Science Super Star: Elizabeth Cooke
April 6, 2020
We are honored to acknowledge Elizabeth Cooke, a 4th Grade Teacher at Grass Valley Elementary in Oakland, as a 2020 Science Super Star!
Elizabeth consistently strived to ensure that her lessons would be incorporated into her students’ overall knowledge and understanding, and not just remain an abstract idea. For their MakerExpo, she had her students research the driving question of “How People Effect Climate Change” using the decline of bees as an anchor. Her students conducted general research bees before splitting into groups to explore specific questions that they came up with.
Some students made 3-D models depicting the hive of honey bees and the tubular structures of mason bees. Another group made posters of the anatomy of bees, and the cause of their decline. A third set of students made t-shirts depicting bee facts as pollinators, and sold used books as a fundraiser for Mikaila Ilmer’s HealthyHive Foundation. From a phenomenon, to an exploration with data collection, to student action — the hive and honeybee lesson had a lasting impact on her students.
During Black History Month, students researched the life of Bessie Coleman, the first African-American Pilot. Elizabeth incorporated science into this history lesson by having her students research different types of planes, and design their own paper airplanes. They tested their airplanes by flying them in various trials, and finding the average for every kind of plane they constructed.
Elizabeth’s top tip for other teachers follows this notion that students excel when learning something that is applicable to their lives and/or they are passionate about:
| “Build in time for science and have the students take ownership.” |