Contact: Robbie Ward
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Having taught science for 22 years at Hawkins Middle School in Scott County, Burnette Hamil is living proof of the impact creative and passionate science teachers can have on students.
During decades at the Forest Separate School District school, Hamil showed classes how common kitchen ingredients could be used to make a lava lamp. Subtlety, she also was demonstrating that science can be fun.
"Even with a drop of water, you can do so many interesting activities," said Hamil, who now holds a doctoral degree and teaches at Mississippi State.
An associate professor in the university's department of curriculum, instruction and special education, she long ago found that teaching with passion and creativity can convince many students that the mysteries of science are interesting--and, more importantly, have a clear relevance to the world around them.
With a five-year, $1.24 million grant recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Post-Secondary Education, Hamil and an interdisciplinary team of five other MSU faculty members are putting those observations into practice with future teachers. Their dual goals: 1) help develop more junior and senior high school science teachers who can use creative approaches, and 2) assist two nearby school districts to enhance their science programs.
Titled "Creative Research-Based Science Teachers for a Competitive Tomorrow," the grant was among the first five of its kind awarded nationally in 2008. At MSU, the effort will blend promising secondary education majors into the world of faculty research projects.
Other team members include professor Svein Saebo and assistant research professor Debbie Beard of the chemistry department; assistant professor David Chevalier of biological sciences; assistant professor Renee M. Clary of geosciences; and associate professor Jim Dunn of physics and astronomy.
Simultaneously, the MSU faculty-student group will assist the Noxubee County and Starkville public school districts in enhancing science classroom experiences.
Judy Couey, superintendent of the Starkville district and a former science teacher, said the partnership with MSU will help more students discover the wonders of science and, likely, the desire to complete further study in college.
"I'm excited about this opportunity to develop teachers' skills in tapping into our students' natural curiosity about science," Couey said.
"By having future teachers exposed to the wonders of science, they can bring that same sense of excitement into the classroom," Hamil said. "We believe this effort will help instill creative approaches."
Chevalier, whose biological sciences research focuses on understanding molecular signal regulation in plants, said MSU students working in his laboratory will learn how to establish protocols for experiments that can be completed in high school settings.
"Then, future high school students can conduct their own experiments by working through established scientific methods," he added.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For addition information on the grant, contact Dr. Hamil at 662-325-7109 or bhamil@colled.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.