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PROFILE
Lynnelle Larson,
NSF Teaching Partner
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| NSF GK-12 Project: |
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Western Washington University
Catalysts for Reform
URL: http://gk12.wwu.edu
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| Partner School: |
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Mount Baker Middle School,
Mount Vernon WA
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| Degree: |
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B.S., Cellular & Molecular Biology, University of Washington; M.Ed., Secondary Education, Western Washington University
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| Years Teaching: |
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4
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| Graduate Fellow Partner: |
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Jonathan Robinson
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Special Accomplishments
—Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Science Education Partnership,
member teacher
—Larson LL, et al. (2002) Proliferation of the endoplasmic
reticulum occurs normally in cells that lack a functional unfolded protein
response. Yeast 19(4):373-92
Interests
Spending time outdoors (hiking, biking, snowshoeing)
How will
you continue to integrate an aspect of GK-12 and your partnership
with graduate students into your teaching, philosophy, etc.?
One
aspect of GK-12 I plan to continue to integrate into my teaching
is having my students interact with scientists, whether they
are graduate students, professors, field researchers, or professionals
who use science in their career or for their hobbies. I think
it is important for students to see professional scientists
as people not that much different from themselves and to be able to begin to
envision themselves as scientists some day. The GK-12 experience has been great
this year in that my students are interacting with a scientist weekly and learning
about the different things scientists might do besides working in a lab setting.
I realize that once my fellow leaves at the end of the year, my students next
year will not have the same opportunity. One way I hope to continue having
my students interact with scientists is by bringing guests in over the course
of the year. Another way our 8 th grade team is hoping to expose more students
to science within the community is through service learning projects with various
agencies in Skagit County.
Another aspect of GK-12 that I plan on continuing
to integrate is deliberate activities that reveal students preconceptions in
science. Jonathan and I have been working this year on methods to get at student
preconceptions on science concepts we teach. This has been helpful in two ways.
First, it helps us to tailor our lessons to directly address preconceptions
or misconceptions students have in a way that helps shift their understanding.
Secondly, by having students discover their own preconceptions through pre-writes,
we can have them directly address what they thought before a unit after we
have completed it. It is extremely powerful for a student to be able to say “I
used to believe this, but know I think this because….” and be
able to provide evidence as to why they think something different. We are working
to have students re-examine their initial ideas and explain what was correct
or incorrect about their original thoughts and how their ideas on the concept
have changed.
How has the GK-12 experience changed
you, and how has your participation changed the GK-12 project?
The
GK-12 experience has helped me to refocus on why I began teaching
science to begin with. I wanted to become a science teacher
to help excite students about the natural world around them,
to conquer stereotypes around science and science careers,
to encourage students to continue on in their science education
and to promote the scientific literacy of my students. During
my first few years in the teaching profession, I felt overwhelmed
with trying to “get
through the curriculum”, and the day to day chaos that
is the reality of being a public school teacher. Being a
part of GK-12 this year has rekindled my original spark and
has encouraged me, with the help of Jonathan, to look at
our scope and sequence and begin to make some major changes
to what we teach, when we teach it and why. In the process
of restructuring the curriculum, we plan to incorporate more
opportunities for students to become engaged and invested
in to what they are learning. Being a part of GK-12 has come
at a great time in my teaching career because I have some
teaching experience under my belt (so to speak), I am familiar
with the curriculum, but am ready to make some serious changes
for the benefit of my students. GK-12 has also helped me
to ask myself “Do my students understand the science
concepts and how do I know?” This is something
that will defiantly stay with me even after Jonathan has
left.
Profile date: March 2007 |
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