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Health Science Center Introduces Teachers to Microbes
During the Microbial Discovery Institute, Houston Independent School
District teachers, from
left, Mario Perez, Stephen F. Austin High School;
Mark Erickson, Chavez High School; and Mary
Patten, Chavez High
School, work with different sizes of beans to uncover the science
behind natural selection. Photo by Shannon Morrison
The American Society for Microbiology has named The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston as the first regional site in the country for a program aimed at helping middle school and high school teachers stimulate interest in science.
The honor is a result of the success of last summer’s Microbial Discovery Institute, in which 13 teachers gained a greater understanding and appreciation for microbiology.
“I liked all of the practical applications of the activities presented during the workshop,” said Bea Long, a teacher at the Rice Model Science Lab at Lanier Middle School. “I’ll definitely use them in my classroom.”
The workshop was sponsored by the UT Health Science Center, the American Society for Microbiology, the Houston Independent School District’s Houston Urban Learning Initiatives in a Networked Community, and the John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science.
Activities were organized around a four-part Public Broadcasting System video series, “Intimate Strangers: Unseen Life on Earth,” and a companion book by the same title. Through lectures, activities and guided discussions, the teachers reviewed basic microbiology content, learned about new advances in the field, and gained support and resources for the development of new, practical inquiry-based activities.
They took a hands-on approach to preparing smears, staining bacteria and streaking agar plates. The group gathered microorganisms from soil and water samples at Hermann Park’s Bayou Parkland. Daily reflection time allowed the teachers to determine how best to incorporate their newly gained skills and knowledge into their courses.
As a capstone project, the participants developed original curriculum units based on the activities and concepts presented during the workshop. On the last day, participants presented their units and listened to the keynote speaker, Herbert L. DuPont, M.D., the Mary W. Kelsey Professor of Medical Sciences at the UT Medical School at Houston and director of the Center for Infectious Diseases at the UT School of Public Health at Houston.
Each workshop graduate received a set of the “Intimate Strangers” videos and microbiology supplies for classroom use and will receive invitations to health science center events throughout the year, such as Research Day and the Advances in Teaching and Learning Regional Conference.
“As a regional site next year, we hope to expand the workshop and invite teachers from school districts from all over the state,” said site coordinator Liliana Rodríguez, a registered microbiologist, special projects director in the health science center’s Office of Community and Educational Outreach, and microbiology instructor at the Medical School.
University faculty members serving as microbiology mentors and resource people for the workshop graduates are: Rodríguez; Karen Adler Storthz, Ph.D., professor of diagnostic sciences and associate dean for research at the UT Dental Branch at Houston and a faculty member at the UT Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston; and Medical School faculty members Ben J. Barnett, M.D., assistant professor of medicine-infectious diseases; Cynthia DeBord, Ph.D., instructor in microbiology and molecular genetics; Pablo C. Okhuysen, M.D., associate professor of medicine-infectious diseases and program director of the University Clinical Research Center; and Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, M.D., assistant professor of medicine-infectious diseases.