Teacher training in life sciences coming to Griffin
By Jennifer Reynolds, Staff Writer at the Griffin Daily News
A two-day teacher training event for rural Georgia high school teachers will be held in Griffin on Jan. 13 and 14 to provide them hands-on training in life sciences.
The event is being put on by Georgia Bio, “a non-profit, membership-based organization that promotes the interests and growth of the life sciences industry.”
During the event, teachers will also meet with life science industry leaders from Georgia.
Kristin Boscan, Director of Rural Teacher Training Initiative for Georgia BioEd Institute, the training arm of Georgia Bio, said that this will give teachers the chance to discover “different career opportunities that are right here in their back yard.”
After spending the first half-day learning about industries and opportunities in Georgia, teachers will spend the next day and a half participating in hands-on training in laboratory experiences that they can take back to their classrooms.
Boscan said the goal of the event is to build confidence in the teachers’ ability to lead the lab training with their own students. She said they also wish to overcome obstacles to hands-on teaching.
“Hands-on learning is expensive,” she said. Georgia BioEd plans to give teachers the materials necessary to perform the labs in their classrooms.
She said that during the conference, teachers will select from one of four trainings and plan to teach it in their classroom next semester. Teachers will fill out a form and Georgia BioEd will ship the needed materials to them.
She said that as teachers incorporate what they learn at the event into their classrooms, their students will be prepared for careers in life sciences after high school or will be inspired to continue their education in the field.
There are 72 teachers signed up for the event which will be held at UGA Griffin. They represent more than 40 of Georgia’s rural districts. Boscan said the event is currently full, but there is a waiting list if other teachers are interested.
Also, she said they hope to make this a recurring event with another to potentially take place as early as this summer. She said anyone interested in attending can reach out to them to be notified when the next teacher training event will be held.