Published On: October 4th, 2018By Leticia Fehling

3 Aldine ISD Educators Attended the Society for Science & the Public’s Research Teachers Conference

Two hundred STEM teachers convened in Washington, D.C. to talk about leading students through research, building community support and recruiting underserved students.

Aldine ISD STEM teachers Sean Doyle, Remelia Arpino and Daniel Krall (left to right) pose in Washington, D.C. On the first day of the Research Teachers Conference, the teachers took to Capitol Hill to visit their members of Congress to talk about STEM education.

Science research educators from across the U.S. recently gathered in Washington, D.C., for the Society for Science & the Public’s Research Teachers Conference. Of the nearly 20 that attended from Texas, three hailed from Aldine ISD.

Nineteen teachers represented Texas. The three educators from AISD were Sean Doyle from MacArthur High School, Remelia Arpino from Eisenhower HS, and Daniel Krall from Nimitz HS.

The teachers discussed key science education issues, including how to lead students through scientific research, how to gain support from elected officials and best practices for recruiting underserved students. The conference, sponsored by Regeneron, includes teachers from 43 states and Puerto Rico.

Kumar Garg, Society fellow and a former official within the Obama Administration’s Office of Science and Technology Policy keynoted the conference. Garg shared his experiences with those gathered. He focused on the importance of teachers sharing their experience with their elected officials and community leaders.

Other topics included finding funding and resources for their research program, identifying local mentors, handling projects beyond their content knowledge, incorporating scientific research into class time, leading research with limited resources and supporting student research in rural areas. Teachers also had an opportunity to learn about the Society’s world-class science competitions, including the Regeneron Science Talent Search, which is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science competition.

Teachers, selected via lottery to attend the all-expense-paid weekend, came from 200 schools. During the conference, the Society drew upon the expertise of the teachers in attendance, calling on them to lead most of the breakout sessions. Through this model, the teachers were able to learn from one another.

“The young people sitting in science classrooms today will someday be solving our world’s largest challenges,” said Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of the Society for Science & the Public and publisher of Science News. “I’m thrilled that through the Research Teachers Conference, the Society is providing educators with the tools they need to guide their students through scientific research and help foster a love of science.

“It is critical that we provide their teachers with the tools they need to ensure that these students have quality STEM research experiences.”

Of the teachers in attendance, one third are veterans with significant experience teaching research. One third are teachers with some experience teaching research and one third have no experience but are interested in teaching science research. The list of teachers who attended the 2018 Research Teachers Conference is available at the Society’s webpage (click).