Lincoln Teacher Wins Science Award
Christel Driscoll, an eighth grade physical science teacher at Lincoln Middle School in Portland, has won a National Semiconductor Science in Action Award. The award recognizes teachers who find creative ways to integrate inquiry-based science into the classroom and provides funding for such projects.
Driscoll will receive a $1,000 personal award and $2,000 for her project, which will involve students in creating and monitoring the water quality of a pond ecosystem inside Lincoln’s new geodesic dome.
Seventh and eighth grade science classes will work together to establish the pond ecosystem. They will grow water hyacinths, other aquatic plants and possibly fish. Eighth grade students will study the relationship between aquatic organisms and water quality. The students also will document and analyze seasonal changes in the pond’s ecosystem.
Driscoll was one of seven Maine teachers to receive National Semiconductor Science in Action Awards. Last year, she was awarded a Toytota Tapestry Grant, which helped fund the development and construction of the dome.
Driscoll has been teaching at Lincoln for six years. She graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in environmental science and policy and then went through USM’s Extended Teacher Education Program. She worked as an intern at Lincoln while in the program.
Driscoll and another Lincoln teacher, Thom Fournier, worked with eighth grade students last year to raise funds and build the dome as a learning classroom and sustainability lab. The 850-square-foot dome was formally unveiled at a ribbon-cutting ceremony last October.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:28 am
That’s awesome! Hopefully I will get her next year as a science teacher! Congrats!
February 8th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Hi Ms. Driscoll,
Congratulations on your wonderful initiatives and awards! Teachers can make the biggest difference is the lives of their students and communities!
I live in Portland and am working with the cool communities initiative sponsored by the Sierra Club, Maine Lung Association, doctors for Social Responsibility and Maine council of churches. This program attempts to have communities analyze their energy use and create plans to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. Now that the city has created its sustainability plan, I am hoping that we can work to produce some real change to reduce our emissions. At our last meeting in December, I spoke about your school’s initiative in creating the geodesic dome and agreed to find out more about what your students are doing regarding energy consumption and alternative energy. Would you or another teacher kindly advise me accordingly?
My children graduated from Deering High and at that time I was aware of various schools creating green teams and working toward their own set of goals. Do you have such a team at your school? As a member of the community without children currently in the system, I feel that there is likely a lot happening in our schools regarding climate change and learning about new technologies, as these solutions are vital to our children’s future, yet I am totally ignorant of what is being done. This is an area that I think “children as teachers” would lend itself to and be of a huge benefit to our community. Would you kindly update me on your schools current initiatives or direct me to an informative resource? Also kindly advise if your school might like to explore ways in which it could help our community’s work in this area?
Thank you, Ann Adams, 56 Mackworth Street, Portland, Maine 04103 774-7989 annadams10@hotmail.com
February 12th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Wonderful job! Congratulations! Proud to know you, and have worked with you!