Request for Proposals – Transforming Education in Plant Biology 2020

View the full RFP and apply by October 31, 2019.  In the United States, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other stakeholders have called for transformation in undergraduate biology education via the Vision and Change report.  The core message of the Vision and Change initiative is a … Read more

New Teaching Tool “Computational Image Processing in Microscopy”

We’re excited to announce the publication of The Plant Cell’s latest Teaching Tool, “Computational Image Processing in Microscopy,” by Adrienne Roeder, available without subscription at Plantae.org (and in the October issue of The Plant Cell). The age of big data includes sophisticated imaging datasets. Computational image processing is essential for extracting quantitative information from these … Read more

What VRPlants was up to this Summer

It’s been a busy and productive summer for our VRPlants team. Plant Biology 2019 Our team had the pleasure of exhibiting within the ASPB Education booth and presenting two talks at the ASPB Plant Biology 2019 conference in San Jose, California. Colin Keenan gave two talks. The first,“Can These Glasses Help to Cure Plant Blindness?,” was given as part of the education session. And … Read more

Join the PlantingScience Master Plant Science Team

The PlantingScience Master Plant Science Team provides compensation for a cohort of 12 graduate students and postdocs who make a substantial contribution as an online scientist mentor. Master Plant Science Team Members receive • Free membership to ASPB for the year commitment • 50% off annual meeting registration • PlantingScience T-shirt Team involvement requirements • … Read more

Plant BLOOME 2019 Winners Announced

ASPB established the Plant Biology Learning Objectives, Outreach Materials, & Education (Plant BLOOME) grant program with the goal to enhance public awareness and understanding of the essential roles of plants in all areas of life (http://bloome.aspb.org). Congratulations to the 2019 ASPB Plant BLOOME grant recipients! Bringing Plants to Life Through Theatre Arts PI: Carol Goodwillie, … Read more

Announcing the 2019 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF)

The ASPB Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) program funds promising undergraduate students so they can conduct research in plant biology during the early part of their college careers over the course of 10 consecutive weeks. This year’s SURF recipients will present their research at Plant Biology 2020. Congratulations to these 2019 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows … Read more

Join the 2019-2020 Planting Science Master Plant Science Team!

ASPB invites members to join the 2019-2020 PlantingScience Master Plant Science Team. PlantingScience is a free online resource to teachers and schools. The program provides volunteer scientists, resources, and activities to support innovation in teaching, learning, and mentoring. PlantingScience is a learning community where scientists provide online mentorship to student teams as they design and think through … Read more

ASPB Education & Outreach at NSTA 2019

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) held their 2019 annual conference at the America’s Center Convention Complex in St. Louis, MO from April 11th – 14th.  This year marked the 75th anniversary of the NSTA, and more than 8600 conference attendees and 1700 exhibitors helped NSTA celebrate this milestone at the annual conference.  Astronaut Scott … Read more

Apply for the 2019 CourseSource Writing Studio Workshop

Editorial board members for the journal CourseSource are hosting a Writing Studio workshop starting with dinner on Wednesday, July 24th- lunch on Friday, July 26th in Minneapolis, MN, just ahead of the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) meeting.  Faculty, graduate students, and postdocs who are interested in attending and getting advice for preparing … Read more

VR Plants is excited to see you at the ASPB Southern Section

Our VR Plants team hosted a Virtual Reality Interest Group meeting at North Carolina State University for the larger Research Triangle community. Over 50 local VR community members saw demonstrations from NC State students, including an early preview of the first VRPlants experience. Colin Keenan gave a presentation on the work VRPlants is doing, AKA we told a room of 50 tech geeks and VR enthusiasts about … Read more

Request for Proposals: ASPB Plant Biology Learning Objectives, Outreach Materials & Education (BLOOME)Grant

Plant BLOOME 2019 is open to ASPB members with education and outreach projects that advance youth, student, and general public knowledge and appreciation of plant biology. These projects should strive to promote and explain varying facets of the: Importance of plants for the sustainable production of medicine, food, fibers, and fuels; Critical role plants play in … Read more

Undergradutes: Apply for ASPB’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships

The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) fund promising undergraduate students so they can conduct research in plant biology during the early part of their college careers. SURF recipients must present their research at ASPB’s annual Plant Biology meeting in the year following the fellowship award. Eligibility – Application is open … Read more

New Teaching Tool: “Molecular Control of Plant Shoot Architecture”

We’re excited to announce the publication of The Plant Cell’s latest Teaching Tool, “Molecular Control of Plant Shoot Architecture,” by Agustin Zsögön and Lázaro E. P. Peres, available without subscription at Plantae.org. Manipulation of plant form and height has been instrumental in the domestication and improvement of crops. The balance between growth of vegetative (stems, … Read more

Basics of Virtual Reality for Science Education

Greetings from Raleigh, North Carolina where the VRPlants team at North Carolina State University is returning from the holiday by de-briefing and reflecting on a major event from last month, the “Basics of Virtual Reality for Science Education” workshop on December 15th. We had 47 attendants, ranging from primary educators to museum curators, librarians, and university … Read more

Launching Nature’s Timekeepers – Citizen Science from the bottom up

BLOOME Award Update: We had a wonderful last couple of months trying to get our project up and running. We have made some exciting connections with local community leaders and citizen scientists. We are going to talk about our project at the Minnesota Phenology Network Annual Meeting this weekend. Right now we have a simple website and … Read more

Come visit us in VR!

We’ve been hard at work down here in North Carolina, laying the groundwork for our BLOOME project, “Widely Accessible Virtual Reality Exhibits and Workshops for Plant Biology Education.” We’re on the doorstep of our first public release, a ‘teaser trailer’ of sorts. This is a virtual reality experience that will launch directly in your web browser … Read more

Transforming Education in Plant Biology (TEPB)- Request for Proposals

In the United States, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other stakeholders have called for transformation in undergraduate biology education via the Vision and Change report.  The core message of the Vision and Change initiative is a focus on student-centered learning with students as active participants.  Some … Read more

Plant scientists call for renewed focus on empowerment of trainees

Preparing graduate students and postdocs for diverse careers Changes in the workforce are challenging academia to prepare scientists to be adaptable and adept at communicating across boundaries. To meet these demands, the Plant Science Research Network (PSRN, plantae.org/PSRN) is shifting the focus to enable trainees to take ownership of their training experiences. “Since President Lincoln … Read more

ASPB Education Booth at Plant Biology 2018

At Plant Biology 2018, the ASPB Education and Outreach booth featured a variety of resources for visitors with multiple booth guests sharing helpful teaching tools and outreach activities. Long time education committee member Scott Woody made it across the Canadian border with his FPsc (fast plants, self-compatible) and genetic resources to share with conference attendees. … Read more

Education and Outreach at Plant Biology 2018

The education concurrent symposium at Plant Biology 2018 attracted a wide array of scientists committed to the importance of educating the public and students about topics in plant biology. Each speaker presented a creative way to generate knowledge and excitement about scientific discovery either to students in the classroom or to the public via various … Read more