Noble Foundation Starts Science Teacher Education Program

ARDMORE, Okla. — Founded by OMRF in 1993, OSP's goal is to provide secondary school science teachers with a meaningful research experience. The program gives preference to teachers from rural areas of Oklahoma who do not have as many benefits and resources as urban or suburban schools. The OMRF-OSP program focuses on genes, mutations and heredity. Although research-centered, OSP does not seek to turn teachers into scientists, but into better teachers of science.

Noble-OSP extends these principles into a plant-related field of study, hosting four secondary school teachers for six weeks during the summer. Each teacher, a "graduate" of the OMRF-OSP program, continues his or her research experience with a complementary program focused on plant-related biology, genetics and biotechnology.

In Noble-OSP, the summer begins with initial "gateway" experiments that permit teachers to understand and then undertake a complex gene discovery research project that leverages expertise and research programs underway at Noble.

"I did not design the curriculum to 'teach,' because the teachers already know the subject matter," said Dr. Robert Gonzales, science director for Noble-OSP. "I wanted them to experience science. As such, we have lab demonstrations in genetics so they can actually see and do something they teach from a science textbook. But the greatest impact is for them to actually participate in a real scientific research project. This first group of teachers started the preliminary work that will ultimately result in the cloning and description of a currently unknown 'gene.'"

Teachers in the inaugural class of Noble-OSP are:

Calvin Aldrich: zoology, botany, human anatomy and physiology and AP environmental science teacher at Byng High School — Aldrich has been teaching for eight years and is a 2003 OMRF-OSP participant. He said he came to Noble-OSP because he likes to learn and do science, but, most importantly, because he hopes he'll be able to show his students opportunities so their interest and vision will increase, making them more comfortable outside of Byng.

Dominie Dew: physical and environmental science teacher at Lawton High School — After attending OMRF-OSP in 2002, Dew was offered a position with the program. For the past year, she has been working to develop OMRF-OSP biology curriculum; she'll return to the classroom in August. Dew believes that when teachers experience science in a true research setting, they are better able to relay that experience to their students.

Janet Clemons: biology I, chemistry, physics, AP biology and Italian teacher at Smithville High School — Clemons has been teaching since 1984. She began participating in OMRF-OSP in 1999, returning in 2000 and 2003. She thinks students must understand the role of technology in science, and through this experience at the Noble Foundation, she will have a better understanding of evolving technologies, which is essential to passing that knowledge on to her students.

Susan Hofstetter: biology and physiology teacher at Booker T. Washington High School (Tulsa) — Hofstetter, a teacher for 12 years, participated in the OMRF telescience program in 2000 and is a return teacher for OMRF-OSP in 2004. She was intrigued by Noble-OSP because the research would be in plant genetics and the idea of using plants in her classroom was a draw. Hofstetter says it is wonderful to gain experience in different areas because she feels much more knowledgeable and well rounded in the content she is teaching in the classroom.

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The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is a non-profit organization conducting agricultural, forage improvement, and plant biology research; providing grants to numerous non-profit charitable, educational and health organizations; and assisting farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative agricultural programs.

To learn more, visit the Noble Foundation Web site at http://www.noble.org.

More news releases available at www.noble.org/Press_Release