Science Super Star: Mary Loeser
We spotlight Mary Loeser, CRS Science Super Star honoree, who teaches at Cleveland Elementary in Oakland. Mary is an avid proponent of the wonderous effects science learning can have on a student. This past year, her and her classroom explored the phenomena of flower reproduction.
April 20, 2020
We are honored to recognize Mary Loeser, 4th Grade Teacher at Cleveland Elementary in Oakland, as a 2020 Science Super Star!
“Create opportunities for students to make their own discoveries.”
To elicit her students’ prior knowledge, she led class discussions on pollinators where she encouraged students to share their observations from the school garden. They narrowed down their topic question to: What structures do flowers have that allow them to pollinate?
Before delving deep into a hands-on lesson, Mary drew the parts of a Lily on the board. She had her students draw the flower, and take scientific notes, in their own journals. She wanted her class to have a solid reference point, along with a basic understanding, before the next part of their lesson.
The next portion of her lesson opened up a myriad of questions and observations from her students: the dissection of a flower. From “I see how the designs on the petals draw bees in.” “This is where pollen comes from?” to “Those are the seeds that get fertilized” her students’ comments captured their full engagement to the lesson.
As they dissected their Lilies, her students simultaneously collected and recorded them on a worksheet in their science journals. Afterwards, they measured the length of time it took various seeds to 
germinate. They also researched the pollination processes of other flowers.
Mary found a way for her students to use this knowledge outside of the classroom, by taking them to visit the Urban Adamah Farm in Berkeley. They were allowed to pick flowers from the farm and harvest the seeds for their own school garden. Mary’s students eagerly collected from Marigolds and Zinnias. As they observed the seeds and flowers, they were able to contrast the characteristics of these flowers from the Lilies they had already dissected.
Mary’s school garden already grows food that they eat on special occasions. She is hoping that by involving her students, they can expand the garden further next year to grow fresh fruits and vegetables for the greater community.
The impact Mary departs on her students, school, community is giant. She told us about a particular student who was affected by science lessons in a dynamic way:
“I have a student who was very discouraged in the classroom. He had very low reading skills, and rarely brought his textbooks to school and never turned in work. He would slip down in his seat and try to be invisible. When I spoke to him, he said very little. Early in the school year, we took a field trip to Audubon Canyon Ranch and hiked the hills with a naturalist. I was shocked by the transformation of this child. He was excited, outgoing, and answering questions. He was very knowledgeable of the natural world. When I got a chance to talk to him, he told me that he hikes and fishes with his father. That day transformed the way I saw him. We were able to develop a rapport and I got him academic tutoring that is improving his reading skills. He now always brings his books and does his work to the best of his ability. His skills are improving. Most importantly, he feels he belongs.”