This five-year proposal will promote the effective teaching of standards-based science by emphasizing knowledge, content, and the application of techniques in molecular biology and ecology. The project will build a bridge between molecular biology and ecology, two fields that lie at opposite ends of the continuum of biological organization (not to mention opposite ends of biology textbooks and school year curricula). Each year twelve pairs of teachers (from school districts identified by the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative) will participate in a three-week summer workshop at Miami University, where they will learn applications of ecology and molecular biology to the field of conservation biology, science teaching methods, and leadership skills. During the following academic year teachers will have follow-up activities through access to a web-based, yearlong workshop and a two-day workshop before regional NSTA meetings. Teachers will engage students in a capstone research project, which tests the hypothesis that habitat fragmentation reduces the genetic diversity of wind-pollinated trees. The results of the study will lead to a publication in a refereed scientific journal.
