To aid Secondary School teaches in their efforts to prepare for the full implementation of the K + 12 educational system in the Philippines, a hands-on seminar-workshop on biotechniques was hosted by the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science last April 2, 2016 and the Microbiology Laboratory (Room 320), UST Main Building. The event, titled "Gearing Up for K-12: A Hands-on Training on Microscopy Techniques for High School Teachers", was attended by 25 secondary school teachers from Metro Manila and from the provinces of Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga and Rizal.
The teacher-participants listened to lectures delivered by Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Thomas Edison dela Cruz, a faculty member at the Department of Biological Sciences and a Metrobank Outstanding Teacher (2015) awardee, who shared innovative strategies in teaching biology and microbiology; Assoc. Prof. Mary Ann Santos, PhD, Chair of the department, who delivered a lecture on the diversity of microorganisms and applications; and Asst. Prof. Jaycee Augusto Paguirigan, PhD, faculty member of another department, who lectured on the recent trends, approaches and challenges in biology research.
The teacher-participants also learned how to stain bacteria and fungi and how to prepare tissues from mushrooms, lichens, plants and animals for microscopic observations. The workshops were facilitated by several faculty members of the department: Prof. Gina Dedeles, PhD, Asst. Prof. Ma. Sheila de Jesus, Asst. Prof. Ma. Victoria Pangilinan, Asst. Prof. Rimando and Ms. Marilyn Nur-Aisa Abdulmajid together with graduate students of the Fungal Biodiversity and Systematics Research group of the UST Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences. This success of the training was ensured with the financial support provided by the MetroBank Foundation, Inc.
