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Biotechnology program plans summer academy for teachers
This summer, science teachers from around the state will gather at Athens Technical College to simulate the outbreak of an
infectious disease; learn about taking DNA samples; and study techniques for testing the health of a stream — all as part of a
special educational experience planned at the college.
Those scientific endeavors and several others comprise the annual Georgia Bioscience Technology Institute made possible
through an “Improving Teacher Quality Grant” for the 2012-2013 year. The academy, as Athens Technical College Biotechnology
Program Chair Jeff Rapp refers to the teaching conference, is being held in the college’s state-of-the-art Life Sciences building.
The institute will offer hands-on biotechnology-based lab training for teachers to apply in their classrooms during the upcoming
school year.
Institute organizers designed the various summer academy activities to align with new biotechnology programs and
Georgia standards. The course offering will include introductory and advanced I sessions along with advanced II classes and will
cover material such as plant tissue culture as well as new water quality and hydroponics labs. Naturalist Kate Mowbray, who
works at Sandy Creek Nature Center (SCNC) and also serves as a trainer for Adopt-A-Stream, will instruct the water
quality/stream health lab at SCNC’s facility and nature preserve. Christina Hylton, a science teacher at Rutland Academy in
Athens will teach the hydroponics lab. Teachers also will be able to learn about using micropipettes and protein separation
techniques.
Since August of 2007, the GBTI equipment loan/kit program has served 254 teachers in 49 counties and through them has
reached almost 30,000 students, said Athens Technical College biotech instructional coordinator Mandy Latimer, who hosts the
institute each year. The summer program has averaged about 40 teachers, mostly high school and middle school ag, science, and
healthcare teachers.
“Biotechnology is creating a world filled with opportunities for our students,” Latimer said. “To help students succeed, our
schools need energized and up-to-date teachers. Together, we can sow seeds of innovation which will lead to many exciting new
discoveries.”
Teachers who have attended the institute in the past say the classes offer innovative and inspiring ways to engage students.
By attending the institute, teachers will earn 3 PLUs for basic courses and 1 PLU for taking two of the advanced II lab courses
together.
The recent announcement by Baxter International to build a biopharmaceutical production facility in Stanton Springs, a
business park that spans Jasper, Morgan, Newton and Walton counties off Interstate 20, signals the advent of strong job growth in
the biotechnology field in Georgia, said Jeff Rapp, biotechnology program chair at Athens Technical College. Baxter indicated
the new facility may create as many as 1,500 jobs. The Georgia Bioscience Technology Institute can help teaches prepare their
students for jobs such as those that Baxter will create.
Photo caption: Teacher’s work with micropipettes in a lab at last year’s Georgia Bioscience Technology Institute held at Athens
Technical College.
Don Nelson
706 227-5460
http://www.athenstech.edu/Spotlight.cfm?i=363
5/14/2012
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