$125,000.00 in annual grants benefit “Excellence in Science and Technology” program at Pusch Ridge and Cornerstone Academies. Aspiring scientists and former PRCA students confirm value of school science program
As Pusch Ridge Christian Academy high school students filed into their Anatomy & Physiology class the first day back after Christmas break, drab expressions transformed into wide-eyed smiles as students took in the transformation of their classroom. Teacher Lisa Wood’s video camera recorded the students’ reactions to their new classroom, a renovation that drew numerous exclamations of “Wow!” “Oh my gosh!” and, “This is so much better!” from excited students. In her first year of teaching at Pusch Ridge after twenty years of teaching at another private Tucson school, Mrs. Woods stated “I’ve been pleasantly surprised by not feeling limited in any way by lack of equipment or supplies.”
Science and technology continues to attract substantial support at Pusch Ridge and Cornerstone Christian Academies. In 2011, Pusch Ridge principal Dennis O’Reilly announced that a few generous benefactors had funded grants for upgrades to PRCA middle school and high school science programs and for the provision of classroom Smart Boards for sister elementary school Cornerstone Christian Academy. Donations provided a capital outlay of nearly $125,000.00 that will afford continuing education opportunities for middle and high school science teachers, exciting new lab equipment, and a new Mac Book Learning Lab.
An enthusiastic advocate of classical learning, Principal O’Reilly discounts the idea that science is important only for those students contemplating careers in science and engineering. “The problem-solving, thinking and communication skills of science are key to the classical, college prep approach to education and its progression of memorization, analysis and the exploration of ideas,” explained O’Reilly. At Pusch Ridge and Cornerstone, “teaching to the test” is not a practice. Students gain critical thinking skills and initiative by getting hands on in science and other subjects, not just reading about them.”
No stranger to the advantages of hands-on learning, Science Department head and AP Chemistry and Physics teacher Elaine Mackenzie has found a winning formula for aiding student comprehension and retention of advanced science skills: be a facilitator and let students learn for themselves by “modeling.” “Teaching the principles of velocity and acceleration the old way by looking at a piece of paper and studying the distance between graph points was really not too exciting” explains Mackenzie, “Now we drop bowling balls off the roof of the football stadium and we have battery powered cars and we build roller coasters and hot wheels track, and shoot things from projectile launchers and we film these and measure the acceleration and the velocity of the cars and other objects. It’s a lot more fun!”
The modeling theory aligns with the inquiry-based, student-centered science learning that PRCA has always advocated explained Mackenzie; instead of lecture first, followed by labs and homework, modeling does the opposite. “Now we do the lab first and students are encouraged to think about what they’ve done and seen and come to their own conclusions before I lecture and assign homework. It is the essence of the classical model, and if you do it right (modeling) the students explain everything; I’m just there to guide them toward the variety of equipment we have. I can tell my students are learning when they explain why they did something and what it means”.
Since last year, science and technology grants have funded six new high speed cameras, more accurate short- range projectile launchers, two additional track systems, and a rotational system for the Physics Department and a continuing ed Chemistry Modeling Course, two ultra violet spectrometers, lap top computers, additional water baths and a gas chromatograph with chemicals for the Chemistry Department. A former Pima and UofA Chemistry professor, Science department head Elaine Mackenzie assures that Pusch Ridge’s Biology, Chemistry and Physics lab rooms are on par with many college and university labs.
The Biology Department has benefitted from new compound and dissecting scopes for middle school students, “The kids cheered when they heard they would each have their own scopes to use,” reported middle school teacher Julie Myers, noting that her students this year “had learned microscopy better than any previous year.” High school Biology teacher Beth Karasz has seen learning stimulated through new biology kits, “The Biofuel Extraction lab kit we used in Honor Biology while I was teaching on enzymes really led to some animated class discussions about the concepts of alternative energy sources.” Funding for the Biology Department also provided for the purchase of male and female human torsos, a human fetal development set, a human muscle set, dissection supplies, electronic balances, and kits for DNA extraction, minerals, and forensic fingerprinting.
Although modeling methodology for Biology is yet in its infancy, Mackenzie confirmed that Biology Teachers Julie Myers and Nancy Gifford and Anatomy & Physiology teacher Lisa Wood are all committed to hands-on methods of teaching Science and all strive to keep their teaching as far away from lecturing every day to greater focus on experimentation and student discovery. “We are all enthusiastic about what we do,” said Mackenzie, noting that “Every science teacher here is a masters- level scientist with expertise in our field, not just in teaching and we all meet the highly qualified requirement of the Arizona Department of Education.”
Funding also continues to provide on-going teacher training, with registration and lodging provided for the Phoenix National Science Teachers Association convention in December 2012. An organization committed to promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching, Elaine Mackenzie enthused “the only problem with NSTA is trying to choose from all the incredible seminars they offer!” Other teacher training includes SMART Notebook certification training and Modeling Seminars, which Biology teacher Julie Myers believes have made her lectures far more effective and student friendly.
Pusch Ridge graduates who go on to study college at the university level confirm the efficacy of PRCA science teachers methods. Three of her former AP Chemistry students and 2008 PRCA graduates, Lauren Cooney, Melissa Gifford, and Lauren Seekatz, recently paid their high school teacher and mentor a visit during their winter break from college. In their fourth year of undergraduate school, all three aspiring scientists affirmed that their high school lab work had prepared them well for university science classes and internship work. Lauren Cooney, a Hillsdale College senior related how she had initially found science “scary” until she took Honors Chemistry, while Melissa Gifford, a University of Arizona major in chemical engineering, felt that her first two years of college science classes to be easier than her challenging high school ones.
Joining Miss Gifford in a field comprised of only 17% women as of 2009, Laura Seekatz, a senior the University of Arizona, claimed “If Mrs. Mackenzie had not taught me Chemistry, I wouldn’t be a chemical engineer. She presented it in a way that made it easy and fun to grasp.” For her summer internship work for chemical and consumer product giant Henkel, Miss Seekatz developed a system of testing home care products now known as the “Seekatz Method.” When she graduates in May, Miss Seekatz already has a job awaiting her with Trinity Consultants, an environmental consulting company with international offices that specializes in industrial air quality issues. Both Lauren Cooney and Melissa Gifford aspire to work for Ventana Medical Systems before going on to graduate studies.
Hillsdale College senior and former PRCA class valedictorian Lauren Cooney relates that, in college, she is more challenged to defend her double major than her Christian faith. Miss Cooney says that the Science majors wonder why she bothers with an English major, while the English majors question her choice of a Science major. She dispels both biases in defense of the classic scholar, “The humanities focus especially on the interior man which is something we’re really focused on as Christians. But if that’s all we focused on and you don’t ever look the natural sciences, you’re missing a whole part of God.” Lamenting that “people have stripped God out of the sciences,” she suggested that those who will only accept that which they can see and measure, “miss out on the miracles in life.”
As education headlines disparage the stagnant U.S. science education and its effect on the nation’s economic leadership, PRCA educators and administrators remain committed to providing students with a high quality science education. Principal Dennis O’Reilly assures, “Our small class sizes, well equipped lab rooms, experienced teachers, and our commitment to continually invest in ongoing teacher training ensures that students like Laura, Melissa and Lauren will continue to be inspired to become scientists and engineers.”
