Four From State Win Presidential Teaching Awards
Four Wisconsin teachers received Presidential Awards for Excellence in
Science and Mathematics Teaching in recognition of their dedication to
nurturing student interest and learning. The winners are:
Robert Anibas
Anibas uses the Weyauwega-Fremont nature center as a “backyard”
to help students learn about plants and to support their research on the
Earth’s biomes, which are major climate areas.
Students in Anibas’ Weyauwega-Fremont Middle School science classes
use their research, along with writing and technology, to create a “Biomes
Video.” They also are constructing “Biosphere 3,” an inflatable,
plastic bubble that simulates the world’s climates.
Sharing the project with parents and community has become a highlight
of the school year. Anibas said he believes “learning can be fun,”
and it “should be connected to the real world.”
Mark Wagler
Wagler emphasizes science inquiry in his 5th-grade classroom at Randall
Elementary School in Madison. He teaches his students to “do”
science in his “I Wonder” classroom through student’s natural
curiosity. Wagler’s young scientists ask questions, develop a hypothesis,
conduct experiments, make observations, collect data, and report what
they’ve learned.
Wagler was the founder of the “I Wonder: Journal for Elementary
School Scientists” in 1993 and is instrumental in the Heron Network
for Madison-area teachers committed to integrating the curriculum with
a focus on equity, inquiry, the local community, and networking.
Karen Falkner
“Math is Everywhere” for the first three weeks of class in
Karen Falkner’s 1st and 2nd grade classroom at Lapham Elementary
School in Madison. Falkner uses the unit to help students discover that
math is in stories, art, music, and science both at home and in school.
Through “Math is Everywhere,” Falkner’s students become
better problem solvers and more flexible in their choice of problem-solving
strategies. “I’m always amazed at how much mathematics children
already know when they come to school,” she said.
Rosann Hollinger
Hands-on, child-centered learning that integrates other subjects into
the mathematics curriculum helps Rosann Hollinger’s 8th-grade students
get a grounding in all mathematics topics as well as preparing them for
algebra the following year.
Students in Hollinger’s class at Milwaukee’s Fritsche Middle
School generate their own data; construct tables, plots and graphs; create
equations; write descriptions and predictions with justification and explanations;
and give oral presentations.
Hollinger describes her teaching approach as “filled with non-routine
problems, open-ended tasks, questioning, and writing.” She believes
kids must build their own understanding of mathematics, which is the type
of environment that engages all of her students.
Posted June 2, 1997