NABT/BSCS Biology Teacher Academy, held at VWC July 12-17, promotes meaningful classroom experiences and strategies
By Stephanie Smaglo | July 17, 2015
High school educators from the Commonwealth and beyond gathered at Virginia Wesleyan College July 12-17 for the National Association of Biology Teachers/Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (NABT/BSCS) Biology Teacher Academy, presented in partnership with HHMI BioInteractive.
The workshop, funded by HHMI BioInteractive and the Virginia Department of Education, is a collaborative endeavor of VWC faculty and NABT Academy Biology Teacher-Leaders. It focuses on promoting rigor in high school biology and AP classes through classroom experiences and strategies that engage students in scientific inquiry.
“We are pleased to provide outstanding professional development to biology teachers from around the state and the region,” says event coordinator Hilve Firek, Batten Associate Professor of Education. “Working in partnership with national organizations such as the NABT, the BSCS, and HHMI is exciting, and the project underscores the outstanding work being done in the sciences at VWC.”
Throughout the week, approximately 40 attendees convened in Blocker Hall—VWC’s natural sciences building—to build common experiences through lab work, metacognition activities, curriculum development, and work on the College’s Scanning Electron Microscope.
“It’s an excellent opportunity for us to showcase our facilities and our department and what we have to offer,” says VWC Professor of Biology Vic Townsend, who served as content specialist for the event. "A lot of people don’t think about the sciences being a part of the liberal arts—we have a very active, vibrant science department.”
So vibrant, in fact, that in the last five years the number of biology students at Virginia Wesleyan has increased by 94 percent, and in 2013 it became the College’s top major for day students. Since 2010, Blocker Hall has received close to $4 million in renovations, among them the creation of several research labs; updates to the auditorium; and the addition of the Scanning Electron Microscope. A complement to these renovations will be the forthcoming Greer Environmental Sciences Center, a state-of-the-art facility scheduled for completion in fall 2017.
Sherri Story, a biology teacher at King’s Fork High School in Suffolk and one of the academy’s five participating NABT AP Teacher-Leaders, was instrumental in bringing the workshop to VWC.
“Virginia Wesleyan really wanted to enhance our week and invest in us,” she says. “The facilities have been great; the academy participants have been introduced to a fine college. To come back here next year would be an overwhelming yes.”
For additional information, visit the NABT/BSCS Biology Teacher Academy webpage or email Hilve Firek at hfirek@vwu.edu.