OMRF has selected five state public school science teachers as 2009 Foundation Scholars.
The teachers will spend four weeks in an OMRF laboratory under the guidance of a senior-level scientist learning lab techniques and developing classic, yet inexpensive, experiments to take back to their classrooms.
OMRF selected the scholars, all of whom teach at the secondary level, from a statewide pool of applicants. The scholars will receive a $2,000 stipend as well as $1,000 in lab and classroom supplies. Since the program started in 1988, almost 100 Oklahoma teachers have completed the program.
At OMRF, the teachers will participate in a course titled, “Learning from Bugs: Using microbes as a platform for studying biology.” The group will study how growth and genetics are influenced by dietary and environmental changes using the bacteria E. coli as a model organism.
“Science teachers often feel isolated in the classroom, particularly in rural areas,” said OMRF researcher Tim Mather, Ph.D., science coordinator for the program. “As Foundation Scholars, they learn together, work together and share ideas for enriching their classroom teaching methods.”
Teachers selected as 2009 OMRF Foundation Scholars are:
| Deanna Abbott, Pryor, Adair High School Tara Barker, Guthrie, Guthrie Junior High School Gayla Hatfield, Okemah, Okemah Middle School Cora James, Haskell, Haskell High School Amy Wilkerson, Wister, Cameron Junior High and High Schools |
For more information about the Foundation Scholar program, visit www.omrf.org/foundationscholars.
