Training

Training

ABE Ireland supports science teachers by providing training workshops that supply educators with the skills and confidence to transform the science classroom experience for students. The ABE Ireland programme is tailored to the Irish syllabus, and a certificate of attendance will be given which may be used for Croke Park hours. There is no charge for teachers to attend training workshops or to borrow the equipment and reagents needed to carry out the experiments. ABE Ireland staff provide support to teachers during the loan period.

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What is done during the workshops?

  • Presentation of the ABE curriculum.
  • Presentation of the equipment.
  • Presentation of the resources (LabXchange).
  • Learn how to use the LabXchange platform.
  • Learn how to implement the ABE programme in their school.
  • Learn how to teach biotechnology concepts.
  • Learn how to use the equipment.
  • Learn how to prepare and use reagents.
  • Hear from a veteran ABE teacher on implementing the labs in the classroom.
  • Guest speaker on their career in research.

What is covered in the workshops?

Labs 1-4 for New Teachers

The workshops will cover ABE labs 1–4 covering micropipetting, gel electrophoresis, DNA digestion and ligation. There will also be sessions with a veteran ABE teacher on implementing the labs in school, and a guest speaker on their career in research. After the workshop attendees will be able to book loans of all the equipment and samples needed to run ABE Ireland practical labs in their school. 

These training workshops are for teachers new to the ABE Ireland programme, or who haven't implemented ABE labs in a number of years and are run in September in UCD, Drumcondra Education Centre, Monaghan Education Centre, and Laois Education Centre.

 

Lab 5: PCR for Returning Teachers

This workshop is for returning ABE teachers who have carried out ABE labs in the classroom at least once already. It covers all things PCR, giving two options to carry out in the classroom (i) the PTC Taste lab where students get to extract DNA from their own cheek cells and run a PCR on them and (ii) the Covid-19 Waste Water PCR lab which is based on research that is carried out in UCD to track the Covid-19 levels in Ireland.

 

Lab 6: Introduction to Genomics and Bioinformatics for returning teachers & their students

This workshop will introduce this cutting edge area of research and describe some of its uses. The lab contains lots of hands-on activities including a food detective scenario which uses the online BLAST database to uncover how many different animals' DNA was in a supermarket sausage.

This workshop contains a peer learning element. On the advice of the teachers who helped design and pilot ABE Ireland Lab 6 we invite teachers to bring two or three students with them to the training workshop. These students can then help co-deliver Lab 6 in school by helping their peers navigate the websites and online databases used in bioinformatics activities.


This workshop is usually run online in October.

To see what teacher training workshops are currently available, click here.