Lake Research/Teaching Center helps strengthen K-12 science education
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin continues to advance science learning for K-12 students and their teachers with a unique “outdoor classroom” at its Reelfoot Lake Research and Teaching Center at Samburg. The center also serves faculty and students from UT Martin and other area colleges and universities. The site and project are managed by the UT Martin College of Engineering and Natural Sciences and the Department of Biological Sciences.
Utilizing $400,000 from the U. S. Department of Education Grant awarded in 2005, UT Martin employed a part-time K-12 coordinator for the center, Kathleen Rugel, a teacher at Craigmont High School in Memphis. Additionally, the funding has provided classroom, field and lab equipment and technologies to enhance Reelfoot-based science workshops for K-12 teachers. The workshops focus on biological science content knowledge, proper use of field equipment and lab techniques and how to translate these skills and knowledge into hands-on science activities in the teachers’ classrooms.
This year’s workshop K-12 Reelfoot-specific lesson plans, which are aligned with national and state standards, will be added to the collection of lesson plans developed in prior workshops and offered to all teachers via a Web site (under development) that is also supported from the U.S. Department of Education grant. A full-time K-12 coordinator and center manager will be hired this fall, and he or she will support teachers who bring students to Reelfoot Lake for an “outdoor classroom field trip.”
“The 2006 Teacher Corps Workshop was successful because of the professional dedication of a group of outstanding and motivated K-12 teachers from across the state,” said Dr. David Sammons, chair of the UT Martin Department of Biological Sciences and director of the research and teaching center.
The goal of the workshop was met with UT Martin faculty members, Drs. Tom Blanchard and Dawn Wilkins, providing college-level instruction and experienced K-12 Teacher Corps leaders, Kim Castleman, Dennis Gibson, Rita Lander, Mary Margaret Ulderich and Tom Young, working with first-time workshop participants to develop Reelfoot Lake-specific lesson plans that are age appropriate for K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 classrooms.
“The university and the biology department are pleased to have a U.S. Department of Education Grant, provided via a direct federal appropriation, to provide resources needed to foster these workshop relationships with K -12 teachers. Further, acknowledgement is made for the continuing educational support contributed by David Haggard and his staff of the Reelfoot Lake State Park and to Randy Cook and his staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We look forward to continuing these great relationships for the educational benefit of the region’s students,” said Dr. Doug Sterrett, dean of the UT Martin College of Engineering and Natural Sciences.
“Tennessee K-12 teachers looking for a local application of science principles for their students need look no farther than northwest Tennessee. Reelfoot Lake, a haven for hundreds of species of birds, mammals, aquatic plants and organisms, offers a variety of opportunities for regional teachers and students in a beautiful learning environment,” said Rugel. “UT Martin has made this resource even more accessible through its ongoing K-12 outreach program. Teachers wanting to know more about this ecosystem and how it can serve their students are encouraged to visit the research and teaching center. It provides a fully equipped lab and housing accommodations close to the lake."
The workshop takes place each year at the center. Corps teachers are introduced to a variety of sites around the lake where they are encouraged to return with student groups. The 2006 workshop focused on a variety of environmental concepts such as forest ecology, plant and animal identification and water quality assessment. Teachers gained confidence in collection techniques involving center laboratory and field equipment which they may use when they return with their students.
“At the center, teachers are not only trained and provided resources through these programs, but become part of the training itself, by writing Reelfoot-specific curricula and becoming leaders in subsequent teacher workshops.”
“I had such a great experience at Reelfoot, probably the No. 1 workshop of my career in terms of inspiration, networking and all-around high quality information,” said Memphis area teacher, Elona Charbonnet. Charbonnet and Robert Rogers of Craigmont Middle School, Nancy Gronostaj and Lynda Lacrouts of St. Anne Elementary School, Mary McNelis of St. Agnes Academy, Rita Lander of Colonial Middle School; Cindy Black, Tennessee Solid Waste Education Project facilitator, and Rugel, K-12 coordinator of the Reelfoot Program, were among teachers at the 2006 workshop.
“The continued growth of the research and teaching center is important to the faculty and students in the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences,” said Sterrett. “It provides an outstanding resource that continues to support our K-12 outreach efforts, the research of our faculty and students and the economic development of the region. I would like to recognize Dr. Sammons for his leadership role with the center and all of the faculty and K-12 teachers.”
Anyone who is interested in the participating in future workshops, or would like more information on the Reelfoot Lake Teacher Corps program, contact Sammons at 731-881-7194 or dsammons@utm.edu.
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