UNews - high school teacher

Engaging youth in science earns Kothe CIHR honour

trevor.kenney — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:44:27 +0000

Dr. Ute Kothe (chemistry and biochemistry) has taken her infectious enthusiasm for science and research to a whole new level as the recipient of a national award recognizing her efforts to expose young people to science education and career possibilities.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) recently announced Kothe as the winner of its 2012 Synapse Mentorship Award – Individual Researcher.

The award, which is worth $5,000, is one of three handed out nationally – and the U of L's first. It recognizes the efforts of a health researcher who has made exceptional efforts to promote health research among Canada's students.

Dr. Ute Kothe has been instrumental in driving the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's youth science outreach efforts.

In addition to teaching and operating a busy lab, Kothe created the Bridges to Science program as a way to promote science literacy among Canadian high school students, provide hands-on science workshops and complement established school curriculum.

She then linked that with Let's Talk Science, a national science outreach organization, so that Bridges to Science could reach all Canadian youth. In 2010-11 alone, the program reached 20 high schools and more than 550 students.

"It is important for today's researchers to take some time to pass along their knowledge to Canadian youth," says Dr. Jane Aubin, CIHR's chief scientific officer and vice president of Research and Knowledge Translation Portfolio.

"Dr. Kothe deserves this Synapse mentorship award for her dedication to helping Canadian students both understand and appreciate the value of science. This may ultimately help them choose career paths that will make them scientific leaders of tomorrow."

Kothe has also worked with Operation Minerva, judged numerous science fairs, and is the science advisor to the local Girl Guides of Canada unit.

Kothe is also a key oranizer for the annual RiboWest conference (June 10-13) aimed at RNA (ribonucleic acid) researchers who are gathering in Lethbridge to learn about the latest research in this discipline.

Not only has the work of Kothe and her student team been recognized through repeated requests from schools, their efforts have also been the subject of a masters thesis research project on student learning and engagement.

Kim Orr, a veteran high school teacher who also serves as an instructor to teacher candidates at the U of L, says she has observed first-hand how Kothe shares her passion for education through her involvement in youth programs.

"My research showed that student learning improved at all academic levels, but a greater impact was seen in low-achieving students," says Orr. "The learning gains included scientific skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and lab skills. Regardless of their academic ability, students were engaged by the hands-on activities and expressed their excitement about the program."

This story first appeared in the June 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the entire issue in flipbook format, follow this link.

Courtney and Horns celebrate Movember

trevor.kenney — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:09:52 +0000

It would be easy for Andrew Courtney to feel disillusioned about his five years with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's hockey team. A laundry list of injuries has left Courtney in the trainer's room or on the operating table as much as he's been on the ice.

Yet, despite leaving his family, moving across the country and having only played 20 games over the last two seasons, Courtney is not only at peace with his circumstance, he's thankful. Now, the Belleville, Ont. native says he wants to give something back – and he'll do so by growing a moustache.

"I decided to come out here to continue playing hockey and to further my education, which was the dream growing up," says Courtney, the impetus behind the Horns' Movember initiative (donate by following this link). "My mom's a high school teacher, and she always preached to me how important it was to get an education. This was an opportunity to do that, and it's been the best move of my life."

Moustache members of the Horns men's hockey team (front row from left); Andrew Gilbert, Lucio Pucci-Daniele, Ryan Letts and Dan Iwanski; (Back row from left) Dustin Moore, Andrew Courtney and Reese St. Goddard.

Movember, a campaign that originated in Australia in 2003, draws attention to and raises funds for the fight against prostate cancer. Last year, 35,156 people in Canada took up the cause and raised $7.8 million for Prostate Cancer Canada.

The program itself is simple, grow a moustache, collect pledges and the fund grows. For Courtney, the cause is personal, on a number of levels.

"Both my uncle and my grandfather have had to face prostate cancer in recent years and luckily for them, they caught it early and everything is well," says Courtney.

"In my five years, we really haven't done anything like this as a team. This is a way for me to say thank you to Lethbridge and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge for welcoming me into the community. I just wanted to give something back and try and get the community a little more involved with Pronghorns Athletics."

The Horns have been growing their mustaches since returning from a pre-season trip to Colorado, and are now selling tickets for a raffle that features a Los Angeles Kings jersey signed by the entire Kings team, as well as a Molson prize pack. The raffle will be drawn Nov. 20 at the Horns' home game against ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Regina Cougars. That night, all proceeds from the 50-50 draw will go to Prostate Cancer Canada, along with the raffle proceeds and money raised from a special promotion that sees U of L President Dr. Mike Mahon shooting pucks into the net between periods. As well, the team will be wearing special Pronghorns jerseys that will be available through silent auction, again with the proceeds to be donated.

"I didn't know how the team would react to this, but they've been great," says Courtney, a kinesiology major. "All the guys are growing their mustaches – some better than others – and now it's just a matter of selling tickets and getting as many people to the game as we can."

Pronghorns forward Andrew Courtney displays the special edition jerseys that will be part of a silent auction at Saturday's Movember night at Nicholas Sheran Arena.

Courtney played 37 games his first season at the U of L, before being limited to just 26 games the next because of an ankle injury. In his third year, shoulder and knee problems would limit his participation to just five games. Last season, Courtney was off to a blazing start, scoring 13 goals in the team's first 15 games to lead the conference. Unfortunately, he blew out his knee just prior to the Christmas break and was lost for the rest of the year.

"At the beginning it was really stressful and depressing," he says of the eight-month rehabilitation process following the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery. "Having the support of the guys, my family and friends, was huge. They helped me get through this process, this long road, and without them I couldn't have done it."

It's why he wants to say thanks to southern Alberta. That it might lead to helping any number of men in the long run is an added bonus.

"Coming here, I didn't know anyone other than Steve (Zmudczynski) and we were the only guys from Ontario on the team," says Courtney. "As the years have gone on and I've met more people, I've really been accepted as just another member of the community. It's been overwhelming to experience that."

GET THE FACTS

· Courtney played Junior A Tier II hockey in Trenton, Ont. before his final season of eligibility, when he played for the Ontario Hockey League's Niagara Falls Thunder.

· He has had three knee surgeries on the same knee in the last 18 months, two arthroscopic procedures and a total ACL reconstruction.

· Movember raffle tickets are available from Horns hockey players or in the Horns Athletics office (PE210).

· Courtney scored a power play goal against ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Manitoba, Oct. 29. It was his first game in 11 months following knee surgery.

Fowler earns Distinguished Teaching Award

trevor.kenney — Fri, 07 May 2010 20:14:39 +0000

For someone who resisted being a teacher for so long and admits trying to get away from the profession on occasion, Dr. Leah Fowler is remarkably gifted at what she does. Then again, maybe it's her honesty and humility that allows her to see teaching for all that it is, and therefore drives her to excel.

"I didn't ever want to be a teacher, I'm still puzzled that I'm here, this is not where I imagined I would be," says Fowler, who first planned a career in medicine.

But she is here and she's one of the best professors the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has to offer, earning the 2009 Distinguished Teaching Award, which will be presented at the spring convocation ceremonies.

"For me, this award means that good teaching matters, and it's an honour to stand in for good teaching," says Fowler. "I'm just here as a representative for good teaching."

Her 12 years in the Faculty of Education have been marked by her thoughtful, knowledgeable and creative approach.

With a unique teaching style, she strives to create a classroom that is informal but intellectually stimulating and challenging. Employing a personal approach, Fowler extends herself to her students as she looks to develop a safe learning environment.

"I think if you can help people feel comfortable and have what they need then they'll press boundaries more, they'll take more risks because they have more courage," she says.

"I learn my students' names, I learn their narratives and I learn their needs. I find out what they're good at and then try and develop the things they're not so comfortable with so that they have a wide range of breadth and depth in their subject areas."

Fowler is the first to admit she doesn't have all the answers, and pushes the message that teaching is not about the teacher, rather it is about the student.

"I want it to be about possibility, and it's not about me at all, it's always about the student. Why are they here, what do they need and how are they going to get further?" she asks.

"I'm not the centre of the universe and neither is the student but somewhere in the middle we meet. What gets learned happens in that third space between the professor and the teacher. The interesting space is that middle ground in between. I stop halfway and hopefully make invitation for students to come the other half to meet me – it's not about me telling."

Fowler came late to teaching, having dabbled in trades as diverse as driver training instructor to recreational therapist to the owner of a house painting business. She's brutally honest when discussing teaching, accepting it for all its challenges and gaining a real-world perspective that resonates with her students.

"I've hated teaching, I've quit teaching three times," admits Fowler. "It takes all your heart and all your breath, and if you're in it, you're in it."

She currently teaches graduate students and pre-service teachers, spending much time supervising education students in practica. Her research interests delve into the difficulties of teaching and she has three books in the works as a result.

A winner of a 1992 Province of Alberta Teaching Excellence Award while she was still a high school teacher, Fowler continues to revel in the moments when she can see her lessons hit home.

"I always watch students' eyes for insight and I love that," she says. "They just get that quiet little grin and raise their eyebrows and you know they've hit on something. It happens enough, and often in an unexpected place, but that's the thing I'm always asking: Am I connecting? Are they engaged? I'm always looking for that."

UNews - high school teacher

Engaging youth in science earns Kothe CIHR honour

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