Contact: Maridith Geuder
REI participants (l-r) Jane Stephens of Benoit, Rhonda Wilson of Gulfport, McKenzie Hendricks of Starkville, and Vera Bishop of Raymond collaborate on an MSU workshop project.
It's a teacher's most common question: "Why do I need to learn this stuff, anyway?"
During a four-week program now under way at Mississippi State, 23 teachers are getting help answering this and many other student imponderables they encounter.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, the university program has the classroom leaders on the "front lines" of shipbuilding, auto manufacturing and power generation, among other industries. They're gaining a deeper appreciation for the importance of job skills required by some of the Mississippi employers who will hire their students.
"Teachers describe this as 'the most beneficial workshop I've ever attended,'" said Faye Kinard, a chemistry and physics teacher at West Lauderdale High School.
Kinard is in her fourth year as a program leader in the MSU-led Research Experiences in Industry. During a recent program workshop, she led this year's class of educators in detailed communication exercises that included building--and accurately describing--a structure made of children's blocks.
"They learn that what we see and what we often convey are not necessarily the same," she explained.
A follow-up boat-building exercise illustrated the importance of accuracy in calculating density and buoyancy. These and other lessons are put to work on-site at industries that include Ingalls/Northrup Grumman Shipbuilding, Tennessee Valley Authority, Nissan North America, and Mississippi Lignite/Red Hills Mine.
Whether learning about water quality or production processes, "they see how science, mathematics and technology are used in a variety of industries," Kinard said. "In the process, they learn skills they can bring into their classrooms."
Coordinated by MSU's Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology, the NSF program is designed to familiarize teachers with real-life workplace needs. Center director and program founder Sandra H. Harpole said participants discover that employers value both learned skills and a willingness to continue to learn.
"In today's highly skilled workforce, there's no such thing as learning a job for life," the veteran MSU physics professor said. "Work is constantly changing, and teachers in this program learn that the ability to adapt to new workplace demands is highly valued."
She added: "Having teachers familiar with the state's workforce needs and providing skills they've seen firsthand will be a major asset to the future of economic development in our state."
Teachers and education majors taking part in REI 2004 include [by hometown]:
BENOIT--Jane Stephens, Washington School.
BLUE MOUNTAIN--Senior Adam Coleman, an MSU secondary education major.
CARRIERE--Carol Hegler, Lamar Christian School in Purvis.
CLARKSDALE--Senior Shannon Wheeler, an MSU secondary education major.
GULFPORT--Rhonda Wilson, North Gulfport Middle School.
MERIDIAN--Ernest T. Clayton, Southeast Lauderdale High School; Peggy Clayton, East Central Community College; and Julie Holloway and Rebecca Sollie, West Lauderdale High School.
NEW ALBANY--Jay Humphries, Beverly Watson and Paula Windham, all of New Albany High School.
OCEAN SPRINGS--Margaret M. Pickich, Gautier High School.
RAYMOND--Vera Bishop, Forest Hills High School.
SHUQUALAK--Senior Robert Skipper, an MSU secondary education major.
STARKVILLE--Diane Campbell, Cindi Hogue and Wanda Monroe, all of Armstrong Middle School; Joy Dill, Frances Puhr and Debbie Tolbert, all of Starkville High School; and senior McKenzie Hendricks, an MSU elementary education major.
VICKSBURG--Jesse Johnson, Warren Central High School.
For more information, telephone MSU's Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology at (662) 325-2922.