LEARN Mathematics! Teacher Accepted for the Teacher Sabbatical Internship Program at The Jackson Laboratory

Learn, Experience, Apply in a Regional Network (LEARN) Mathematics! Teacher Accepted for the Teacher Sabbatical Internship Program at The Jackson Laboratory 

MMSA is pleased and proud to announce that teacher participant in the LEARN Mathematics! MSP Project, Ms. Emily Spaulding of Bangor Christian School in Bangor, has been accepted into the prestigious Teacher Sabbatical Internship Program at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine.

The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations recently awarded a $100,000 grant to fund the innovative program, which provides mathematics and science teachers in Maine public secondary schools hands-on research experience during a semester at The Jackson Laboratory. The new grant will help to support the next four years of teacher internships.

Randy Smith, Ph.D., director of Jackson’s educational programs, said, “We believe this gift is the best possible way to support effective, innovative science teaching and to make a huge difference in the education and future careers of Maine students.”

The Laboratory launched teacher sabbatical internships in 2006 with generous funding from The Foundations and Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The semester-long program provides secondary school teachers with a unique opportunity to conduct real-world scientific research in the labs of Jackson scientist-mentors.  LEARN Mathematics! Project Director Meghan Southworth of MMSA was chosen as a teacher intern in 2007 and says of the program, “My experience at JAX was truly life changing and a high point in my professional career as a mathematics teacher.  I strongly recommended Ms. Spaulding as a candidate and am so proud she has been accepted.”

“To date,” says Smith, “this program has trained eight Maine teachers who are now implementing their experiences in the classroom to the great benefit of their students and their schools.”

The teacher-interns also take a three-credit course taught by University of Maine faculty on the Jackson campus that explores the pedagogical strategies that help students learn to think independently. As part of the curriculum, teachers read background literature, write a research proposal, conduct research and summarize their findings orally and in a written research paper.

MMSA continues to collaborate with Randy Smith at The Jackson Laboratory on the development, field-testing, and evaluation of such innovative educational programs as GENIQUEST, Geniverse, and the newly developed Mouse Room.  These “virtual” laboratories aim to bring current bioinformatics concepts and biological data sets into secondary science and mathematics classrooms.  The result is an intriguing environment that spurs student investigation and inquiry.

For more information on the Teacher Sabbatical Program, click here.