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Mathew Bottone With his mantra that "science is everywhere," Mathew Bottone challenges his middle school students to understand the underlying scientific principles of the world around them. Bottone, who has wanted to teach science since the ninth grade, uses the skills he honed while working as a professional actor to captivate his students' imagination. On the first day of school, he instructs them to put on their "virtual lab coats." From then on, he expects them to think analytically while discussing current scientific events or participating in daily mini-labs. His annual sixth grade final atmospheric activity, Message in a Bottle by Balloon, recently resulted in a young boy in Scotland discovering a bottle launched by his students that had drifted undamaged across the Atlantic for more than 250 days. Bottone's dynamic teaching style serves to inspire his students just as his own science teachers inspired him. |
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William Brew III Spend the day knee deep in a stream, go home muddy and get paid for it. That proposition led William Brew to a career in environmental science and, eventually, to the classroom. Once inside, Brew has continually looked for ways to get students outside to experience the wonders of the natural world. He believes that to demand outstanding things from his students, he must do outstanding things with his students. Brew's students connect to their community through projects like conducting local water quality assessments, planting crops and performing a deer management study at a local farm, investigating simulated crime scenes, analyzing evidence and solving the crimes, learning fly tying and fly fishing, kayaking, studying vehicle violations with the police department to find ways to increase driver safety and raising and releasing Atlantic salmon into the wild. |
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Joyce Martinelli "Science explains the wonders of life," says Joyce Martinelli, a 30-year teaching veteran. Her students are fascinated as they watch the life cycle of a classroom bean plant develop or a crayfish defend its territory right before their eyes. Martinelli uses "problem-based learning" to help students approximate what a professional would do in the real world. Third graders test turbidity, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia and pH levels to determine the water quality of the school pond and its ability to sustain life. They operate an animal museum where visitors tour a variety of habitats, view PowerPoint presentations and listen to student docents. And they plan a health fair to show first graders how to stay safe and live healthy lives. Martinelli, a National Board Certified teacher, encourages students to think and perform tasks like scientists. |
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Ann Walkup Ann Walkup brings the arts to life in her physics classroom. Her holistic approach takes students into the worlds of music, art, dance, magic, technical theater and literature to demonstrate the pervasive nature of physics in all facets of daily life. During the past three and a half years, students have examined the structure of harps, theorized why Renaissance artists mixed ground glass into their paints and looked at how different lenses create different visual effects on stage. Students quickly learn the necessity of understanding physical concepts to create, improve and appreciate the beauty of the fine arts. Walkup has worked with the Pelletron particle accelerator at Connecticut College and coauthored a manual on its operation. |
