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Base Pair: High school teacher professional development creates generational science education impact
Author(s) -
Rockhold Robin William,
Sullivan Donna,
McDaniel Olga
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.518.11
Subject(s) - mentorship , curriculum , outreach , medical education , experiential learning , professional development , psychology , pedagogy , sociology , medicine , political science , law
Base Pair, a collaboration between the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) and a diverse group of secondary schools, uses research‐based, experiential development of teachers to amplify the impact of a biomedical research mentorship program on regional secondary school science education. Initiated in 1991–92, Base Pair brings high school teachers into UMMC for summer training in subjects from use of inquiry labs including DNA isolation, bacterial transformation, protein purification and quantitation, restriction enzyme digestion of DNA, gel electrophoresis, PCR analysis for DNA associated with genetically modified food, and enzyme linked immunosorbent assays to grant‐writing and biotechnology curriculum design. A total of 119 teachers have been trained and 120 teacher‐initiated grants have resulted from Base Pair‐trained teacher applications. As a result, a 74% rate of funding and approximately $438,190 new funds have been generated. A core of teacher trainees who continue regular interaction with UMMC mentors have initiated 4 novel inquiry‐based curricula that have directly impacted over 1,000 students, and a science research course that has been adopted by the state department of education. Core teachers also delivered workshops to over 600 additional teachers in local, regional and national meetings and are authors on 83 published scientific presentations. Mentorship of teachers has increased science education resources, advanced teacher professionalism and extended the impact of UMMC outreach. (Supported by Howard Hughes Medical Institute)