Professional Development

The CBM offers a variety of summer courses and workshops for both high school science teachers and undergraduate educators. These courses/workshops focus on the synergistic use of physical models and computer visualization tools to make the molecular world "real" for students. The 2013 Summer Schedule is shown below. We invite you to read more about these courses/workshops, and submit your application as soon as possible, as enrollment is limited.

For High School (and Middle School) Science Teachers:

Genes, Genomes, and Personalized Medicine (3 credits)
June 17-28, 2013

This two-week summer workshop provides high school teachers with the background to go beyond the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology (DNA ⇒ RNA ⇒ protein) in their teaching to engage their students in meaningful discussions of genomic science and its implications for of scientific teaching, as they document the impact of the project's instructional tools on their students' learning.

Modeling the Molecular World, Part I: Tactile Teaching with Physical Models (SG590A, 3 credits)
July 8-12, 2013

Modeling the Molecular World is a one-week professional development opportunity in which teachers explore the invisible molecular world using a variety of physical models and supporting digital resources. The workshop emphasizes the important role of modeling as both an authentic practice of science and as an active learning strategy for students. This workshop also prepares teachers to lead a SMART Team or to coach a Science Olympiad Protein modeling team.

Modeling the Molecular World, Part II: Designing Instructional Materials for the Classroom (SG590B, 3 credits)
July 8-12, 2013

In this advanced course, participants use the computer visualization program Jmol to design a model of a biomolecule related to a current research topic and then build that model using the rapid prototyping machines available at the Milwaukee School of Engineering.