Science Teachers Institute (STI)

UWEB's STI is a National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health funded summer professional development opportunity for science teachers interested in increasing their knowledge of Biomaterials and Bioengineering, and providing cutting-edge, inquiry-based science materials for their students.

STI consists of four different three-day institutes. Ten teachers will be accepted to attend each institute. Teachers must choose the topic that best fits their curricular needs and interest. All institutes include training in engineered biomaterials and hands-on, inquiry based learning. Upon completion of an institute, teachers receive a stipend, UW credits, and are allowed to check out curriculum and kit materials to use in their classrooms.

Youth Take Heart:

Teaches about heart anatomy and physiology, diet and lifestyle factors that promote heart health, and how Bioengineering can help treat heart disease. Students immerse themselves in learning about their heart's health and engage in hands-on science to help solve heart disease.

This workshop is open to Middle School teachers.

For more information about the Youth Take Heart Science Teacher Institute, please email info@youthtakeheart.org.

The following three instititues that we have conducted in past years will not be offered in 2009:

Build Me Up, Scotty!:

Cells make tissues, tissues make organs, and organs make systems. This institute looks at the important biological concept: levels of organization. The scientifically complex topic of tissue engineering will be covered. Stem cell research will be addressed in the ethics component of this unit.

Stick This In Your Ear!:

To hear or not to hear? This unit addresses the science and ethics behind cochlear implants. "Stick This in Your Ear" may be used to supplement studies on sound, electricity, or hearing.

What's Growing On?:

Integrates mathematics and science while examining growth through the kingdoms. Participants will learn how growth patterns relate to fractals and use quail eggs to illustrate the development of the circulatory system. An ethics component guides students through issues involved in using animals in biomedical research.

These three workshops are open to both Middle School and High School teachers.