Teacher grants help update classroom technology
This year, four Peninsula teachers won Chuck Miller Grants, which are awarded to Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District teachers through the Peninsula Education Foundation (PEF) and fund for teachers to explore new and unique ways to learn. Former Rancho Vista Elementary School principal Chuck Miller and his wife, Betsy Miller, help provide the funding. Any teacher who is part of the district can apply for a grant to receive up to $1,500. The Peninsula teachers who received grants were officially honored by the PEF on Nov. 17.
Biology and chemistry teacher Robert Snodgrass received the Chuck Miller Grant for “Incorporating Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) with Microscopy.” Snodgrass decided to apply for the grant when he noticed that many students had trouble understanding what they were looking at with their microscopes during labs. He proposed to use new cameras to allow the students and teachers to view the images from the microscope clearly. The cameras attach to the LabQuests, which allow students to make graphs and data tables and run experiment trials during labs.
“Now, I can see, and [the students] can see, what [we are] looking at more easily,” Snodgrass said. “They can also take photos of the image or save it on a [flash drive].”
Snodgrass believes that the new cameras will make labs more efficient. He hopes that students will further understand their labs and be open to new interactive ways of learning.
“The benefit is that I do not have to adjust anything to see what [the students] are seeing,” Snodgrass said. “It is all on one clear screen.”
The Chuck Miller Grant for “Circular Motion Lab Equipment for Physics Program” was awarded to physics teacher Mike Spalding. The grant allows Spalding to purchase three additional Centripetal Force Apparatuses, each costing approximately $500. The devices measure the forces exerted on an object as it is in circular motion. Although Peninsula already owns six apparatuses, Spalding believes that purchasing three more will greatly benefit the students and improve their ability to learn.
“Having more of the Centripetal Force Apparatuses will allow for smaller groups, so the kids will get the hands-on experience of doing the lab,” Spalding said. “The more the kids are able to touch the equipment, the more they learn [and understand] circular motion. It makes an abstract idea a lot more tangible.”
The apparatuses can connect to a Photogate, which determines the velocity of a passing object, as well as a force sensor, which measures the centripetal force exerted on a mass as it moves in a circle. Students can also measure an object’s angular velocity with the devices. The measurements help them see the connection between centripetal force and angular velocity. Spalding is excited to receive additional equipment and hopes to continue using more in the future.
Biology teacher Judy Adams-Smith also received a Chuck Miller Grant for “(Science + Math) x Inquiry = Success.”
“The idea behind the grant is to give students more opportunities to use math to solve problems in science,” Adams-Smith said.
She believes that incorporating more math into science labs will help students see the connection between the two subjects, rather than viewing them as separate ones. There are currently six biology labs planned that will incorporate the new math techniques. For example, during a lab on heart rate, students will calculate distances on an echocardiogram and solve other problems. In another lab on genetics, students will use math to calculate probability.
“We have a lot of labs that involve having to figure out numbers and having to come up with your own data, and then coming up with solutions based on [the data],” Adams-Smith said.
Adams-Smith and the other Chuck Miller Grant recipients hope to make learning experiences more unique for students and would like to continue creating entertaining ways for students to learn.
“[The funding from Chuck Miller Grants] benefits students by allowing them to have a hands-on experience to help them learn [the material],” Spalding said.
