The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is recruiting middle school and high school science teachers from both public and private schools that teach science in Maryland schools for its comprehensive 2010-2011 professional development program in modern biology.
(NOTE: To be eligible, teachers must teach in a Maryland middle school or high school; teachers are NOT required to live in Maryland.)
Twenty-four Teacher Scholars will be selected to create a cooperative learning community. The scholars will receive instruction in four phases which provide a sustained professional development program aimed at expanding and fortifying their learning base in molecular and cell biology, genetics, biochemistry, evolutionary theory and laboratory skill development. This increased knowledge and skill base is very adaptable and can be immediately applied by the scholars to benefit their current and future high school students.
Funded by the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) for a seventh year, the Teacher Quality in Biology (TQB) Program at UMBC will help teachers become highly qualified in biology through face-to-face and online instruction with UMBC faculty. The program is intended to enhance each participant’s success in his or her own classroom. The laboratory workshop phase has been designed with exercises that can be easily repeated by participants in their own classrooms and function to reinforce knowledge in modern biology topics. An experienced education coordinator will help participants develop specific applications for course concepts and procedures.
FOUR-PHASES of the TQB PROGRAM
1) PHASE I: Preparation Course - features eleven half-day Wednesday sessions of instruction in current biology with supplemental online instruction and meetings announced by course instructors.
UMBC will also offer a remote-access learning experience to a selected group of applicants unable to commute to our campus during Phase I. These select remote scholars will participate in real-time through synchronized classroom interaction using a computer and high-speed internet access* *. The 2010 TQB sessions will be held Wednesday evenings from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the following dates:
February 17 (orientation*) & 24, 2010
March 3, 10, 24 & 31, 2010
April 14, 21, & 28, 2010, and
May 5 & 12, 2010
*ALL participants (including the remote-access positions), must be particiapte in the first class for orientation to be held on the UMBC campus.
* *If you are eligible for consideration for one of the limited remote-access positions, please contact the program office to verify you have the appropriate computer configuration specifications.
Online meetings with the course instructors in the Blackboard Virtual Classroom will supplement the in-class training for all participants (remote and in-class scholars) and will be held during the Preparation Phase to provide additional opportunities to review course material, take online quizzes and reinforce course concepts.
During Phase I, the TQB Participants are strongly encouraged to attend the Spring 2010 SOS Conference to be held April 23, 2010 to expand their network community, learn how others are motivating their students to achieve more, and gain a clear understanding of the expectations for developing their own poster presentation for Spring 2011.
The purpose of Phase I is to ensure all participants have a strong foundation in biology so as to gain a greater appreciation and understanding for the laboratory work to be done in the Phase II: "Hands-on" Summer Laboratory. Participants with a demonstrated strong foundation in biology may opt to test out of Phase I by completing the Phase I final exam with a grade of "B" or better. Participants who test out of Phase I are not eligible for Phase I attendance based stipend.
2) PHASE II: “Hands-On” Summer Laboratory Course - features comprehensive lectures and laboratory instruction during the activity-based, ten-day training held:
June 21 to July 2, 2010 (weekends excluded)
Participants will have the opportunity to sequence their own DNA and receive workshop instruction that may include the following seven laboratory procedures:
• Gel Electrophoresis
• DNA Sequencing
• Bacterial Transformation
• ELISA
• Forensic DNA Analysis
• Western Blotting
• Protein Purification
• GMO Detection
3) PHASE III: 2010 Fall Wednesday Evening Seminar – tentatively scheduled for October 13, 2010 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The purpose of this evening is to review concepts, provide instruction on the development of action research activities, demonstrate technology that provides classroom activities in core learning areas, provide instruction for developing a presentation poster and provide feedback on the final projects of the TQB Teacher Scholars as well as share lesson plans based on program content.
4) PHASE IV: 2011 Spring Gala “Share Our Success” – tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 23, 2011
This seminar and poster session will be jointly attended by both the TQB and TQC scholars. It is the opportunity to expand your network community, learn how others are motivating their students to achieve more, and showcase what you’ve learned and how you have incorporated it into your classroom.
IMPORTANT: A condition of acceptance into the program requires that teacher scholars agree to participate in a comprehensive formative and summative evaluation of this program and their own classroom use of the course content, which includes a self-evaluation and academic year classroom visit by the education coordinator. Self-evaluations must be completed and submitted to the UMBC Department of Biological Sciences by May 31, 2011.
FACILITIES
The majority of 2010-2011 TQB Program activities including the “Hands-On” Laboratory Course will be held at the following location:
Department of Biological Sciences, UMBC
1000 Hilltop Circle, BS Bldg.
Baltimore, Maryland 21250
BENEFITS
Participants who successfully complete all the program requirements will receive all books and materials, and earn the full stipend as well as up to three graduate credits in biology. The final grade and credit for Phase I will be posted in Fall 2010 and the final grade and credits for Phase II-IV will be posted at the end of the Spring 2011 semester. Participants will have their entire tuition paid for by our grant.
Stipends
Teachers will receive attendance-based stipends of $150 for full-day and $75 for half-day participation in the TQB Program at UMBC, which may be supplemented by individual teacher’s employing school systems. The stipend is paid in three increments. Thirty-five percent from each of the first two stipend installment payments is withheld until all program requirements are completed.
Total TQB Stipend Payment Possible:
Preparation Phase:
11 half-day sessions @ $75 = $ 825.00*
1 full-day session** @ $150 = ____ $ 150.00* (**optional)
Summer Laboratory Course:
10 full-days @ $ 150 = $ 1,500.00*
2 Follow-up sessions including preparation:
1 half-day @ $75 and 2 full day at $150 = $ 375.00
TOTAL Possible TQB Stipend = $ 2,700.00*
Stipends may be supplemented by employing school systems
* - 35% will be withheld and paid at the end only if TQB Program is completed
Course Materials
Participants will receive course textbooks and notebooks/manuals to support laboratory exercises that are filled with ideas for incorporating modern biology knowledge into the high school classroom.
Tuition
Because of the timing of the training and the program deadline date, each scholar will enroll for one graduate credit in summer 2010 and two graduate credits in Fall 2010. Tuition costs will be paid by UMBC through grant support funded by the Maryland Higher Education Commission.
Summer Housing
Campus housing will be provided at no cost to a limited number of participants who live over 40 miles from UMBC and/or demonstrate need for this support.
SPONSORSHIP
This course is supported by the Departments of Biological Sciences and Education at UMBC and the Maryland Higher Education Commission through an Improving Teacher Quality State Grant: Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund Partnership Grant Program (Public Law 107-110 (No Child Left Behind Act of 2001)
For more information, contact the TQB Program Administrator, Cynthia Hollis at
(410) 455-8071
or by e-mail:
chollis1@umbc.edu
