On Saturday, April 1, STEM professionals and educators from around the state came together at The University of Maine to present, discuss, and recognize the work of 200 high school student researchers at the Maine State Science Fair (MSSF). Coordinators of the MSSF, the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance (MMSA) and The Jackson Laboratory announced awards for 92 students representing 20 high schools, including $750,000 in Maine college scholarships.

“Students worked very, very hard on this for weeks, months, or maybe even a progression of a few years to make their projects stronger,” said Ruth Kermish-Allen, Executive Director of MMSA. “It takes a lot of resilience, and I for one was so inspired walking around the exhibit hall today seeing the passion, the excitement, the real joy for what students are learning about research and advancing our understanding for the betterment of society.”

“We’re continually impressed by the students’ ideas,” said Charlie Wray, Vice President for Education, The Jackson Laboratory. “The level of creativity we see in Maine high school students, which they bring to solve some very difficult problems, is truly inspiring.”

The 2023 Grand Award winners of MSSF were:

• Taking the top prize: Emma Markowitz, a homeschooled student from Trevett. Emma developed a
  biodegradable, antimicrobial wound dressing for the purpose of detecting infection and healing
  wounds. A pH indicator incorporated into the wound dressing presents a color change that can
  indicate if a wound is infected.
• Placing second were May Shin and Jiwon Choi of Fryeburg Academy. The pair studied the effects of
  arbuscular mycorrhizae and mushroom substrate on plant growth in soils that are contaminated with
  microplastics. They are continuing to study the effects of these materials on a soil’s water-holding
  capacity.
• In third place was Anh Võ of John Bapst Memorial High School. Anh’s data science with behavioral
  science to study which areas of computer science would have the greatest influence on recruiting young women to pursue careers in STEM.

These four students will travel to Dallas in May to represent Maine at the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair alongside 1,700 students from over 80 countries.

The University of Maine led the scholarship program with 12 UMaine Top Scholar awards, which provide a renewable four-year full-tuition scholarship, pairing with a research mentor, and admission to the UMaine Honors College. The University of Southern Maine awarded seven four-year full-tuition scholarships. The University of New England awarded five $5,000 scholarships, each one renewable for up to four years. St. Joseph’s College, UMaine Augusta, and the UMaine College of
Engineering each awarded additional scholarships.

The full list of awards, including scholarships, is available at the Maine State Science Fair website.

“You can learn to make our world a better place. We’re all different and no one has to fit into the same role.  I look forward to what you’ll bring to our future.”  That’s just one of the many pieces of advice Ms. Diane Fitzpatrick and other retired educators shared with grade 8 students at Caribou Community School during the retired teacher panel on March 27th.  

8th grade teachers Heather Anderson, Kim Barnes, Troy Barnes, Holly Rhinebolt, and Twyla Learnard take advantage of RSU 39’s Professional Collaboration Days to creatively plan events like this to connect students to each other and to the community.  Their innovative practices effectively engage students in the learning process. “Collaboration is at the heart of all we do and what makes teaching together so much fun. We laugh together daily, even when the days are hard.”  

Through one of these collaborations, an idea was born to bring together students and retired educators. Students would gain an up close and personal look at what schools were like in the past and retired teachers would have the opportunity to share their vast knowledge and wisdom as well as important life lessons. Learnard shared, “Though there were generations between the retired teacher panel and the student body audience, the connection was palpable. Curriculum advances,  technology evolves, and assessment practices trend, but the relationship between teachers and pupils is ageless. You can’t define it. It’s a respect, a trust that simply is.” 

The grade 8 team had previously met with Christina Kane-Gibson of the Caribou Historical Society to discuss creating podcasts to accompany the many artifacts on display at their museum. Adding student-created podcasts that share stories of retired Caribou teachers was one more way that students could immerse themselves in their town’s history and the rich stories that Caribou has to share.  Kane-Gibson and 8th grade teachers hope to have the artifacts and podcasts available for public enjoyment this summer.  

Panelists were asked questions generated by students on topics such as what inspired them to teach, changes in technology, and how gender roles have changed.  “When I was in high school, there wasn’t much of a choice for young women at that time.  You were either a nurse, a secretary, you got married or you were a teacher,” shared Margaret Cyr when asked why she chose to be a teacher.  Mrs. Cyr went on to talk about how, because she had played piano since the age of 5, it made sense that she become a music teacher.  

Kim Barnes orchestrated a photo opportunity that demonstrated the 4 generations of teachers present.  Barnes stated, “Mr Hunter was Mr. Willey’s teacher, Mr. Willey was my teacher and Lyndsey is my student who wants to be a teacher one day. So the idea that we can pass the torch is important because teaching is a wonderful profession. Teachers are amazing people and schools do so much more than educate in the classroom.” 

Lyndsey Ouellette shared what this experience has demonstrated for her, “Definitely to stick to it.  To always be prepared.  Know your kids and don’t just teach them, be a good influence for them.” Baylee Wright, another 8th-grade student, saw the importance of building relationships with students in what panelists shared, “Getting to know who you teach is just as important as what you teach.” 

Students will begin compiling their notes from the panelist discussions and will begin writing scripts during the week of April 3rd.  They hope to have podcasts recorded before April break and are very excited to practice their own storytelling by sharing these stories with the community.

4 generations of teachers

Twenty-one teams filled the Ocean Gateway in Portland as the Maine State KidWind Challenge returned following a three-year hiatus. “KidWind is a hands-on design celebration that engages students through the lens of wind and solar energy. Student teams design, construct and test small scale wind turbines and solar structures at events all over the world.” The national competition, which ballooned in size in 2009, has engaged over 40,000 students across 33 states. For this event, teams from five different Maine public schools brought turbines and presentations that they have been working on for weeks. They presented their materials to a panel of judges, and  their turbines were put to the test in a wind tunnel to see how much power they generate. The results are projected up for competitors to watch as an energy sensor measures the voltage and current output of the turbines.

Retired Portland teacher Gus Goodwin successfully rallied many of the teachers who had participated in the past. The event is one that Goodwin has been championing for years, feeling that it helps students confront climate change with possible solutions. “We’re talking about climate change, but it left the students with a sense of agency… a sense that they can do something,” he told Newscenter Maine. As with many in-person events around the state, the Maine State KidWind Challenge was not quite back to its 2019 participation levels. Winslow Junior High School teacher Ginny Brackett recounted March of 2020 to her current group of four teams when she left her classroom with partially completed turbines. Her students, who were then elementary students, were grateful for the opportunity.

The day opened with a Q&A with Taylor Ward from UMaine’s Advanced Structures & Composite Center and Steve Nolet, Senior Director of Innovation & Technology for TPI Composites, who manufacture wind blades. The students were also presented a keynote from Tagwongo Obomsawin, who shared her own journey from rural life in Western Maine to her current position as the Clean Energy Partnership Program Manager in the Governor’s Energy Office.

The top-ranking teams, “W Group” from Mt. Ararat Middle School and “West End Whales” from Portland and Casco Bay High School, will be invited to compete at the national KidWind event in May at the University of Colorado. The “NCL Wind Turbines” from Massabesic Middle School were the runners-up and “MTA 1” from Mt. Ararat won the Spirit Award.

Prior to the event, Mt. Ararat Middle School STEM teacher Sandy Bickford appeared on MLTI’s Teaching with Tech podcast episode and she highlighted the KidWind Challenge as her favorite project to work on with students. “It’s a lot of work, it’s a lot of steps, it’s a lot of teaching, but… it’s relevant.”

The KidWind Challenge highlights many of the best qualities of STEAM learning. The teams of students who gathered at the Ocean Gateway exemplified the type of engagement in a project and resilience in problem-solving that many educators strive to introduce into their classrooms.

This article was contributed by Matt Bernstein, a ninth grade Humanities and Social Studies teacher at Casco Bay High School in Portland and Maine’s 2023 Teach of the Year.

“The key to productive and equitable teaching is consistent patience and understanding, which creates a welcoming environment that encourages a growth mindset that carries on outside of the classroom.” I wish I could write that those wise words are mine, but they are, rather, the teaching philosophy statement of Sophia Chouinard, a junior at Casco Bay High School (CBHS) who spent the first week of January, along with 17 of her peers, learning about becoming a teacher in the Casco Teaches intensive.

The school I teach at, Casco Bay High School, is part of the EL Education national network. EL Education is a national nonprofit that partners with K-12 districts and schools across the country to offer resources and professional development in the work to create equitable schools of opportunity for all students. One EL practice is intensives. At Casco Bay High School, every January and April, we pause our classes to engage in intensives. Intensives, which happen at a number of different schools in the EL Education national network, are one week, elective courses that ask students to engage in in-depth study, all day, for five days. Intensives offer students an opportunity to learn deeply about a compelling and important topic that may not otherwise appear in the curriculum. Intensives are designed and co-run by teachers. Since students select their intensive, the courses are open to anyone in 9th through 12th grade and offer a unique opportunity for students to work across grade levels. Intensives, as you might guess from the name, are intense for both teachers and students, but through this intensity come some of the most impactful and joyous learning experiences of the entire school year.

This January, I had the great opportunity to co-lead, alongside our inspiring principal, Derek Pierce, a new intensive called Casco Teaches, which sought to introduce students to the world of teaching and to the concept of teaching as a future profession. We began our week asking students to reflect on the inspirational educators that have taught them and memorable lessons they have experienced throughout their education. Using these stories to guide us, the cohort began answering two of our guiding questions: What makes a great educator? And, what makes a great lesson? Students identified a host of qualities that impact them positively, ranging from educators that they can tell really care about their students and are passionate about their subject matter to the importance of making learning joyous and creative. Students then paired their personal reflections with a variety of texts – in article and video format – about core practices that support high quality teaching and learning and that create supportive and transformational school communities.

After a day of “Education 101”, our students took to the field, observing in local classrooms. In total, we had 18 students, in 10 different schools, volunteering, learning, and helping out across the district. Students were participating in classes with students from pre-K to high school. We were tremendously fortunate to have wonderful teachers who opened their classrooms to our students and gave their time to share wisdom about teaching. 

After two days in the field, our students returned to CBHS ready to put their learning into action. We introduced students to lesson planning and reflected on all the ways that we, as educators, can support student engagement and learning. After this, it was time for students to dive in and start planning their own lessons. Each student wrote a lesson plan on a topic of their choice for a 50-85 minute block. Then, students selected a 20 minute chunk of their lesson to teach to their peers on our final day. The range of topics covered was astounding. One student led a lesson about kindness and empathy while another introduced the anatomy of hammerhead sharks. One lesson led us through an analysis of the poetry of Mary Oliver, another showed how to change a tire, and a third pushed us to discuss how we can reduce bias in education. The lessons not only showed how much the students had learned in a brief period of time, but also opened up a beautiful window into their personal passions and interests.

All in all, the Casco Teaches intensive was a tremendous experience and we were thrilled to learn that it made many students consider teaching in the future. Indeed, 75% of students in the intensive reported that the experience made them more interested in being an educator some day. Jo Ellis, a sophomore, captured this when she said, “The intensive definitely showed me how rewarding a job in education can be and made me really want to pursue that.” Students wrapped the week by sharing their teaching philosophy statements with the rest of the school community. Lucinda Viola, a junior, wrote, “The key to great teaching is creating a safe space for students to make mistakes, build relationships, and better themselves while feeling safe, seen and understood.” As can be seen, there is a lot we can learn about great teaching from our students and, after spending a week with the future generation of teaching, I am filled with hope.

View more about what the week of Casco Teaches looks like here.