Awards Recognize "Innovations in Science Teaching"

  • 10/01/95
The Ohaus Corp. and the National Science Teachers Association recently announced the recipients of the Gustav Ohaus Awards for Innovations in Science Teaching.At the elementary level, the winners were: "Integrating Environmental Education in a SNAP!" - A teacher and students planned, designed and built a nature area outside their school building. Contact: Jim Olson, South Elementary School, Princeton, MN, (612) 389-6905. "Take-Home Science Kit" - Staff created a take-home science kit, complete with magnets, measuring apparatuses, rocks and minerals, microscope, calculators and more. Contact: Beverly Ellen Kingery, Van Elementary School, Van, WV, (304) 245-8811. At the middle-school level: "Chemistry and Physics (CAP) Corps" - Teacher guided 11 ninth-grade students as they conducted hands-on science activities with sixth graders from area elementary schools. Contact: Denise E. McCarthy, Ben Franklin Junior High, Fargo, ND, (701) 241-4731. "Animal Studies: A Team Approach" - Seventh-grade students worked in groups to closely examine live indigenous species of invertebrates and vertebrates without harming the animals. Contact: Sandra Jordan, Glen Meadow Middle School, Vernon, NJ, (201) 764-1700. At the high-school level: "Physics, Material Science and the Environment" - Students worked in "research and development" teams to design an environmentally safe composite material to be used as a consumer product. Contact: Arlene V. Cain, Sam Houston High School, Lake Charles, LA, (318) 855-3528. "Summer Science Research: High-Level Skills for Inner-City Students" - School developed a summer science research program that is held at Brooklyn College and the State University of New York's (SUNY) Brooklyn Health Science Center. Contact: Stanley Shapiro, Midwood High School, Brooklyn, NY, (718) 859-9200. And at the college level: "Playful Teaching; A Simple Teaching Strategy that Really Works" - Teacher uses music and hands-on activities to teach geology. Contact: Raymond Beisersdorfer, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH, (216) 742-1753. "Statewide Convention Tours Program" - Conventions promote and provide professional development and networking opportunities for science teachers in rural areas. Contact: John Sode, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, (701) 231-7103. For more details on any of the above projects, contact the winners directly. For more information on the 1996 Gustav Ohaus Awards, call NSTA's Lori Dean at (703) 243-7100.

Featured

  • a cloud, an AI chip, and a padlock interconnected by circuit-like lines

    CrowdStrike Report: Attackers Increasingly Targeting Cloud, AI Systems

    According to the 2025 Threat Hunting Report from CrowdStrike, adversaries are not just using AI to supercharge attacks — they are actively targeting the AI systems organizations deploy in production. Combined with a surge in cloud exploitation, this shift marks a significant change in the threat landscape for enterprises.

  • student reading a book with a brain, a protective hand, a computer monitor showing education icons, gears, and leaves

    4 Steps to Responsible AI Implementation in Education

    Researchers at the University of Kansas Center for Innovation, Design & Digital Learning (CIDDL) have published a new framework for the responsible implementation of artificial intelligence at all levels of education, from preschool through higher education.

  • figures sitting around a round table, discussing over an open book, papers, and glasses

    Alliance for Learning Innovation, Digital Promise Form National Education R&D Advisory Committee

    The Alliance for Learning Innovation (ALI) and Digital Promise are bringing together a coalition of education leaders to help develop a national education research and development agenda and foster innovation in schools and districts across the country.

  • red brick school building with a large yellow "AI" sign above its main entrance

    New National Academy for AI Instruction to Provide Free AI Training for Educators

    In an effort to "transform how artificial intelligence is taught and integrated into classrooms across the United States," the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), in partnership with Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, and the United Federation of Teachers, is launching the National Academy for AI Instruction, a $23 million initiative that will provide access to free AI training and curriculum for all AFT members, beginning with K-12 educators.