In this Issue:
- Submit Your Session for the 2018 NABT Conference
- Nominations Being Accepted for NABT Leaders
- 2017 BELS Goes to Veronica Vasquez
- Help NABT Recognize Great Teaching
- TEACHER REVOLUTION: Teachers Researching Evolution
- Student Surveys Reveal Attitudes on Future Health/Science Careers
- Penn State CHANCE Offers 2018 Summer Field Program in Australia
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Submit Your Session for the 2018 NABT Conference
The calendar has turned to March and with it comes spring fever and some
Mammal Madness
. It also means that the deadline for conference proposals is fast approaching.
NABT is accepting sessions proposals online at
NABT2018 Session Proposals
.
NABT will accept sessions until 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, March 15, 2018
(that's 10:59 PM Central, 9:59 PM Mountain, and 8:59 PM Pacific).
You have the next two weeks (14 days) to submit proposals in 30- and 75-minute formats. All sessions will be reviewed, and acceptance notifications will be emailed to primary presenters by May 1, 2018. Calls for research papers and posters will be released in the coming weeks.
Make some waves in biology education by submitting a session proposal by March 15th!
Learn more about the 2018 NABT Professional Conference at
https://nabt.org/Events-2018-Conference.
Please send questions to
conference@nabt.org
or call (888) 501-NABT.
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Nominations Being Accepted for NABT Leaders
2018 is an election year, and the
NABT Nominating Committee
is requesting your recommendations for candidates for NABT Office. The positions open for election in 2018 are listed below:
- President-Elect from the Two-Year College Level (3-year term)
- Director-at-Large (2-year term)
- Regional Coordinators (3-year term)
- Region II (DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA)
- Region VI (AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, PR)
- Region VIII (CO, ID, MT, NV, UT, WY)
The
NABT Board of Directors
recommends that candidates have (1) evidence of active participation in NABT such as previous service as an elected officer, committee chairperson or member, section or affiliate leader, etc. (2) at least five years of continuous membership in NABT; and (3) more than five years experience teaching biology, life science, or science education.
Nominations will be accepted until
March 15th,
so consider nominating a colleague, friend, and yourself because who knows your interest and qualifications as well as you do?
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2017 BELS Goes to
Veronica Vasquez
In 2008, NABT established the Biology Educator Leadership Scholarship (BELS) to support practicing teachers who wanted to further their education in the life sciences or life science education. Through generous support provided by
PASCO Scientific
and individual donations, the BELS program provides a $5000 tuition scholarship to an NABT member each year.
Last year, NABT was proud to award the BELS to Ms. Veronica Vasquez. Veronica currently teaches Biology and Anatomy at Roseland University Prep in Santa Rosa, California. She also serves as an
Accelerated Schools Coach
for her school, playing a key role in helping science faculty prepare for the implementation of NGSS, and guiding her school through other reform efforts. She also helps coordinate the yearly science fairs and STEM club.
Veronica is in her 9
th
year of teaching and
pursuing a M.A. in Biology through Project Dragonfly at Miami University, Ohio. Veronica also has an A.A. from Santa Rosa Junior College, a B.S. in Ecology & Evolution from the University of California in Santa Cruz, and a M.A. in Education from University of California in Santa Cruz.
An enthusiasm for lifelong learning is something Veronica wants to model for her students. “These students
are predominantly Latino, from low-income families, and often, first in their families to go off to college,” said Veronica. “Having come from a similar background as my students, science was not something I was very familiar with outside of the classrooms in which it was being taught to me. My love and passion for science came solely from the experiences my science teachers passionately shared with me and allowed me to take part in.”
Veronica credits her own teachers as being “amazing role models” and added, “now, it is my job to instill in my students the same passion my teachers were able to instill in me.” She plans to use her graduate studies to directly inform her classroom practice, while also aiming to have a broader impact in her community. “From an ecological and cultural point of view, I understand the importance of investing in and caring for one’s home or community, and through my teaching, I am fortunate enough to be able to do both.”
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The NABT Biology Education Leadership was established through the support of PASCO Scientific and is made possible through
direct donations
to NABT.
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Help NABT Recognize Excellent Teaching
NABT, with the assistance of our generous sponsors, is proud to support a diverse suite of awards for biology and life science teachers.
Each year, the NABT community honors teachers for their expertise in specific subject areas, for contributions to the profession made by new teachers, and to recognize service to NABT, life science teaching, or leadership in learning communities. Each US State, US Territory, and Canadian Province is encouraged to also recognize an Outstanding Biology Teacher (OBTA).
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TEACHER REVOLUTION:
Teachers Researching Evolution
TEACHER REVOLUTION
will match teachers to work with research scientists in university labs and at field stations. Placements in labs will range from 4 to 8 weeks.
Participating teachers will receive a stipend and funds for class materials.
Locations and labs are currently being selected from BEACON scientists across our consortium (Michigan State University, University of Idaho, University of Washington Seattle, University of Texas Austin, North Carolina Agricultural and Technological University). However additional locations will be announced soon!
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Student Surveys Reveal Attitudes on Future Health/Science Careers
Previous research by the consortium found that the majority of students (51%) in science/health classes feel their science studies will be “extremely or very important” to their future career pursuits. In addition, over half of these students (54%) say they have considered pursuing a health career. The ultimate objective of this research is to stimulate an informative dialogue on career pathways among parents, teachers, and students.
By including your students as part of this research project, you can help them:
- further consider their strengths, interests, and the career options open to them;
- receive information from colleges, universities, career and technical schools, and other postsecondary institutions seeking to recruit students with their specific interests, talents, skill sets, and career goals; and
- gain more access to postsecondary scholarship opportunities through ERCA’s partners and sponsors.
Please visit our websites for postings about our research and other useful information. Thank you for participating!
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Penn State CHANCE Offers 2018 Summer Field Program in Australia
The
Penn State CHANCE (Connecting Humans and Nature through Conservation Experiences)
is an accredited environmental education program, whose goal is to connect students and teachers with nature so that they are equipped to conserve the biological diversity on Earth. To do this, the CHANCE team brings the brightest minds together to create authentic research opportunities and to promote environmental literacy and civic engagement.
CHANCE
is offering a 2018 embedded field program for Penn State undergraduates and American high school teachers in North Queensland, Australia – an area of the world that boasts some of the most diverse and remarkable ecosystems in the southern hemisphere. Participants in this embedded field program will complete two pre-trip assignments in late spring 2018 to prepare them for a two-week field practicum (June 24 - July 9, 2018). The practicum includes field research, citizen science projects, and service learning activities - all with James Cook University (JCU) research faculty and graduate students, and field scientists and/or conservationists from the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
Field work will focus on the conservation and sustainability of the Australian Wet Tropics (tropical rainforests), Great Barrier Reef, and the dry sclerophyll forests and open woodlands ecosystems. Program highlights include research with the JCU Turtle Health Research Team on sea and freshwater turtle health and viral outbreaks, participation in the Great Barrier Reef Monitoring Program, a Koala Population Survey Project on Magnetic Island, a Nywaigi Aboriginal culture experience, platypus spotting, and an eco-retreat on the edge of the Outback.
Graduate credits or CEUs available. For more information, please contact Jacqueline McLaughlin at
jxm57@psu.edu
.
The application deadline is March 30, 2018.
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2018 NABT Professional
Development Conference
November 8-11, 2018
Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina
San Diego, CA
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NABT
P.O. Box 3363
Warrenton, VA 20188
Phone: (888) 501-NABT
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Notices that appear in
News & Views
are announcements only and do not indicate an endorsement by NABT. Permission is granted by the National Association of Biology Teachers for libraries and other users to make reproductions for their own or their client's personal, noncommercial, or internal use.
copyright © 2017 All rights reserved
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