Contact: Maridith Geuder
When her students trot out the tired old excuse "I'll never use it," mathematics teacher Connie Helmuth of Vancleave High School says she'll be ready with a new response.
And she'll have worn the steel-toed boots to back her up.
Thanks to a Mississippi State University summer program for middle and high school teachers, she's working in several Mississippi industries during June, testing in a real workplace the value of what she teaches in her classroom.
One of 44 science, mathematics and technology teachers enrolled in MSU's Research Experiences in Industry, she is spending one week in steel-toed boots and a hard hat at Pascagoula's Northrop Grumman Ingalls operations, learning exactly how her classroom lessons--ranging from measurement to algebra--are used in the shipbuilding process.
"I'm increasing my knowledge of real workplaces and the math and technology problems I can associate with each of the occupations we encounter," Helmuth said. "We're learning more about our responsibility for sharing industry's desired skills with their prospective employees--our students."
The four-week REI program, funded by the National Science Foundation and FastFoward Mississippi, is designed to help teachers make the connection between the industrial world and the classroom, said program coordinator Sandra H. Harpole, director of MSU's Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology.
"They develop the skills to better prepare their students for the workplace, and they learn workplace competencies and values, as well as opportunities for careers based on the subjects they teach," Harpole explained.
In short, they learn to make education relevant, said Jean Willis, workforce development coordinator at Meridian Community College and an instructor in the MSU program.
Participants who have taught from one to 25 years--as well as two pre-service teachers--are working side by side. At Northrop Grumman, they can expect to function as apprentices to learn welding, pipefitting, electrical wiring, and a host of other skills. In the process, "they also learn the value of teambuilding," Willis said.
At Tennessee Valley Authority sites in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Muscle Shoals, Ala., and at the Red Hills Mine near Ackerman, coordinators say there will be a different set of experiences.
At TVA--the nation's largest public power company--teachers will learn the importance of technology to power distribution and see the way science and technology affect economic development, Harpole said. "It's eye-opening to see that scientists and engineers can have this kind of impact," she noted.
From the industry's point of view, the collaboration is a valuable investment in its future, said Amy Tate of TVA's Starkville office.
"This is a great opportunity to share with educators what our future workforce needs will be," she said. "We hope they gain insight into our business environment and are able to provide direction for a skilled and knowledgeable workforce."
For the teachers, the summer work has an additional return: their costs are covered by the funding agencies, and they earn continuing education credits.
Editor's note: For more information about the Research Experiences in Industry, telephone Dr. Sandra H. Harpole at 662-325-3570.
A list of the 2003 participants (by hometown) follows.
AVON--Tracy Chandler, pre-algebra and algebra, Riverside High School.
BRANDON--Carey Brodbeck, algebra and geometry, Brandon High School.
CARRIERE--Debbie Morrison, science skills, biology, and anatomy and physiology; Chris Copelan, algebra and geometry, Pearl River Central School.
CLEVELAND--Carrie Bell, chemistry and skills and reasoning, Cleveland High School.
COLLINSVILLE--Wilma Smith, English and career discovery; Margaret Shaw, biology, computer, physical science, and transition to algebra, West Lauderdale High School.
FULTON--Kathy Collier, computer discovery, English, and science; Mark Hysaw, science; Heather Snow, career discovery, 8th-grade math, and pre-algebra, Dorsey Junior High School.
GRENADA--Allison Ashmore, career discovery; Ruth Carnathan, career discovery, Grenada Middle School; Melanie Harlow, biology and chemistry, Grenada High School.
GULFPORT--Donna Lee, computer discovery; Heidi Savage, computer discovery, North Gulfport Middle School.
JACKSON--Fran Burkett, physics, chemistry, astronomy, and environmental science; Richard Gilbert, technology discovery, Forest Hill High School.
LIBERTY--Cynthia Whittington, business and computer technology, Amite County Schools.
LONG BEACH--Michael Johnson, pre-algebra, Long Beach Middle School.
MERIDIAN--Virginia Braithwaite, technology discovery; Kris Sahu, physical science and biology; Donna Smith, mathematics, Katie Griffin Junior High; Robbie Caldwell, career discovery, Northeast Middle School.
MISSISSIPPI STATE--Pre-service teachers Kenneth Hardy, mathematics; and Lark Tynes, elementary education.
MOOREVILLE--Adelia Wright, physics, physical science, and botany, Mooreville High School.
NEW ALBANY--Anita Goolsby, geometry; Sandra Pannell, trigonometry, pre-calculus, probability and statistics; Glenise Weatherly, chemistry and physics, New Albany High School.
SAUCIER--Robert Spigener, science, West Wortham Middle School.
STARKVILLE--Fran Fremin, career discovery, and Ruthie Hollis, earth science, Armstrong Middle School; Brenda Jackson, anatomy and physiology, microbiology; Sean McDonnall, Web page design and telecommunications; Judith Moody, chemistry; Joshua Winter, physics, Starkville High School.
TAYLORSVILLE--Janet Cain, biology, marine and aquatic biology; Carolyn Palmer, chemistry and physics, Taylorsville High School.
TUPELO--Dee Preston, chemistry and biology, Tupelo High School.
TYLERTOWN--Elizabeth Cowart, business and computer technology, Walthall County Schools.
VANCLEAVE--Connie Helmuth, technology discovery and geometry; Kathy Hudson, chemistry and physics; Lance Joyner, technology discovery; Patricia Trotter, biology, Vancleave High School.
Also assisting with the program are team leaders Tim Caldwell of Meridian Community College, Faye Kinard of West Lauderdale High School and Peggy Webb of Choctaw Tribal Schools.