A teacher ‘takes one’ for the kids

Some teachers are willing to go all the way for their students. That’s what James Wenman of the Holy Trinity Catholic School in Des Moines, Iowa, did when he spent a good part of the summer at Iowa State University.

Here is what James had to say at the end of his RET project: “This program has allowed me to see into the world of science through the eyes of a researcher. Research is a dynamic field, evolving constantly. It involves encountering errors, repeating activities, and undergoing continuous learning processes.”

James came into our Research Experience for Teachers program to expand his knowledge in different scientific areas to “bring cool things back to my classroom.” We think he nailed it with his project, “Adapting growing practices of North American maize production to improve environmental affects.” You can learn more about James’ research project, “at https://lnkd.in/gshd7KGK

Inspiring a Math Teacher

Amy Jurasek is a math teacher at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa, who participated in our 2024 Research Experience for Teachers program.

As a teacher, Amy is inspired to develop lessons integrating environmental themes into mathematical problem-solving activities. She wants her students to understand the relevance of algebra and geometry to solving real-world problems.

Here is what she had to say at the end of the summer: “As teachers, we are used to being well prepared before class starts. In the field, it is impossible to have an exact plan as the weather changes, research is modified, and people are not always predictable. Our leader was phenomenal in keeping the projects going, touching base with people multiple times throughout the day, and adapting on the fly to the various situations that arose.

There are times in the classroom when I need to better adapt to what is going on with students and realize the importance of small pick-me-ups when engagement is waning. In the field, being given a doable task quickly put me at ease. These are all things that I already know would provide a better classroom environment, but the work in the field really reinforced the concepts.”

You can learn more about Amy’s project at https://www.regenpgc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Amy-Jurasek-poster-2024.pdf.