Science workshops scheduled for teachers of grades 6-12

Three hands-on science workshops for middle and high school teachers will be available early next year from the Office of Education Outreach at the School of Education.

• “Cloning: Clone a Gene, Clone an Organ, Clone an Animal. … What’s the Difference?” Thursday, Jan. 24, is a one-day workshop. Teachers perform techniques molecular biologists use to manipulate DNA in the process of cloning genes. Related discussions will focus on ethical issues concerning genetically modified organisms, human cloning and stem cell research.
• “Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR): A Simple Technique that Helped Revolutionize Molecular Biology” Thursday and Friday, Feb. 7-8, provides a quick method of amplifying (duplicating) sections of DNA from just a few molecules of DNA. In this two-day workshop, teachers discuss principles and applications of PCR and gel electrophoresis, and learn to set up PCR reactions in the laboratory and to analyze the results on different types of gels.
• “Proteins: The Translation of DNA’s Message to the Cell” Friday, March 1, focuses on the expression of different genes, which produce different proteins, to explain why we find such a variety of cell types in an individual. In this one-day workshop, teachers separate proteins from whole cells by gel electrophoresis, compare cells with and without an added protein that is expressed at a high level, visualize proteins by Coomassie staining, blot proteins onto membranes, and detect specific proteins with antibodies.

Workshops will be held at BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute laboratories and classrooms. Enrollment is limited to 24 per workshop. Department of Public Instruction clock hours and continuing education units are available.

The Office of Education Outreach provides workshops, conferences, distance learning courses, seminars, and institutes on a wide range of topics reflective of the mission and activities of the UW–Madison School of Education.