Oak Ridge Associated Universities 2006 Annual Report

PROFILE
or math careers. The ACTS program has grown from
four teachers in the summer of 2004 to a projected 35
during the summer of 2007, with an eightfold increase
in DOE funding.
Precollege Research Pilot Program
High school science teachers regularly report that
many students have chosen scientific career paths, but
these choices do not necessarily include research. To
change that, ORISE worked with ORNL to implement
a pilot program that places high school students at
ORNL for an afternoon a week to conduct hands-on
research under the guidance of experienced scientific
mentors. Sixteen students from an East Tennessee high
school, who are the best and brightest the school has
to offer, are participating in the pilot program.
“The partnership with ORAU has been a wonderful
contribution to Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s
science education outreach program,” said Billy Stair,
ORNL director of Communications and External
Relations. “ORAU not only administers the programs
well but also offers creative ways of helping the
Laboratory attract a new generation of young people
to careers in science.”
Award-winning Science Teacher
Chooses to Spend His Summers
in a National Lab
Mike Smith earns every paycheck. As the only
science teacher at Coalfield High School in
Coalfield, Tennessee, Smith teaches two levels
of biology, as well as ecology, physical science,
chemistry, human anatomy, and physiology.
But Smith’s school day does not end when classes
end. In addition to being a Coalfield school bus
driver, Smith also uses his planning period and
stays after school to teach scientific research
to a group of his students. Smith’s students
entered several research works into the Southern
Appalachian Science and Engineering Fair, placing
in six of the 11 award categories.
Smith and three other high school teachers were
recognized in September for being the first to
complete ACTS three-year summer program. All
four spent three summers at ORNL as part of
ongoing research teams.
“I think in order for America to charge ahead in
science, we have to change the way we teach
science,” he said. “This program has taught me
the tools to teach science in an inquiry style,
which is thinking scientifically rather than just
regurgitation of terms or following a ‘cook book’
style lab.”
Teachers participating at ORNL must complete
a series of requirements in addition to their
hands-on research—including seminars,
workshops, developmental plans—usually taking
more than the 40 hours per week they spend
in the laboratory. Although this summer ended
the teachers’ participation, through their newly
established networks, they will continue to use
resources at ORNL to help in the classroom.
Smith’s willingness to go above and beyond
did not go unnoticed. In 2005, he was awarded
a Milken Family Foundation National Educator
Award and $25,000 in cash—an annual award
that honors just 100 outstanding K-12 educators
from across the country.
Image Information:
Smith, a science teacher at Coalfield High School
in Morgan County, Tennessee, was a three-year
participant in DOE’s ACTS Program. Smith joined
a research team at ORNL to study if strobe lights
can steer gizzard shad, a type of fish, away from
TVA’s dam openings to prevent unnecessary loss
of aquatic life.
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