News Release

D.C.-area science teachers experimenting with partnerships

Educators, college faculty to team up to develop hands-on activities for students

Grant and Award Announcement

American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2011 – Dozens of D.C.-area junior high science teachers looking for new ways to encourage their students to pursue high-tech studies and careers will gather Saturday as part of the Experimental Biology conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

Sponsored in part by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the free four-hour event will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. It is intended as a means to pair local teachers with college and university faculty members from across the region to forge partnerships that will support their efforts over future years. In addition to hearing about ongoing outreach activities being conducted, participants also will engage in potential in-class projects.

"The truth of the matter is that if we really want to retain students in science, we need to start earlier," explains Regina Stevens-Truss, a professor at Kalamazoo College who masterminded and co-organized the event. "The idea was to somehow try to find a way to bring teachers and college faculty together to make science more hands-on and less textbook, because, as we all know, science isn't taught from a textbook."

Thanks in part to a $24,500 grant from the National Science Foundation, select teacher participants will be able to apply for and get funding to develop and incorporate hands-on activities and projects related to biochemistry and molecular biology into their classrooms. The projects will require collaborations between the teachers and college scientists.

Stevens-Truss emphasized that the materials needed for such activities rarely are expensive, so even small seed grants will go a long way.

"They can use simple things like coffee filters and pipe cleaners to teach separations, for example," she explained. "These teachers already know what the learning outcomes are, but they may not know how to make them actually happen. If they don't know what to do, their faculty partners can give them ideas on how to incorporate activities."

The event will include talks by scientists and educators with experience in developing science, technology, engineering and math outreach partnerships. The speakers also will cover how to use online communication tools to engage the public and how to implement research experiences at the junior high and high school levels.

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About Experimental Biology 2011

Experimental Biology is an annual gathering of six scientific societies that this year is expected to draw 13,000-plus independent scientists and exhibitors. The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) is a co-sponsor of the meeting, along with the American Association of Anatomists (AAA), American Physiological Society (APS), American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP), American Society for Nutrition (ASN) and the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).

More information about EB2011 for the media can be found on the press page: http://experimentalbiology.org/content/PressInformation.aspx.

About the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

The ASBMB is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization with more than 12,000 members worldwide. Most members teach and conduct research at colleges and universities. Others conduct research in various government laboratories, at nonprofit research institutions and in industry. The Society's student members attend undergraduate or graduate institutions. For more information about ASBMB, visit www.asbmb.org.


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