URBAN HYDROLOGY TOUR: The Watershed Institute’s Jim Waltman led a contingent of K-12 educators and Princeton University-affiliated experts on a hydrology tour of Princeton last week as part of the University’s QUEST program for STEM teachers. (Photo courtesy of Princeton University)

By Donald Gilpin

More than 30 K-12 STEM teachers, representing school districts from across New Jersey, are participating in Princeton University’s QUEST program this summer, immersing themselves a rich variety of learning experiences in the world of science and mathematics.

QUEST is an acronym for “Questioning Underlies Effective Science Teaching,” and Jessica Monaghan, assistant director of STEM in the University’s Program of Teacher Preparation which organizes the QUEST programs, emphasized the power of questioning.

In her August 7 concluding remarks to the QUEST educators and scholars at the second of three week-long programs, she praised the level of engagement of the 10 area public school teachers who had completed last week’s program on hydrology. She noted, “What was so exciting to me as a learner is seeing how your questions evolved over the week.”

Members of the group submitted feedback each day, and, Monaghan observed, “It was so cool over the span of the week to see how the more you learned, the more refined your questions and the things you were wondering became.”

QUEST, a program that has been evolving for more than 30 years, is designed to expand teachers’ knowledge of science and math, according to a University press release, and “provide insight into current teaching and learning best practices, boost educators’ confidence in STEM subjects, and offer a unique opportunity for self-directed learning through experiential and inquiry-based models.”

“I love it,” said New Brunswick middle school teacher Yolanda Gonzalez, at the end of her session “Beneath the Surface: Exploring the Hydrologic Cycle, Leveraging Technologies, and Envisioning our Collective Water Future.” “This is my third QUEST, and I love it because I engage in it as an adult learner, and that motivates me to want to engage in the classroom with my students.”

She continued, “As teachers we forget to engage in science as scientists. We focus on how to use science and make a lesson for our students. For me it’s fun coming here and learning more about something, and I love telling students that I came here and learned more.”

Gonzalez reflected on how she can most effectively bring her experience from last week back to her sixth-grade science classroom this fall. “We were gathering data outside, using tools to measure the temperature of the ground,” she explained. “And I’m thinking about how I can go into my classroom and do something very similar, also bringing the science into our own neighborhoods. There are water cycle-related topics in our curriculum this year. I’m definitely going to be able to integrate what I’ve learned into that.”

Mieko Inghilleri, a STEM teacher at Fisher Middle School in Ewing, is looking forward to using what she learned during her week in QUEST to help develop the STEM curriculum at Fisher.

“I’m hoping to supplement what they’re learning with more hands-on, community-based, real-life, project-based learning opportunities,” she said. Inghilleri has already contacted the Watershed Institute to organize a field trip for her students in the fall.

“I want to help students engage in their local community,” she said. “A lot of times students know that there are things to be fixed in the world around them. They know that climate change is a big issue, but they wonder how they can do anything about it. Helping them connect these big issues to something in their local community, like protecting their watershed, makes it more real for them. I can help them foster that ‘I’m a steward of the environment’ concept.”

She continued, “I also love that I have all these Princeton connections, local grassroots, nonprofits, and all sorts of resources that other teachers have shared. It’s a really good professional learning community to be a part of.”

During the course of the program last week on different approaches to hydrology and science communication, teachers worked with sand tanks and other physical and conceptual models, engaged in kinesthetic activities to understand water movement, analyzed and interpreted hydrographs, observed online simulations, and took an urban hydrology tour in Princeton led by the Watershed institute’s Jim Waltman. They were also introduced to machine learning concepts and to the use of drones in hydrology.

The week’s program was designed to “deepen their understanding of the critical role water plays in our world and the urgency of effective water management,” according to the QUEST program description. “By the end of the week, the description continues, “participants will not only possess a comprehensive understanding of the hydrologic cycle, but also be equipped with practical tools and knowledge to inspire the next generation of environmentally conscious citizens through their educational endeavors.”

In their closing “share-out” discussion, teachers were unanimously enthusiastic about their week-long immersion. They praised the program organizers and the experts who had led the sessions each day. They expressed their enjoyment of the environment where they felt comfortable sharing questions and ideas, and engaging in real scientific research.

“I love being a learner again and putting myself in the students’ position,” said veteran Hopewell Valley High School science teacher Cindi Glover.

Reed Maxwell, Princeton University professor of civil and environmental engineering at the High Meadows Environmental Institute who was one of the program organizers, emphasized that ongoing partnerships are an important part of the program. “We love to think of ways that we can continue to foster these partnerships, keep in touch, and think of more ways to collaborate.”

The QUEST hydrology program during the week of August 5-9 was the second of three programs this summer. The final program, “Climate Change: Exploring Solutions to a Complex Problem,” will take place during the week of August 19-23. The first QUEST program of the summer, “FISHAIR: Dive Into Form and Function with Machine Learning,” ran from July 21 to 26.

The QUEST program and its participants embody the beliefs expressed by Princeton University President Emeritus and Professor of Molecular Biology and Public Affairs Shirley Tilghman, who once wrote, “A critical key to our future prosperity lies in the quality of U.S. science education — from kindergarten to postgraduate training. Thinking freshly and creatively about the most effective ways to convey to students the fascinating properties of the natural world is not simply crucial to our future, but I predict that it will make our teaching a great deal more satisfying in the long run.”