President’ Message-Josh Tharaldson As we begin 2019, we look forward to new and exciting challenges and opportunities that await us both personally and professionally! Additionally, with every new year we look back to reflect on the happenings of the previous year. Most recently, the 8th annual Minnesota Conference on Science Education in November was a great success - engaging breakout sessions, motivational speakers and networking with colleagues from around the state were all highlights! As the new MnSTA President, one of the first tasks was to attend the National Congress on Science Education in Little Rock, Arkansas in July. “Speaking out for Science Education” was the theme of the congress with encouragement from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) to use our teacher voices to advocate for our profession. Now, more than ever we need you to speak out and advocate for quality science education. In November, MnSTA members all around the state attended regional meetings to learn about and provide feedback to the first draft of the 2019 academic standards in science, which will include all of the necessary components of well-rounded education in science. A special thank you to our regional board members for hosting these sessions and thank you to MnSTA members who attended these meetings. There are tentative plans for additional opportunities around the state to comment and provide feedback once the second draft of the standards are released in February. Another major highlight for MnSTA came in April when the board approved the MnSTA Position Statement on Teaching of Global Climate Change Science. The document outlines the science of climate change, ideas how to teach climate change and many other great resources. I would encourage you to read it if you have not yet done so. Thank you to the members of the advocacy committee for this important work producing our latest position statement. With our new strategic plan as a roadmap, we look to continue moving our organization forward. The four main goals for MnSTA are: Goal 1: Strengthen science teaching and learning in Minnesota
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Teacher Feature Goal 2: Strengthen Leadership in Science Education in Minnesota Goal 3: Promote equity, inclusion and accessibility in science education Goal 4: Enhance MnSTA as a Professional Science Education Organization We ask that you help MnSTA continue to grow by asking your fellow teachers to join, so they too can benefit from all that is offered by our association. Most MnSTA members have one important thing in common - we love our profession! Thank you for all the wonderful work you do.
Teacher Feature
Our featured teacher for this issue of the MnSTA newsletter is Lee Filipek. Lee has been teaching in the Eagan, Apple Valley, Rosemount school district for the past 25 years. For the past 22 years he has been teaching 5th grade at Southview Elementary. Lee enjoys teaching life science. It is his personal favorite and he enjoys sharing the information and experiences with his students. Some of his favorite activities are taking his students outdoors doing science. There are three lakes within walking distance of his school which also includes a wooded area. He incorporates a water quality unit where students take water samples, temperature, and collect macro and microorganisms. He also uses an annual fishing trip to extend the learning in their life science unit. The wooded area provides his students experiences in data collection and sampling. The use of field guides provides the opportunity to identify trees and observe different ecosystems. He feels it is very important to connect his classroom learning with the outside world. Lee claims to be an easy-going teacher. He likes to give students the space to explore the topics but also their own interests. He tends to spend less time talking, giving the students more time to work while he is answering questions and providing individual help. He also likes to give projects his students work on over time. Lee states, “Teaching them to manage their time and work together are valuable skills as they head into middle school.” Lee believes in providing opportunities for students to learn. He believes he needs to provide the structure, but students should be able to learn and make sense of the learning on their own. He thinks because he teaches fifth grade, the year prior to middle school, he needs to give his students many opportunities to build independence and self-responsibility.
MnSTA Newsletter
