Teacher Workshop 2017

Marc Cubeta, Sharon Mozley-Standridge and colleagues recently hosted a Fungal Biology and Biodiversity STEM Educational Module Development workshop for pre-service, middle and high school biology/environmental science teachers on July 14-18, 2017 at the University of Georgia-Athens (UGA). The workshop was sponsored by the Mycological Society of America (MSA) and National Science Foundation and based on the premise that teachers have limited time to discuss fungi as isolated taxonomic units in their curriculum. The workshop began with a cordial welcome from Josef Broder, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Marin Brewer from UGA. Members of the society, including graduate students, presented lectures and provided examples of laboratory-based exercises for use by teachers in their classrooms. Teachers interacted with MSA members during the workshop and meeting, participated in a foray at Unicoi State Park in Helen, GA, attended the MSA opening reception/social, MSA Presidential address and research presentations. The workshop culminated with the teachers developing a fungal-based lesson plan to illustrate key fundamental concepts in core scientific disciplines and address next generation educational standards. We would like to thank Lindsey Becker, Sarah Bergemann, Meredith Blackwell, Andrea Bruce, Lori Carris, Brianna Hoge, Julia Kerrigan, Andy Methven, Andrew Miller, Molly Phillips, Andrea Porras-Alfaro, Chris Smyth, Henry Van Cotter, and Tom Volk for volunteering their valuable time to serve as instructors and mentors and Maxton Collins and Lanette Phillips for assisting with workshop preparation.