Return-to-Campus

Twice a year alumni of the CIBT programs are invited to a one-day workshop including lab sessions, guest lectures, and opportunities to network and socialize with other alumni.

The Spring 2009 Return-to-Campus will be held on April 25.  The day will begin and end in the atrium of the Biotechnology Building at Cornell.  Maps are available here.

Draft Schedule

Afternoon Talk

Teaching Evolution and Using Evolution to Teach

Evolution is usually taught as a biological subject but it is equally relevant to human affairs.  Moreover, students become much more interested in learning about evolution when it is related to their own human-centered interests in addition to biology.  The "Evolution for Everyone" theme is being used successfully at the college level and is leading to a nationwide consortium of evolutionary studies programs.  Plans to extend the consortium to high school education are already in progress.  Finally, evolutionary theory can be used to think deeply about the nature of education and how all subjects can be taught more effectively.

Morning Activities

• Brain Geography
  Presented by Mark Albert, Graduate Student/Researcher Department of Psychology, Neuroscience, Cornell University.  Recommended grades:  High School Biology.
  In this activity we will be coloring toy brains and discussing what each area does as it is being colored.  The parts will be discussed by developing an intuition through examples, rather than rote memorization of names and locations.  At the end, everyone should be able to take many everyday thoughts and roughly map them to specific parts of the brain as well as make educated guesses about what might happen if the brain was damaged in certain areas.
   
• How Do Pest Populations Develop Resistance to Pesticides?
  Florianna Blanton.  CIBT Staff.  Recommended grades:  Middle School, Living Environment.
  This presentation addresses several Living Environment New York State standards.  The teacher uses a classroom skit to illustrate how pest populations develop resistance to pesticides.  The concept is expanded by the use of a short and funny Powerpoint presentation and a short video from www.PBS.org (Why does evolution matter now?).  A suggested evaluation activity is the production of a poster that explains How Do Pest Populations Develop Resistance to Pesticides.
   

Afternoon Activities

• DNA Isolation from What?
  Leslie Jensen and Carolyn Wilczynski, Binghamton High School.  Recommended grades:  Middle School, High School.
  For an interesting twist to 'typical' DNA isolation, how about using dog testicles...?  You can obtain these from your vet and then follow the protocol that will be presented.  An alternative DNA isolation from strawberries will be done as well so you can choose the best for your students . . . or just do both!
   
• For the Birds
  Jay Waring, New York Office of Children's and Family Services / Lansing Girl's Residential Facility.  Recommended grades:  Middle School and High School Living Environment.
  The Living Environment "Beaks of Finches Lab" can be worked into the curriculum with multimedia and real world experiences for the students.  Beginning with "Happy Birthday to You (Charles Darwin)" and concluding with the return of the red wing blackbirds there can be 5 weeks of activities explaining, with authentic examples, the meaning of some of the concepts as defined by Darwin:  Competition, Environment, Variation, Adaptation and Natural Selection.  Some of the resources called upon:  The stunning visual effects which accompany participating in the Citizen Scientist Program, The Great Back Yard Bird Count (a joint effort by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society), "Birds and Beaks"—a multimedia presentation by the PBS series Nature and the Discovery Channel.
   
• Gene Switches—A Model
  Jeanne Raish, Avoca Central School.  Recommended grades:  High School Biology:  Regents, Honors and AP.
  Conceptually, how genetic switches function and their role in the process of evolution, can be difficult for students to visualize.  "Gene Switches—A Model" attempts to make all of this more understandable through the use of clips from the HHMI DVD Evolution:  Constant Change and Common Threads and the construction of a model.  This activity can be done as a demonstration, a student inquiry activity, or a combination of the two.
   

Registration Forms

The deadline for registration has passed.

Archives

• Spring 2008 Return-to-Campus
• Fall 2007 Return-to-Campus
• Spring 2007 Return-to-Campus
• Fall 2006 Return-to-Campus
• Spring 2006 Return-to-Campus
• Fall 2005 Return-to-Campus