Establishing a Life Sciences Curriculum Center

Abstract

A state of crisis is generally acknowledged to exist in science education. This critical situation holds strong negative implications both for the public’s understanding of advances in health sciences and for recruitment of the next generation of biomedical scientists. At the same time an increased pressure upon funding for public secondary education has made the delivery of laboratory education that is reflective of the state of knowledge increasingly difficult for science teachers. This proposal seeks to establish a regional life sciences curriculum center at the University of Denver to serve high school biology teachers in the Denver metropolitan area. The center will address the problems faced by teachers by providing: A stock of specific laboratory equipment items that can be used by area teachers on a limited-time loan basis A cost-effective source of critical supplies biological preparations and technical advice that will be needed for teachers to implement effective laboratories