Jeanne Hetherington
With very little money, Jeanne Hetherington has created study units on bubbles, chromatography, environmental studies and structure design, all of which were beyond the normal science program expectations for Alberta elementary schools. These units produced student results well above district norms on achievement tests.
Jeanne's other innovations include a mentor program that involves professionals from organizations ranging from the University of Alberta and its hospitals to the Alberta provincial museum. She has also encouraged girls to become achievers in science and mathematics, working with the Alberta Association for Women in Science. Jeanne leads many in-service sessions for her fellow teachers throughout Alberta and was co-chair of the Alberta Teachers' Association Science Council Conference in 1993. She also worked with the Alberta Ministry of Education on the new provincial science curriculum, which is being implemented this year.
Approach to teaching
"I can't think of a better job than teaching."
My approach to teaching science is two-fold. First, it is based on integrating science with the other things we do in school — such as teaching mysteries and riddles in English at the same time as we are looking at fingerprints, chromatography and footprints in forensic science.
Second, it's based on recognizing that science is in everything we do — it's part of life. To encourage students to see this, you have to have an open atmosphere in the classroom; students must be able to ask their questions. All students bring something important to class. You can see their energy when they want to know something; they get excited.
Transferable experience
Successful teaching units make effective use of resources at hand.
Bubbles, for example, can be studied anywhere. Creating bubbles is simple - anyone with access to dish soap and water can do it — but the mathematics, language learning and science skills related to the study of bubbles are endless.
At York School, I developed a bubble program that can be used with students in all grades. I begin with an in-service session for fellow teachers in which I show them how to involve students in experiment design. I explain technology, graphing, and geometric and scientific principles, including Bernoulli's principles of flight.
All students take part in experiments to design, develop and test bubble blowers. They produce a wide variety of designs using all sorts of materials and mechanisms to create the air current needed to make the bubbles. Some past examples featured mechanical "wind machines"; others worked because they were held over heating ducts. Groups of students apply Bernoulli's aerodynamic principles to send bubbles through an obstacle course. Older students apply formulae to calculate the volume of a sphere.
I also designed a unit that uses a material that is too widely available — garbage. York School's Environmental Studies program was launched when the City of Edmonton adopted a blue-box recycling program in 1990-91. Students in grades 2, 3 and 4 test the biodegradability of materials, chart the results and use their experiments to make recommendations for waste reduction. The school has acted on some of these recommendations.
Each study unit should also include "muck-around time" when students can devise their own questions and tests. I am available to provide support if they ask but I do not intrude on their efforts. For example, when students learned how to test for Vitamin C, they brought their own samples to be tested because they wanted to know whether there really are vitamins in "vitamin-enriched" breakfast cereal, or whether there is a difference between taking vitamins in hot or cold water. Students can experience both success and failure by developing their ability to solve problems.
Success and failure have also been an important part of my experience as a science teacher. I do not have a science background, but I have learned to overcome this by trying new things.