This project is a five year program that provides 80 contact hours of workshops to 40 middle and high school biology teachers each year. Participants are recruited primarily from schools with over 75 percent enrollment of underrepresented students. Sessions begin during the academic year and continue into a summer week- long session. During the workshops, teachers are updated in current advances in biological science and are provided with cost effective, hands-on, investigative activities that convey state- of-the-art concepts for use by all students. These activities, which feature cooperative learning, are easy to implement and cost effective. Teachers and their students may be invited to participate in university research laboratories in the Center for Cancer & Developmental Biology. Evaluation of the project includes pre and post testing of teachers and their students, examination of teacher authored lesson plans, and examination of student research projects and their inclusion in county science fairs. Project dissemination occurs through required inservice workshops, distribution of project products locally and nationally, through school curriculum guides, and through publication in national science teaching journals. Cost sharing in the amount of $314,165 equals 72.5% of the NSF award.
