Virtual Biology Summer Institute

Let us help you motivate your students to learn

Are you a high school educator teaching biology in Indiana? Would you like new innovative activities and experiments to enrich your students’ conceptual understanding of biology? We can help. Apply for the five-day virtual Biology Summer Institute at the Indiana University Department of Biology.

Group photo of teachers participating in Biology Summer Institute at IU Department of Biology. — **Slide 1/12:** Teachers participating in the BSI (Class of 2019) gather after a faculty seminar for a group photo outside of the Biology Building on the IU Bloomington campus.

Teachers observing nematodes under a microscope with Dr. Erik Ragsdale at Biology Summer Institute at IU Department of Biology. — **Slide 2/12:** Teachers at BSI observe nematodes under a microscope with Assistant Professor Erik Ragsdale (left, standing).

Teachers pipetting Daphnia in the lab with Dr. Spencer Hall at Biology Summer Institute at IU Department of Biology. — **Slide 3/12:** Teachers at BSI pipette *Daphnia* in the lab with Professor Spencer Hall (center).

Teachers setting up experiments in the lab with Dr. Jake McKinlay and Dr. Crystal Love. — **Slide 4/12:** Teachers at BSI set up experiments in the lab with Associate Professor Jake McKinlay (right) and Postdoctoral Fellow Crystal Love (second from right).

BSI teacher alumna shares her experiences with the new class of BSI teachers at Biology Summer Institute at IU Department of Biology. — **Slide 5/12:** A BSI teacher alumna shares her experiences with the new class of BSI teachers.

Dr. David Kehoe demonstrating experimental procedures with cyanobacteria during the Biology Summer Institute at the IU Department of Biology. — **Slide 6/12:** Professor David Kehoe demonstrates experimental procedures with cyanobacteria.

Teachers gather outside of the Jordan Hall atrium on the IU Bloomington campus during the 2018 Biology Summer Institute. — **Slide 7/12:** Teachers at BSI (Class of 2018) pose for a group photo on the steps outside of the Biology Building atrium on the IU Bloomington Campus.

A teacher develops a research-based lesson plan for his high-school classroom using photoplankton and their responses to different wavelengths of light at the Biology Summer Institute at the IU Department of Biology. — **Slide 8/12:** A teacher at BSI develops a research-based lesson plan for his high-school classroom using photoplankton and their responses to different wavelengths of light.

Teachers having fun at the Biology Summer Institute at the IU Department of Biology. — **Slide 9/12:** Teachers at BSI work together to develop innovative lessons based on research while also having fun.

Discussion among teachers, Dr. Julia van Kessel, and graduate student Alyssa Ball during Biology Summer Institute at IU's Department of Biology. — **Slide 10/12:** Discussion among BSI teachers, Assistant Professor Julia van Kessel (second from left), and graduate student Alyssa Ball (center).

Extracting nematodes from the soil in Dr. Erik Ragsdale’s lab during the Biology Summer Institute at the IU Department of Biology. — **Slide 11/12:** Extracting nematodes from the soil in Assistant Professor Erik Ragsdale’s lab.

Teachers touring the IU Bloomington Light Microscopy Imaging Center and viewing the mitotic spindle with 3D glasses during the Biology Summer Institute. — **Slide 12/12:** Teachers tour the IU Bloomington Light Microscopy Imaging Center during BSI. Here they wear 3D glasses to view a mitotic spindle.

Virtual Biology Summer Institute

At the virtual Biology Summer Institute, you can learn about ongoing research in our labs and work with five different research labs on activities to use in your classroom.

Mentors of participating biology laboratories provide a general introduction to their research programs and host live interactive training sessions on project designs for your students. The Department of Biology helps provide the supplies necessary for you to conduct the designed activities from your home.

The Biology Summer Institute connects you and your students to ongoing research in our department, increasing students’ general understanding of biology. Simultaneously, the program provides you, as a teacher, with an opportunity to learn about the latest research in multiple biology research areas and to develop novel tools to motivate and educate your students. The program also offers you the chance to deepen your collaborations with individual IU Biology faculty, which could lead to further collaboration through National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Teachers (NSF RET) grants.

Meet the faculty

Erik Ragsdale

Evolution and development

Diplogastrellus nematode. — *Diplogastrellus* nematodes feed on dung microbes as part of a mutualism with dung beetles. Using nematode feeding structures as a model, the Ragsdale lab studies how local environments interact with genes to influence the development of functionally diverse traits. Photo courtesy of Erik Ragsdale

Julia van Kessel

Microbial cell biology and responses

‘Painting’ with bioluminescent Vibrio harveyi, the model organism for quorum sensing studies in Vibrio species: The glow from the plates spell out 'LuxR' and 'quorum sensing' and show a drawing of a Vibrio bacterium. — ‘Painting’ with bioluminescent *Vibrio harveyi*, the model organism for quorum sensing studies in Vibrio species. Quorum sensing controls expression of the bioluminescence genes in *V. harveyi*, which enables the cells to ‘glow in the dark’ when grown at high densities. Photo by van Kessel lab

Andy Zelhof

Genetics and development

Cross section of an adult Drosophila retina. The photoreceptors are in green and the rahbdomeres are in magenta. — Cross section of an adult *Drosophila* retina. The photoreceptors are in green and the rhabdomeres are in magenta. Image by Andy Zelhof

Spencer Hall

Community
ecology

An uninfected Daphnia or water flea (top right) and an infected water flea (lower left). — An uninfected water flea (top right) and an infected water flea (lower left). Researchers from the Hall lab study interactions between species and their environment. They use *Daphina* as their model species to learn how changes in the environment affect species at population and community levels. Photo by Meghan Duffy, University of Michigan

Jake McKinlay

Microbial
cell biology and metabolism

One of McKinlay's illustrations describing flagella unfurling as E. coli enter the oxygen-rich zone of a microbial mat, inhabited by algae and cyanobacteria, as purple bacteria harvest the dim light in the anoxic zone below. — An illustration by McKinlay describing flagella unfurling as *E. coli* enter the oxygen-rich zone of a microbial mat, inhabited by algae and cyanobacteria, as purple bacteria harvest the dim light in the anoxic zone below. Illustration by Jake McKinlay

The details

When: June 14-18, 2021

Where: Virtual. Live interactions with Biology faculty mentors via Zoom and Slack.

Stipend: $750

Tentative daily schedule:

9–10 a.m.	One of the faculty mentors provides teachers with an overview of his/her research
10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.	Teachers work with designated faculty mentors to discuss, prepare, and test their exercises/experiments.
12:30–1:30 p.m.	Lunch break
1:30–2:30 p.m.	Another faculty mentor provides teachers with an overview of his/her research
2:30–5 p.m.	Teachers work with designated faculty mentors to discuss, prepare, and test their exercises/experiments.

How to apply

Applications for the 2021 Virtual Biology Summer Institute closed on March 31. Please check back next year.

Questions?

Email us at bsi@indiana.edu.

Banner image (top of page): Biology teachers participating in the Biology Summer Institute pipette Daphnia in the lab with Professor Spencer Hall (center).

Virtual Biology Summer Institute

Let us help you motivate your students to learn

Virtual Biology Summer Institute

Meet the faculty

The details

How to apply

Questions?

Department of Biology social media channels

The College of Arts & Sciences