Teacher Resources

In order to have an adequate biotechnology workforce, it is imperative to begin recruitment and education at the high school level. High school teachers are vital to LSBI’s mission of preparing students to meet workforce demands.

LSBI has many high school initiatives, and are actively looking to expand high school outreach opportunities. Resources that are available to high schools include:

• Technical assistance
• Information about current professional development opportunities through Austin Community College biotechnology program
• Help in establishing a biotechnology club
• Providing or helping to arrange for speakers
• Hosting field trips to the school and helping to arrange industry field trips
• Notification of professional development opportunities through Austin Community College
• Participation in career days or special events
• Inclusion in a pilot program to provide laboratory demonstrations for area high school biology classes.

LSBI is seeking funding to provide on-going professional development opportunities to high school teachers that are offered at LSC-Montgomery. The model for the program will be to establish a summer institute that will provide teacher training for two-three weeks in the summer, followed by assistance for biotech labs during the school year. Combined with the program, we are hoping to provide stipends, an equipment loan program, and grants to teachers to purchase necessary equipment.

Should you be interested in investigating any of the above resources, would like to be put on our mailing list, or partnering with us in outreach activities, please contact us at 936-273-7060.

High School Biotechnology Clubs

The general concept of the club is to encourage more students to consider science as an educational choice. The club should include students of different academic achievement levels. To facilitate current culture ideas, it is suggested that the group be called the Mutant Mouse Society. The use of the mouse is simply a theme. The desire is for the group to be totally encompassing of all of biotech. The subjects to be covered would be biology, chemistry, microbiology, pathology, cell culture, safety, regulatory rules, etc.

The model is to have approximately 30 meeting topics for clubs that meet once a week. Fifteen of the topics would be defined and the others would be variable and dependent upon the members’ interest.

A complete handbook with background information, experiment ideas and contact suggestions can be found by clicking on the following link: Club Handbook

The Biotech Handbook for SUCCESS is a product of NSF Award #0401988, Biotech-SUCCESS, which provided support for the development and printing of the document. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

NSF Award
# 0401988

Listed below are additional suggested activities.

• Mutant Mouse Game -The game would be a genetics game developed through the High School Coordinator.
• Road Trips - Field trips. Three or four at a variety of places: a college or university, research hospital, water treatment facility, forensics facility, a brewery, or a corporate facility.
• Coffee House Discussions- Held after school on campus or at a local coffeehouse. Speakers can be arranged to promote discussion. Speakers could include a safety officer, someone who works in a clean room to demonstrate gowning, someone from regulatory department to explain paper trails and compliance regulations, a recent biotech graduate to tell the story of their internship and subsequent employment, or agricultural experts.
• Pizza Party – This provides an opportunity to socialize.
• Mentor Match Ups - College students included in field trips, coffee house discussions, and pizza parties for mentoring purposes.

The PowerPoint, Biotech -- Unlocking the Future, is a great introduction to the biotech field and its opportunities. Click here for the presentation: Biotech

A biotech poster from LSC-Montgomery is available to print and hand out to interested students. Click here for a copy: Biotech for the Future.

An overview of the field of biotech and the opportunities at LSC-Montgomery can be found in the following biotech fliers:

Biotechnology for You in English or

Biotechnology for You in Spanish

The Biotechnology for You brochure in Spanish is a product of NSF Award #0401988, Biotech-SUCCESS, which provided support for the development of the document.

The High School Coordinator is available to work with teachers to help advertise and establish the clubs and coordinate speakers and activities. Advertising posters that have previously been used include the Mutant Mouse Society theme.