Interview with New Science Teacher - Ms. Isham
By: Desi Broadley
I recently had the opportunity to interview our new science teacher, Ms. Isham. When asked what her inspiration was to become a science teacher, Ms. Isham explained that science has been her passion since she was very young. “I have loved science since I was a little kid. I wanted to grow up and become a zoologist and do hands-on educational activities with animals. I decided that education was the way to go, so I could share my passion with everyone else.” Ms. Isham’s teaching style is hands-on, as she gets her students engaged and excited to learn with interactive activities and games. Her favorite activity to do with her students is making paper airplanes and looking at micro and macro vertebrates in water, and testing the pH levels of the water. Ms. Isham’s goal is to keep her students motivated to learn and enjoy exploring the world of science. To get students motivated, she pays close attention to their interests and incorporates these into her teaching. She also works hard to create a safe and effective learning environment by making sure students respect her as well as themselves and each other.
Ms. Isham hopes that students enjoy learning science in her classroom, and hopes they take with them the information they’ve learned. In her Human Anatomy class, she hopes students understand the structures of the body, how muscles and bones can repair themselves, and how to avoid and take care of injuries. In her integrated sciences class, she hopes students understand the 4 main sciences and how they are connected, and in her environmental stewardship class, she hopes students learn what they can do to help the environment and identify invasive and native species.
Another way that Ms. Isham keeps her students engaged while learning science is by consistently introducing new activities and trying different ways to learn, as students can get bored with repeatedly doing the same activities. She also encourages curiosity and critical thinking in her students by asking them open-ended questions to encourage her students to use their resources to find the answer. Sometimes there is no set answer to a question, but students can gather information to learn more about a topic or a problem and what can be done about it. “I like to ask my students a lot of open-ended questions to encourage them to use their technology and other resources, as well as their prior knowledge, to search for the answers themselves. I will have them show me how they got to their answer and have them come up with more thought-provoking questions.” Ms. Isham has her students collaborate to share ideas as well to help them learn to work together, see perspectives they might not have considered, and explore more of the information that they have learned. These are good lessons for students to carry with them for the rest of their lives. Learning to work responsibly with technology is another important skill for students, and Ms. Isham has her students do a lot of activities and research using online games and tools. Blooket is a popular game, much like Kahoot, where students compete in different game modes while they answer questions about an educational topic. Ms. Isham uses Booklet in her classes to have her students learn science in a fun way. She has her students work with Canva, which is an online graphic design tool, and create slideshows and essays. Her students learn a lot from watching educational science videos as well. Her goal is to help her students get familiar with technology and learn how to use it properly to produce high-quality projects and work and learn more about the world around them.
Ms. Isham also fosters a light atmosphere in her classroom and encourages her students to have fun. “Students won’t be criticized or laughed at for making mistakes. Mistakes are how we learn, and we are going to have fun and not worry about making them.”
It is Ms. Isham’s priority that all students feel welcome and stress-free when learning science in her classroom. When asked how she helps students manage frustration or stress in her classroom, she explained that she has strategies for helping students decompress and enjoy learning. “I work one-on-one with students when they are feeling too overwhelmed, and I work with them during set. I sometimes have students sit with me during lunch to discuss what is causing their stress and what we can do to help them out during class.” She also provides other resources that they can use and helps them find out what works best for them to reach their potential and be successful. Ms. Isham sometimes prints out notes and material to help students better understand what they are learning about. She is open to emailing students if they feel more comfortable communicating via email.
Ms. Isham has some important advice for students who may be nervous about learning science or any other subject in school. “Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Asking questions is going to be your biggest strong suit if you are nervous. No question is a “dumb question”; if you have a question, it is more than likely that someone is wondering the same thing.”
We are beyond delighted to welcome Ms. Isham to Green Mountain and to see her effective learning strategies help her students succeed while enjoying science.