BABEC Fall 2019 Conference Convenes Over 100 Bioscience Educators and Stakeholders

On Saturday, September 28, 104 high school and community college bioscience educators and stakeholders from across the Bay Area and other parts of California attended the BABEC Fall Conference at Skyline College in San Bruno, sponsored by the California Community Colleges. Conference attendees came from San Mateo, Alameda, San Francisco, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Marin and Solano counties. Several attendees traveled from outside the Bay Area, including guests from San Diego, Los Angeles and Sacramento.

Situated in the new Environmental Sciences building atop a bluff with a majestic view of the Pacific Ocean, one would think it would have been difficult to compete for the attendees’ attention.  However, the conference delivered a full day of learning resources and solid take-aways while the view served as an anchor for like-minded STEM professionals to enjoy the moment, meet new colleagues and share new ideas and best practices with each other.

 

 

 

 

The BABEC team featured their updated bioscience curriculum and introduced their new initiatives for the 2019-20 school year, which includes a collaboration with Genentech, and an expansion project funded by the National Science Foundation.The Regional K12 Strong Workforce Program (K12 SWP) team provided an introduction to the initiative and K12 SWP grantees shared how they plan to use the funding to develop talent for a stronger workforce in the Bay Area.

Bioscience educators were also given a special presentation on how to easily align biotech lessons with NGSS by Kirk Brown, Director of STEM Programs at San Joaquin County Office of Education. Kirk also serves as the regional science-lead of the Curriculum and Instruction Subcommittee of the California County Superintendent’s Education Services Association.

 

 

 

In the BABEC tradition of creating a community for Bay Area bioscience educators (the “C” in BABEC), attendees were able to break out into regional groups to design collaborative pathways to biotech careers.With a strong mix of professionals representing colleges, high schools, administration, industry and nonprofits, the regional breakout groups formed cross-functional teams that focused on taking a diversified approach to building successful bioscience programs in California.

 

 

 

 

 

Evidently, the view of the Pacific Ocean was just a mere backdrop to what the attendees saw from one another’s perspectives.  The conference brought awareness to the Bay Area’s burgeoning economy of biotech jobs while positioning educators as vital for building a competitive and strong workforce in the region.

As a strong community, attendees agreed that exposure to life science or STEM careers should start at an early age.  Subsequently, educators need access to updated innovative curriculum and support in introducing students to biotech careers.  Hence, BABEC looks forward to convening the bioscience community again to continue strategizing on how to support science teachers and inspire students for science careers.

Amanda Cherry
Paradise Valley HS
Phoenix, AZ

The curriculum materials are beautifully prepared and easy to understand-thanks for preparing such great resources that are easy to use.

Byron Gougoumis
Burton HS
San Francisco, CA

All Babec labs are well organised and modelled effectively with clear, helpful procedural instructions, easily transposed to the classroom.

Gianne Souza
Lincoln HS
San Francisco, CA

The online resources are SO well done! The best I have ever had. Very little modification to make them clear and easy to follow. I have done two BABEC lessons and they are so well made that they made teaching online fun again.

Heather Johnson
Burlingame HS
Burlingame, CA

When doing the BABEC labs I consistently hear students say they feel like "real scientists."

Marianne Gudmundsson
Glenbrook South HS
Glenview, IL

Well organized and scaffolded; flexible structure and can be used partially or as a whole. This unit can be used as is...superbly written and thought out...incorporates many skills and allows student collaboration and student choice/voice.

Rocky Ng
South San Francisco HS
South San Francisco, CA

Thank you for creating these curriculum materials. I am beyond grateful for the quality lessons, on-the-point figures/videos, and easy-to-navigate biotechnology curriculum.

Thi Ngo
Capuchino HS
San Bruno, CA

The level of support really made the whole process easier and encouraged me to continue incorporating biotech into my curriculum. Thank you for the live assistance during the labs and for responding to inquiries so promptly and with such urgency.

Anonymous Teacher

Really well thought out curricula. Great to see "old" activities that have been re-imagined with lots of consideration to NGSS.

Anonymous Teacher

This was the best educational workshop I have had the honor of attending, and I am so thankful.

Anonymous Teacher

Wonderfully executed. Strengthened my skills. Thank you!!

Anonymous Teacher

BABEC has such a strong positive impact on teachers and students - thank you for your amazing work!