Every other Monday on Morning Edition NHPR highlights a local non profit in our New Hampshire community.
And today, we take a closer look at The New Hampshire Science Teachers' Association. Their mission is to support and elevate the Granite State's STEM educators by providing professional development opportunities, and a place to share ideas and classroom innovation.
While they've been around for 50 years, long time science teacher and board member Robert Schroeder admits they haven't always been easy to find.
Robert Schroeder (Board Member): And you would think in NHSTC... how many groups could there be [online]? Well, five of them get hits above us [laughing].
We're hoping to link up a lot of affiliate groups and to be to be a hub, a science go-to place for whatever, whatever your interest might be.
And our goal, is a very simple one, that, you know, you try to make your classroom of fun— because people that are having fun tend to learn better than people that are miserable. And so you try to make your classroom fun while you're doing your academics, and your requirements. And we're trying to make the Science Teachers' Association continue to be that way.
Tiffany Thompson (Vice President): I get excited about data because I'm a science person. That's my job.
My name is Tiffany Thompson, and I am one of the vice presidents of the New Hampshire Science Teachers' Association.
When you leave, you're going to know more about your specialty for having been there because it's just a good place to learn and good place to think.Robert Schroeder, Board Member of NHSTA
Part of you know, my role in this organization is to provide teachers the most current science research and education research available to help them support their curriculums, to improve the quality of education for students, to provide that experience of being able to go out and play in your schoolyard and realize that... you know, these leaves have different components and how light hits those components are all related to these science concepts, and physical science, and chemistry, and life science, and all those cross-cutting concepts.
Joanne Goelzer (President): Covid really did, I think, did a number on educators. And so we're back, and we're trying to get the band back together.
So my name is Joanne Goelzer, and I'm the current president of the NHSTA. So much professional development has gone online, but without the venue of having live professional development, teachers don't get to talk to each other about this. And so we become isolated in our classrooms once the door is shut. And that's my hope for for the organization is that we start bringing people back in, that that they see that the collegiality and being able to sit and discuss and see new ideas and see what people are actually doing out there in their own classrooms at your conference, you can get some ideas, and say 'Hey, yeah, I can do something similar to that!'
Schroeder: You know, we're thinking about the fun, the meeting people, everybody walking away with a smile. You know, people are hanging out because they're not looking at their watch. And that's what we've been achieving in the last couple of conferences we've had.
When you leave, you're going to know more about your specialty for having been there because it's just a good place to learn and good place to think.
Learn more about the New Hampshire Science Teachers' Association and their Spring 2023 conference here!
