HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - HudsonAlpha hosted a teacher's workshop Wednesday, specifically for those who want to keep up to date with the latest scientific findings that you can't find in a textbook.
Vice President of Educational Outreach at HudsonAlpha, Neil Lamb, said the Genetic Resources to Empower Alabama Teachers (GREAT) Workshop is bringing the mission of HudsonAlpha into the classroom.
"The goal is to give life science teachers new content about the field of genetics," said Lamb. "The field changes so quickly...this is a chance to give them updates things that are probably too new for their textbooks and put new content into their hands they can take back and share with their classroom."
For many teachers, this is a day of not only professional development, but a chance to network with others in their shoes.
Jennifer Hutchinson is a biology content specialist with the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative. She works with many of the teachers who attended the workshop.
"All of the teachers that I work with want to be here," said Hutchinson. "It's not a sell that I have to do...sure I forward the emails that I get from my friends here at HudsonAlpha."
But after that, the responses come in quickly and the feedback does too.
"They're going to be better at delivering and facilitating instruction and as a result students are going to benefit from that," said Hutchinson. "So it's a win, win situation."