This award recognizes two teachers who have used BRIT professional development and demonstrated successful and innovative science teaching with $1000 and $500 in honoraria, respectively, and they will also receive a plaque and an invitation to be our special guests at BRIT’s annual Award of Excellence in Conservation dinner the following spring.All applicants and former award recipients are invited to a celebration of science teachers at BRIT on May 12th. The 2008 applicants will have the opportunity to showcase their students’ work, and the 2008 Wendy Owsley Garrett Science Teacher Award winners will be announced.
It’s time to apply for BRIT’s 2008 Wendy Owsley Garrett Science Teacher Award. We know how diligently and creatively you’ve been working to make science meaningful and exciting for your students. You are eligible if you are a certified teacher and participated in at least one 3-hour or 6-hour BRIT workshop in the past two years and used the activities in your classroom. Applications are due on April 4, 2008.
An evening of celebration at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas honored teachers for their commitment to excellence in science teaching. The annual tradition, begun by former trustee Wendy Owsley Garrett, recognizes achievement and celebrates student success through the work of teachers who have participated in BRIT professional development.
Joe Ferrara, BRIT's 2001 teacher awardee and current director of science for Fort Worth ISD spoke to the gathering of former awardees, school administrators, retired science teacher volunteers, and this year's applicants during an elegant dinner served in their honor. The 2006 Wendy Owsley Garrett Science Teacher Award was presented to two outstanding educators in local school districts.
Donnette Durham is the Science Lead Teacher and 5th grade science teacher at Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center in Fort Worth ISD. In addition to attending BRIT workshops and REAL Schools Initiative events, Donnette participated in BRIT's Environmental Science Youth Mentoring Program last summer and several Botany 101 classes.
“Until this past summer when I participated in the Environmental Science Youth Mentoring Program, I did not have as great a passion for science and teaching science as I now possess. This program ignited me. My involvement with the summer mentoring program allowed me to grow immensely in my understanding of myself as a scientist and as a science teacher. Each day in the field broadened my scope of understanding - my role as a teacher was redefined. It was a learning experience on multiple levels. I learned how much I don’t know. I learned that I can’t wait to be taught. I’ve got to go out and attack learning – independently gain knowledge in order to be a better teacher. I learned that I can’t learn everything I would like to know in a short period of time…but I know how to find out what I want to know. It is important that students know that we (teachers) don’t know everything, that we are all lifelong learners, and WE LIKE LEARNING!!! The environmental mentorship program helped me see teaching science as an opportunity to teach students to see the world around them rather than just live in it, to recognize their role as citizens of a living planet, to appreciate the environment as a real entity that they can truly impact and effect."
- Donnette Durham
Donnette received a $1,000 honorarium and will be honored at the spring Award of Excellence in Conservation gala in the spring of 2008.
Nancy Burleson is a 1st grade teacher at Watauga Elementary in Birdville ISD. Nancy has been teaching science for 20 years. She came to BRIT looking for new approaches to teaching and learning Science.
“Even though I have been teaching First Grade for eight years, I am always looking for ways to make learning authentic and meaningful for students. My goal in teaching has been to guide children in reaching their highest level of development; to instill in the children pride; the ability to feel good about themselves; and to enjoy and embrace learning. The greatest reward in teaching is seeing children actively involved and excited during classroom instruction and during interactions with others.” Nancy reports that her excitement and “thinking like a scientist” after BRIT workshops spreads to her students, who then share their learning at home with their parents.
-Nancy Burleson
Nancy received a $500 honorarium and will be honored at the spring Award of Excellence in Conservation gala in the spring of 2008.
The entire BRIT staff and Board of Trustees extend their highest regard to educators like Donnette and Nancy for their outstanding contribution to science education and their dedication to children.
