LA CENTER HIGH School science teacher Teri Newman sits at her desk, in front of detailed human body artwork that her daughter, artist Rachel Shannon of Utah, created for Newman’s classroom.
A La Center High teacher is one of nine in Washington State to receive a prestigious Partners in Science Supplemental Awards grant.
La Center High School science teacher Teri Newman recently learned that she is one of a select few to receive the $7,000 grant, which is available only to high school science teachers who have already completed a two-year research experience through the Partners in Science program.
Newman, a teacher with more than 30 years’ experience, spent her past two summers working in the Washington State University’s Vancouver-based aquatic ecology lab with Dr. Stephen Bollens, from WSU’s School of the Environment, and lab manager Julie Zimmerman.
Breaking out of the classroom and working with top-notch scientists sparked Newman’s passion for pure research.
“I had never worked in aquatic sciences before, so this was all new,” Newman says. “But working with Dr. Bollen – he’s one of the best in the field – was wonderful. He allowed me to take it slow and work at my own pace.”
Newman’s summertime research projects focused on invasive species in local waterways. She learned to identify specific organisms in Vancouver Lake and the Columbia River and hypothesized on why their was a decline in a certain, native organism from June to July. During her second summer, Newman formed an experiment to see if an invasive copepod could be eating the native diatoms and contributing to the decline in the diatom’s numbers from June to July.
“It’s very different to be able to do real research after so many years teaching,” Newman says. “During my second summer I could see being able to bring these research skills and understanding into the classroom.”
Bringing hands-on, in-the-field research to young science students is exactly what the Partners in Science supplemental grant is all about.
Newman will receive the $7,000 grant this spring and expects to purchase all of the equipment she’ll need to start hands-on research projects with her upper class Zoology and Marine Biology students next fall.
“Within the first few weeks of school (starting in the fall of 2015), the classes will walk to the La Center wetlands and make observations about this environment,” Newman says. “During the next week, students will be trained on how to use the water quality test kits and identify a few common aquatic organisms found in the Lewis River.”
Newman hopes that, by mid-September, her students will be ready to gather data about the quality of the water. The classes will travel back to their research spot on the Lewis River once a month throughout the school year to collect data.
“My plan is to have the classes maintain a class journal containing this data so it can be accessed throughout the years,” Newman says. “The students should notice a seasonal change in the populations of some organisms. This will give them the opportunity to develop questions and hypotheses using the data gathered.”
Next year’s class will provide a baseline of data for future classes, and Newman plans to incorporate this type of research-based, hands-on project into her classes for the next several years. Since the grant money pays for reusable test kits and the classes will walk to their data-collection spots, Newman can see the water quality project extending far into the future.
“This program will give students an opportunity to engage in new content, increasing their motivation and curiosity,” Newman says. “Students will develop their own questions/hypotheses and develop their own investigation. The answers to these questions might not be answered through their investigations … but, whether answered or not, the students will have a better understanding of research.”
The Partners in Science grants are funded through the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, of Vancouver. For more information, visit the Partners in Science Program website at www.sciencepartners.org or the Murdock Trust site at www.murdock-trust.org.
