For Immediate Release
Contact: Diane LaFollette
500 President Clinton Avenue, Suite 150
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 396-7050, ext. 119
dlafollette@amod.org
Teachers Explore New Ways To Bring Hands-On Science Fun To Local Students
Arkansas Discovery Network, funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, sends eight teachers to world-renowned Teacher Institute
Little Rock, AR (August 24, 2006) – The Secret Science Ingredient was fruit. By the time the Iron Science Teacher competition was over, eight select teachers from Arkansas had witnessed some unconventional, yet effective ways to use fruit to teach science. During the competition, oranges became conductors for electricity, berries were used to tie-dye T-shirts, and a lemon cake was baked in a glass cup using electrified spoons.
The Arkansas Discovery Network, funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, chose eight Arkansas educators to participate in the renowned, four-week Teacher Institute at the Exploratorium museum this summer. Iron Science competitions were just one of the wild, sometimes wacky, but always-interesting experiments, competitions and lessons that the teachers experienced during the training they received in San Francisco.
The eight teachers selected for the Institute were James Arce, Cutter Morning Star High School in Hot Springs; Renay Autrey-Treat, West Fork Middle School in Fayetteville; Tami Davis, Rogers High School in Rogers; Allan Wade Geery, Norfork Elementary School in Norfork Schools; Gail Hayes, Bentonville High School in Rogers; Lynn Kelsh, Pinkston Middle School in Mountain Home; Connie Tenberge, Huntsville Middle School in Huntsville; and Lisa Tice, St. Joseph Catholic School in Fayetteville.
“The Institute was invaluable,” said Lynn Kelsh, who has been teaching science to 6th graders at Pinkston Middle School for 12 years, “The professors were constantly challenging me to think more, learn more, and express what I'd learned in other ways. This is an experience that is worth a summer's month away from home. It is an on-going experience that will permeate my teaching for the rest of my career.”
Besides being interviewed on television and quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, the participating teachers experienced a rich mix of hands-on activities to invigorate their classroom lessons. They have come back to Arkansas with new ways to make science more involving for students, using activities and materials that cost very little – certainly a boon to any school budget. In all, the teachers spent a total of 110 hours over the four weeks immersed in inquiry learning techniques.
A science teacher at Huntsville Middle School for 17 years, Connie Tenberge is looking forward to sharing what she has learned with her students and fellow teachers. “The Institute was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career as an educator. We learned so many new ideas for teaching hands-on science, while having fun ourselves. My students are going to love doing these activities and hopefully love science because of them. I can't wait to share these ideas with the other teachers at my school.”
Teacher outreach programs such as this are just one aspect of the Arkansas Discovery Network’s mission. The first program of its kind in the nation, the Arkansas Discovery Network will tour innovative teaching exhibits among seven local member museums, making a hands-on, interactive museum experience more accessible to all the state’s 498,000 school children and their families.
About the Arkansas Discovery Network
The Arkansas Discovery Network, funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, works to strengthen partner museums by sharing resources and expanding discovery learning opportunities throughout the state. Member museums include the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, Mid-America Science Museum in Hot Springs, Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas in Pine Bluff, Texarkana Museum System in Texarkana, Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources in Smackover, Arkansas State University Museum in Jonesboro and the University of Arkansas Center for Mathematics and Science Education in Fayetteville. Visit the website at www.arkansasdiscoverynetwork.org.
About the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation
The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, headquartered in Las Vegas, is a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. The Foundation is one of the 50 largest private foundations in the United States.
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