibility
in school building or district as drug-and-violence-prevention programs
coordinator or similar position.
Mental Health and Related Issues Facing Troubled Youth
July 23-27, 2 credits
Instructor: Kristi Obmascher, UW-Madison
Location: Room 1408 Genetics/Biotech Bldg.
This course presents current information on a number of mental health
and related issues facing adolescents, families, and schools, including:
substance abuse, depression, suicide, and attention deficit disorders.
We also examine effective school- and community-based prevention and
intervention strategies. You complete a written action plan following
the course.
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Fall 2007
Reefs and Rainforests for Teachers
New! Online!
Fall semester offering!
Professional Development For Science Teachers (Grades 7-12)
October 1 - December 14; 1-2 credits, ask about no-credit options
Instructor: Catherine Woodward, Ph.D.
See course website for more info!
This entirely online course is a virtual exploration of rainforests and coral reefs, two of Earth's most diverse ecosystems! Delve into the principles of ecology and environmental science in the context of the the astounding biodiversity and complexity of these environments. Learn about the new discoveries scientists are continually making in these systems, and why it is important to conserve and protect them. Online lecture presentations will align with Wisconsin science standards, and online discussions will allow reflection on how to bring rainforests and reefs into your classroom. Contact the instructor for more information.
Wormclassroom Development
New! Online! Fall offering!
grades 9-12
Instructors: Sharon Lu, Ph.D. and Kevin Elicieri
This on-line course will use the model organism C. elegans as a tool for teaching developmental biology to high school teachers. Elicieri, Senior Information Processing Consultant in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, and Lu, a recent Ph.D. in Science Education, are currently adapting materials already digitized for an on-line resource for researchers (WormClassroom.org) for use in the course. Sharon will serve as the primary instructor for this course.
Summer/Fall MMSD Institutes – a WisTEP/MMSD Partnership, New!
The following two courses are restricted to Madison Metropolitan School District personnel due to their funding source. The courses are part of a partnership between MMSD and UW-Madison and are funded by a National ScienceFoundation grant called SCALE (System-wide Change for All Learners and Educators). See http://scalemsp.wceruw.org/.
MMSD Institute: Analyzing Animals
June 25-28, 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Kindergarten
This Analyzing Animals Immersion Unit replaces the FOSS Animals 2 X 2 unit for MMSD Kindergarten. This Immersion Unit centers on student observations of humans, snails, guppies, and isopods. It highlights data collection, comparison, and scientific investigation skills. Students behave like scientists to answer questions about the natural world.
MMSD Institute: Investigating Responses
June 25-28, 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Grade 3
The Investigating Responses unit integrates with the FOSS Structures of Life for MMSD 3rd grade classrooms. This Immersion Unit focuses on extending student learning by fully engaging students in science inquiry. Authentic assessment tools monitor student progress as they investigate how organisms respond to changes in their environment.
Institute logistics and registration procedure:
Total participants: 24 for each Institute
Course requirements: Attend the 4 day summer Institute plus teach the unit in the fall and participate in a 12 hour online course held in the Fall. The online component consists of asynchronous activities designed for reflection on specific lessons, science content, and pedagogical strategies. Six, two week periods in the fall will have specific online assignments that you are to complete at your time and pace. Training for the online component of these courses will take place at the summer Institute.
For all MMSD classroom teachers, bilingual teachers and teachers who teach either K or 3rd grade science
2.0 UW credits or $400 stipend or 4.0 PAC or 40 hours for PDP: awarded December 1, 2007
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Contact Kevin Niemi at the University of Wisconsin: kjniemi@wisc.edu or 608.262.5480 for registration details. Registration for Analyzing Animals and Investigating Responses is not arranged through MMSD.
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Past Classes
Using Molecular Modeling to Teach Molecular Literacy
Instructors: Michael H. Patrick, Ph.D.; Emeritus
Dave Nelson, Ph.D.; Professor of Biochemistry
Dates: June 18 – June 29
Time: 8:30 to 4 PM
Venue: UW Campus
2 Credits
Limited enrollment
Overview:
In this course, we will explore different ways to teach molecular literacy to help students understand the molecular logic of living systems. To do this requires tools to visualize the unseen world of molecules and connect this to the observable behavior of cells, organs, and organisms. The tools include interactive computer and physical modeling, constructing mental images, and use of simple activities and experimentation.
A second part of the course is intended to provide background for teachers on how we know what we know about biomolecular structure and function. This will be done by examing the history behind our current understanding, along with tours of laboratories on campus carrying out research in these areas.
As part of this course, we will discuss student enrichment programs that teachers have used to successfully engage students of different learning styles in exploring the world of biomolecules.
Tentative Topical Schedule:
WEEK 1 (Michael Patrick)
- Molecular literacy and modeling the unseen; the Central Dogma and computer simulations; linking information and molecular structure
- Visualizing and making sense of the counter-intuitive molecular world; modeling thermal energy, diffusion, energy and equilibrium with molecular dynamic computer simulations; exploring how the living world reverses “times arrow” with information and molecular machines
- The chemical foundations behind the molecular logic of living systems: structure, computer and physical modeling of molecular structure and bonding involved in the primary structure of nucleic acids and proteins; exploring, through modeling, water....the matrix of life....and the behavior of biomolecules in an aqueous environment; using this to understand how proteins spontaneously fold up into unique structures that allow them to become molecular machines
- Exploring protein structure and function through computer and physical modeling; internet databases; using proteins to “tell stories” that link macroscopic behavior, form and function with the structure and behavior of proteins
- Exploring nucleic acid structure and function through computer and physical modeling; using bioinformatics to understand the flow of genetic information at the molecular level
WEEK 2 (Dave Nelson)
- Historical development of the idea that proteins have discrete structure; Pasteur and optical isomers; cytosol as albumenoid; amino acids, peptones, peptides; from colloids to macromolecules; multiplicity and individuality of proteins; Northrup and crystalline proteins; relationship between structure and function
- Development of the concept of enzyme catalysis; fermentation in 1800; microorganisms as agents of fermentation; Pasteur, fermentation, and vitalism; Buchner: fermentation in cell-free extracts; Warburg: purification of enzymes and coenzymes of fermentation; ATP: Universal energetic currency
- What does it mean to “know” the structure of a biomolecule? X-ray diffraction and nmr; early crystallography: limited by computation; Northrop and crystalline proteins; Perutz, Kendrew, Hemoglobin, and Myoglobin; development of nmr as a tool to study small proteins; tour of a crystallography lab and virtual reality room
- Flexibility of proteins: Hemoglobin and hexokinase; induced fit; allosteric regulation; antigen-antibody and ligand-receptor interactions; tour of nmr facility
- Modeling workshop
- Biomolecules for students: SMART teams; Science Olympiad
Big Splash!
Instructor: Theresa Stabo, WI DNR Aquatic Resources Educator
June 18-22 - Madison, 10 teachers needed by June 1 to
hold the course.
July 16-20 - Green Bay/Sturgeon Bay, 10 teachers needed by July 9 to
hold the course.
An experiential, one-credit class offered in partnership with the WI DNR and UW-Madison.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has a boatload of classroom resources available to teachers to enrich your students’ studies of our lakes, streams and wetlands and the fish that inhabit them. Cross-disciplinary materials are correlated to the Wisconsin Model Academic Standards and many of them are free! Stipends ($150) offered upon completion of coursework. Coursework includes implementation of the DNR’s Angler Education program in a classroom, after-school, summer enrichment, or other pre-approved setting by June 30, 2008.
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