Love of science earns teacher award

First-grade teacher Nancy Smith wasn’t planning on becoming a specialist in science. After all, Smith, who teaches at Olathe Public Schools’ Bentwood Elementary School in Overland Park, has a master’s degree in elementary curriculum with an emphasis on language arts and reading.

But a few years ago, a colleague approached her about taking a leadership role in training the district’s first-grade teachers on how to teach science lessons. It didn’t take long for Smith to discover she had a passion for her new subject matter.

“I love science,” Smith said. “I don’t know why I wasn’t involved in it earlier.”

Her love of science hasn’t gone unnoticed by others. Smith was recently recognized with the Wendell G. Mohling Foundation Scholarship Award. The $500 award will make it possible for her to attend her first national professional development conference in Nashville in March. The conference will be held by the National Science Teachers Association.

The award is named after longtime Kansas teacher Wendell G. Mohling, who taught science for many years in the Shawnee Mission School District. After Mohling died in 2004, his family set up a scholarship in his name that would allow an educator to attend their first regional or national National Science Teachers Association conference. The award is given to one Kansas educator each year and honors that teacher for their efforts in teaching science.

Smith discovered the award while visiting the National Science Teachers Association website and decided to apply.

Bentwood Elementary School Principal Cathy McDonald said nobody deserves the award more than Smith.

“She teaches using a variety of hands-on learning opportunities across the curriculum,” McDonald said in a written statement. “Nancy challenges students and colleagues using a plethora of creative high-interest approaches to real-world problem-solving every day in her classroom, and in the staff training that she offers. Nancy is the epitome of a lifelong learner, as she demonstrates her investment in learning all she can to provide a quality learning experience to her students every single day!”

Spend a few minutes talking to Smith and you will quickly discover the enthusiasm she has for both science and teaching. She delights in bringing creative science lessons to her class of eager young learners.

Walk into her classroom during her lesson on detecting living versus non-living things and you will find students hunched over trays with magnifying glasses and tweezers examining plastic worms, earthworms and gummy worms to determine which one is living and which one isn’t living.

It’s just the kind of lesson her young scientists get excited about, even though Smith herself isn’t that fond of bugs.

“I love the materials the kids use,” Smith said. “I don’t like bugs but I like teaching the kids about it. And the kids go crazy for it. For first-graders, this is their world.”

Smith has been teaching for 12 years, but only returned to the classroom five years ago after taking 17 off to raise her five sons. She said she returned to teaching more invigorated and dedicated than ever.

“I love everything about teaching,” Smith said. “I love the differences in my kids. I can do a lesson and I can hit lots of different learners and each one of those kids will bring something different back to the lesson that makes it better for everybody.”

Smith said she is looking forward to bringing back lots of new teaching techniques from the National Science Teachers Association conference that will help her first-graders fall in love with science even more than they have already.

“When you attend a conference, you get great ideas and it breathes new life into your teaching,” Smith said.

Smith feels strongly that she wants to play a role in preparing her students for possible future careers in the science, technology, engineering and math — STEM — fields. She knows that as their teacher, her continued learning in these areas will only serve to help her students in the future.

“I just want these young learners to grab hold of their education and I want them to be excited and to have a broad knowledge base,” Smith said.

This story was originally published October 29, 2015 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Love of science earns teacher award."