This 3-year program is designed to provide 64 high school biology teachers with the confidence, expertise needed to implement an experimental approach in their classroom teaching. In conjunction with school district personnel and university faculty, some of these teachers will also help develop an In-Service Training Program for other high school biology teachers which emphasizes use of a discovery/experimental approach in the classroom. During the first two years, each teacher (32/year) will develop a research project in collaboration with a university faculty member of the CA Poly Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology (ICMB). The independent research project will be done during four weeks of the summer and the results presented at a symposium. Teachers will also participate in a week of intensive laboratory exercise workshops in which they will gain hands-on experience with student exercises which emphasize the discovery approach, quantification of results, and new techniques for teaching cellular and molecular biology. Teachers will have the opportunity during the summer to expand their expertise in computer-aided instruction and to acquire background and updated information in various areas of cellular and molecular biology through seminars and workshops, and the monthly ICMB Journal Clubs. They will also learn about and gain experience with modern techniques and instrumentation through their research projects, the lab exercise workshops and an electron microscopy seminar. The help implement the scientific method in the high school classroom, weekly group sessions during the summer and academic year workshops will be organized to discuss various methods of incorporating this approach in the classroom. The teachers will maintain a teaching "diary" to help them monitor their individual progress in achieving this objective. University Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology faculty will visit the classrooms of their high school faculty partners to encourage them to make these changes. During the third summer, six of the participants, school district science education personnel (4-6) and the ICMB Board will develop an In-Service Training Program designed to help other teachers use an exploration/inquiry approach in their classrooms. The project directors will visit school districts to promote the use of the In-Service Training Program.
