Improving high school biology instruction in PG county Maryland (August 2006)

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To begin to improve biology education in Prince George's County, MD, a pilot workshop will be held in early August 2006, focusing on updating the knowledge and skills of teachers. It is increasingly evident that Biology education in the USA is seriously deficient. Solutions will necessitate partnerships between universities and high schools, tapping into the expertise of professors who not only are experts in the subjects, but experts in teaching the material. If teachers have a better understanding of how chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics are integrated, they should be able to better convey the information to their students, who will be better prepared citizens and ready for college level science. The pilot workshop is designed to provide at least one teacher from each high school with a thorough understanding of the material, best ways to present difficult concepts to students, and problem sets designed to engage students in active learning. The proposal is for funds to conduct an intensive four hours/day, two-week workshop for 30 teachers that will cover 75% of the high school biology curriculum (biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, genetics), which is viewed as the most problematic by teachers. Three hours each day will be devoted to mastering the material at the AP-biology/Introductory college level with one hour dedicated to strategies for teaching the material at the 10th grade level. Central to this hour will be homework/classroom assignments designed to help students master the fundamental concepts that underlie more complex biological mechanisms. If this pilot program is successful, as judged by improved student performance on state assessment exams, the objective is to apply for a substantial award to expand the program and help additional teachers the following year, with the goal of updating the skills of all biology teachers currently in the district.