MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION OF BIOLOGY TEACHERS
(AN NABT AFFILIATE)
AN EXAMPLE OF “MAKING THE CONNECTION”
by Paul King and Brian Dempsey, Massachusetts Association of Biology Teachers (MABT)
In 1994 Harold “Sandy” Wiper, former biology teacher and “mover-and-shaker” in his profession, gathered a group of biology teachers “to promote the professional growth and development of biology teachers in Massachusetts to enhance their effectiveness in the classroom and community.” And so it was that the MABT was born.
Following its inception the MABT became incorporated in 2001. Years earlier Agnes Hayes (to whom the MABT is indebted for her persistence in moving the organization ahead during its early years) had planted the seeds for this move, but it was only through the generosity and considerable effort of Attorney Bruce McElvenny that incorporation became a reality. This was followed by 501(C)(3) Public Charity status, IRS tax exemption, and relief from having to pay state sales tax. Now the MABT has a strong base from which to “reach out and touch” biology teachers within the state and beyond.
In 1998 MABT joined with National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) in co-sponsoring “The New Biology of the Brain: Learning About Learning,” a conference in celebration of Brain Awareness Week that featured such notables as Barry Kosofsky (Harvard Medical School), David Urion (Harvard University Learning Center and Children’s Hospital in Boston), Lorraine Flaherty (New York Department of Public Health), and Michael Gazzaniga (Director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Dartmouth College).
Today, the MABT organizes a major annual conference in the spring of each year at Framingham State College with the generous support of Margaret Carroll. Topics of current interest, in research, academics, and practical classroom applications are offered through workshops and discussion panels. Our spring 2008 topic was on infectious disease that included keynote speakers in epidemiology and microbiology. Workshops on emerging infectious diseases, antibiotic resistance, and the mysterious cause of honeybee collapse, to name but a few offerings, were presented. MABT’s Conference held in the Spring of 2009 focused on Evo-Devo (Evolutionary Developmental Biology) with an exciting lineup of speakers and workshops.
In the winter of 2007/2008 the MABT also organized two mini conferences on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam, a statewide test that all Massachusetts public school students must pass in order to graduate. In addition, in the Fall of 2007 and 2008 the MABT was involved in the presentation of a daylong Biotechnology Workshop at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams.
In the Spring of 2009 the MABT joined with MIT’s Science of the Eye Program to present “Science of the Eye: Bringing Vision into the Classroom,” a series of regional workshops designed with high school biology teachers in mind but open to teachers at all levels. The first workshop, “Eye Development and Anatomy,” took place on October 8, 2009 at UMass-Amherst.
For many years the MABT published a “paper” newsletter containing many articles of interest to biology teachers, with Mark Stephansky as its creator and first Editor. Today members receive biology news of interest through the bimonthly MABT Alert, an electronic newsletter listing conferences and other ongoing professional development opportunities for teachers, as well as opportunities of interest to students.
The MABT is proud to be associated with the NABT, and to have the privilege of Making the Connection with and among biology teachers in Massachusetts and also throughout the vast reaches of NABT’s influence. The MABT joins all the Affiliates in recognizing Marion “Bunny” Jaskot, President of the Biology Teachers Association of New Jersey, and NABT Affiliates Coordinator, for her extraordinary efforts in organizing the Affiliates Receptions, sponsored by Richard and Donna Allan and their company, Biozone http://www.biozone.co.nz/index.html, at the NABT Convention each year, and for being an unending dynamo in her quest to unite the Affiliates of NABT across the nation and beyond. As of 2010 Marion will move into another role – President of NABT. Congratulations Marion.
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