News and Events

Professional development day prepares teachers for new challenges in biotech education

March 4, 2010   |  

Teachers dove in to a full day of hands-on laboratory work at a professional development day at Fall River's B.M.C. Durfee High School in January, thanks to help from the MassBioEd Foundation.

The professional development day was an outcome of a two-year Improving Teacher Quality (ITQ) grant awarded to MassBioEd by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education.

 

The grant allowed teachers from Fall River and New Bedford to take part in lab training programs with the goal of enriching their knowledge base and building a more concrete foundation for science teachers to base their lessons off of.

 

The grant, which wrapped up in December, provided teachers with two 24-hour training sessions with an instructor, but the teachers at Durfee were eager to further enhance their skills with the lab training.

 

Christopher Boyle, the head of Durfee’s science department, said the professional development day helped teachers get a firm grasp of labs and methods that their students will need to use in order to stay competitive with the subject matter.

 

“We are making significant changes to the delivery of science education at Durfee based on the needs of our students graduating and the skills that will be required of them after graduation,” he said. “It is my fundamental belief that exposing students to sound lab techniques and practices is essential to preparing our students.  The development of this course is dependent upon funding for the curriculum development which I strongly feel will be available.”

 

Boyle said 21 science teachers participated in the professional development day that took place on Monday, January 25.

 

Rep. Michael Rodrigues, who represents Fall River and also serves as co-chair of the state legislature’s Biotech Caucus, commended the teachers for their commitment to professional development. 

 

“The steadfast dedication shown by the science teachers at B.M.C. Durfee is very admirable,” said Representative Michael Rodrigues. “The professional training provided by this grant allows educators the tools to make a difference in preparing our students for tomorrow’s workforce.”

 

Don Salvatore, who returned to instruct the development day, said these sessions are becoming even more crucial for teachers due to the growing importance of the biotechnology industry.

 

“The industry is moving a lot faster nowadays so many teachers are not able to keep up with the pace,” he said. “For students, rather than just learning material from lectures and textbooks, they get to learn directly through doing the labs.”

 

Boyle said out of the three labs that teachers received training in last year, two of them are incorporated into every class in the school’s science program and the third is in about seventy percent of the classes.

 

Salvatore said what makes this specific professional development day especially successful is the fact that all the teachers that took part are from the same school rather than multiple schools in different districts.

 

“We found that through the ITQ program there have been better results with a whole bunch of teachers from one school because they’re more likely to use their skills since they all used the same tools,” he said. “A lot of the teachers took the training together so they can lean on each other when they have problems, co-teach and are much more likely to use the labs in their classes.”

 

Robert Ross, director of MassBioEd’s BioTeach program, said the teachers are the driving force behind the success of professional development days because they are willing to make sacrifices to improve the learning environment for their students.

 

“Professional development days like these would not be successful if teachers did not make an effort to attend them,” he said. “These teachers have given up Saturdays and after school hours to fit training sessions into their schedules, and their request to have this development day is emblematic of their dedication.”

 

About half of the teachers that took part in the professional development day had previously received training, so they were able to pair up with teachers that were not able to attend the other sessions. Boyle said this provided for a more productive learning environment and allowed the teachers to work together in practicing the labs.

 

Durfee Principal Paul Marshall said the feedback he’s received from teachers on the program has been overwhelmingly positive and that it has been useful in considering adjustments that should be made to the school’s science curriculum.

 

Marshall said the aspect of the program he was most excited about was its role in helping Durfee’s teachers understand what their students need to focus on in order to advance in the biotech industry.

 

“One of the things that we’re most excited about is the relationship with program that’s helped us understand what our students need to learn about the biotech industry for advancement,” he said.

 

The changes made to the science curriculum at Durfee will take place in the fall and will include the option for students to take a second level biology course that is predominantly lab-based.

 

According to anonymous feedback from surveys, participants found the hands-on nature of the lab training and the opportunity to become familiar with necessary prep work and lab materials to be among the most useful aspects of the topics covered.

 

Boyle said there will be one last training session at Durfee that will take place near the end of the school year in which Salvatore will return to guide teachers through the process of assembling their own lab kits, which would save schools money spent to buy premade kits.

 

Salvatore said this final session is necessary in order to make sure they, the teachers, are confident with the skills they acquired before they incorporate the new labs into their classes.

 

“The teachers have the training, but until they actually use their knowledge it’s still a little foreign to them,” he said. “If I’m there to walk them through it, they’ll be able to comfortably apply their skills on their own going forward.”

 

Although the ITQ grant expired in December, Boyle is confident teachers at Durfee will be able to continue incorporating materials and lab experience they garnered into their science curriculum.

 

“We’ve been very fortunate that the science program has been at the forefront of our district’s education focus,” he said. “We’ve been supported by the budget in buying consumables and other materials, and we’re confident we’ll be able to keep up with the industry’s advancements.”

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