Science got interesting because scientists are teaching real-world classes to students
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Shaunna Garner’s 16th grade 8th grade science education began as usual. One week of laboratory safety training before students conduct experiments and exercises.
But this year, Garner has other tricks up his sleeve. A researcher studying infectious diseases at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute will share their research and discuss it with her class at her Tex Hill Middle School in the Northeast Independent School District.
“Science is very hands-on, and it can be very difficult to motivate and involve children,” says Garner. “So whenever I can bring in something real that can excite them, I try to do it.”
She is one of the few educators working to give teachers throughout San Antonio the opportunity to team with local researchers and give more than 9,500 students the opportunity to think about careers in science.
Ethan Doan measures the volume of a plug in Shauna Garner’s 8th grade science class at Tex Hill Middle School. Garner (not pictured), at the Texas Institute of Biomedical Sciences, is helping create new programs to connect local middle and high school science teachers with researchers and use their research as a teaching tool.
Jessica Phelps“I think the scariest question teachers get is, ‘When are you going to use this, sir?'” National Institutes of Health.
“This was the perfect time to submit a grant that would help merge these two worlds, the educational community, especially secondary education, with what Texas BioMed is doing,” said Riggs. “But it also helps inform teachers about the research being done and connects that research to the classroom. It also helps teachers connect career opportunities to students.”
Riggs is an education and outreach specialist at Texas Biomed, previously through UT Health San Antonio, with the goal of creating a stronger pipeline for local students to enter science. I have been working on it for many years.
This summer, she started a grant project with Garner and three other teachers from local schools. They tackle infectious disease research in lectures and have real researchers share their processes and findings with students and answer questions.
Riley Vrains and her lab partner, Alexandra Curtis, measure table height during Shauna Garner’s 8th grade science class at Tex Hill Middle School. Garner (not pictured), at the Texas Institute of Biomedical Sciences, is helping create new programs to connect local middle and high school science teachers with researchers and use their research as a teaching tool.
Jessica PhelpsThis first cohort of four teachers will develop the curriculum, test it in the next grade, and collect data to help train the next cohort in the summer of 2023. As a result, it can affect thousands of students over the life of the grant.
“As educators, we tend to focus on what we teach, but we need to make connections with the world of research and show how it can enrich our lives,” said Riggs. rice field.
Participating teachers receive a $4,000 stipend for the four-week summer professional development portion of the program and up to $1,000 per semester for continued involvement throughout the academic year .
Beatriz Guajardo, director of Early College High School and educational coach at Brooks Collegiate Academy, is one of the first four teachers to help design this year’s program. After teaching science for 17 years, she said one of her main questions in deciding which study to choose was, “What is it that our schools are called upon to teach? Is it consistent with?” she said.
“The great thing about this is that we were all experienced teachers, so we found that consistency and said, ‘Hey, this isn’t just for biology (useful), we’re using it in another 8th grade classroom.’ , those standards,” said Guajardo.
This program is intended to help students determine their career path and reach just before they begin taking career-focused classes.
Mia Gottlieb uses a scale to measure the mass of 10 milliliters of water in Shauna Garner’s 8th grade science class at Tex Hill Middle School. Garner (not pictured), at the Texas Institute of Biomedical Sciences, is helping create new programs to connect local middle and high school science teachers with researchers and use their research as a teaching tool.
Jessica Phelps“[Students]don’t understand that they can do it. They think it’s too incredible,” says Garner. “So it’s very important to bring it into the classroom and show it at the middle school level, where their interest is starting to peak.”
High school in downtown South Africa already has college students
Making science part of students’ possible career choices can be particularly important for people with cultural and economic backgrounds that tend to limit their exposure to science, or for people with special needs There is a Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD.
“It brings in a really special collective,” said Berry, who has been teaching science for 19 years and was also one of the grant’s original cohorts. You’re getting students, you’re engaging them, you’re engaging them…and those students are the most excited students.”
danya.perez@express-news.net | @DanyaPH
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