Each fall from 2002 – 2016, the Life Sciences Outreach program has presented an opportunity for high school teachers to explore an important area of research in biology by offering five afternoons of faculty lectures, laboratories, tours and related activities.
 
As the Outreach program has a new home in the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University, our fall program format continues to evolve to more clearly reflect the mission of the Bok Center. In 2017, faculty who conduct research in life sciences fields that rely heavily on computational and mathematical analysis have been invited to speak to participating teachers. In the second hour of each session, graduate students, along with curriculum specialists from the Derek Bok Center, will collaborate with teachers to explore the activities designed to engage their students in using computational and mathematics-based tools to explore Biology concepts.

The 2017 Fall Teacher Program will take place on Thursdays: 10/26, 11/9, 11/16, 11/30, 12/7.

Computational and Mathematical Perspectives on Biology Description: Teachers attending this Professional Development Institute will learn how biologists use bioinformatics, modeling and mathematics to visualize data and draw conclusions. Teachers will explore the use of modeling and data across fields such as  proteomics, evolutionary biology and climate science. Demonstration of attendance at lectures, participation in discussions and engagement in activities using original research data sets will reflect learning and mastery of the covered topics.