WSST Conference 2020 Canceled! The COVID-19 has created an unusual and life-threatening situation. The Executive Committee of the WSST Board unanimously decided to cancel our 2020 WSST conference because of the myriad cancellations and policies implemented for individuals regarding travel restrictions. All these restrictions are based upon sound recommendations from the Governor’s office, the CDC, and the WHO. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm recommended Thursday (March 12, 2020) to cancel any events of more than 250 people to help contain the spread of the virus. We will commence with refunding registration and associated conference fees in a short while. This will take time as I have never done something of this magnitude before. Please be patient. Thank you for understanding.
Engage students in inquiry-based activities using physical models to construct phospholipids and cell membranes, explore transport proteins and model active and passive transport. Workshop participants will use a variety of instructional materials that engage students in a progression of three-dimensional learning activities centered on the composition of cell membranes and transport across them. Exploration of the polar nature of water using magnetic water molecule models sets the stage for students to ask questions about the ramifications of moving substances across a largely hydrophobic membrane. The unique structure of a variety of phospholipids and the functional implications will be investigated using models of five different types of phospholipids. Participants will be shown how they can guide their students through a series of activities leading to a conceptual understanding of a micelle, liposome and ultimately the phospholipid bilayer of cell membranes. Using additional physical models, participants will simulate the passive transport of water though an aquaporin channel and glucose through a carrier protein. 3D-printed models of aquaporin will be utilized to elaborate passive transport process of water through these channels. The molecular mechanism of the sodium potassium pump will be explained through a modeling activity of the active transport of sodium and potassium ions across the cell membrane.
