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Students from three area high schools set to visit science labs

polingj — Fri, 11 Oct 2019 15:03:20 +0000

Students from three area high schools set to visit science labspolingj October 11, 2019

Event Oct. 17 is part of the Wisconsin Science Festival

Science will be in the spotlight for 100 area high school students on Thursday, Oct. 17, at University of Wisconsin-Stout.

Stout Connects You, an event that is part of the Wisconsin Science Festival, will be held from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Jarvis Hall for students from Cameron, Chippewa Falls and Colfax high schools.

Students will tour the university ��. Clean Lab and work with �� students from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. They will also be involved in a physics experiment, where they will examine the particulate matter of cigarette smoke.

Also, they will interact with each of the 18 undergraduate programs from the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Management and learn more about the programs.

Faculty also will work with the students.

The Wisconsin Science Festival: Curiosity Unleashed was founded in 2011 and is part of the national Science Festival Alliance. In 2018 about 33,000 people attended more than 250 events throughout the state, including more than 2,700 students. Events this year are scheduled Oct. 17-20.

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Photo

Shane Medin, an instructor in the department of chemistry and physics, talks with Stanley-Boyd Middle School students about water absorption at the 2018 Stout Connects You STEM event at ��.

Science will be in the spotlight for 100 area high school students on Thursday, Oct. 17, at ��. Shane Medin Science Festival

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Recent graduate receives Early Career Educator honor

polingj — Wed, 15 May 2019 16:45:43 +0000

Recent graduate receives Early Career Educator honorpolingj May 15, 2019

Befort, a Menomonie Middle School science teacher, recognized by state organization

A recent University of Wisconsin-Stout graduate has been recognized by the Wisconsin Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

Bryce Befort, who teaches sixth-grade science at Menomonie Middle School, received the WACTE Early Career Educator award in late April. The award is given to educators who are in the first three years of their career and is based on their positive impact in the school and community, innovation in the classroom and advocacy for students.

Befort is a 2018 science education program graduate from �� . School of Education.

Professor Kevin Mason nominated Befort, saying he has engaged students with creative activities, such as a tug-of-war to study balanced and unbalanced forces; shooting rubber bands to study elastic force; and creating a spacecraft to apply Newton ��. Laws of Motion.

“Receiving this award was so honoring. I have been so blessed with an amazing, close-knit sixth-grade team and administration that I could not have done this without,” Befort said. “Everyone has been so supportive and caring during my first-year teaching experience, and I cannot thank them enough.”

Befort couldn’t attend the awards program in Madison but was presented the plaque recently in his classroom by Mason. “It was great to receive the award in front of the people who helped me get to where I am, Kevin and my students, amongst others,” he said.

Befort said �� has a “great teacher education program. It ��. very hands-on and field-based, where at the bare minimum students have five placements to help prepare them to become educators themselves. Not to mention, the staff is excellent and truly cares for the students and molding them into being future educators.”

Befort originally is from South St. Paul, Minn., and grew up in Clayton, in northwestern Wisconsin. In the fall, he will begin teaching at Prairie River Middle School in Merrill. He is engaged to be married this summer, and his fiancée teaches in Wausau, near Merrill.

His fiancée is Annie DeBroux, a 2018 �� graduate in early childhood education.

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Alumnus Bryce Befort, left, receives the WACTE award in his classroom at Menomonie Middle School from Professor Kevin Mason.

A recent University of Wisconsin-Stout graduate has been recognized by the Wisconsin Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Bryce Befort and Kevin Mason

University Communications

Kevin Mason

Kevin Mason is a Professor of Education and Chair of the Teaching, Learning, and Leadership Department at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. He previously held positions as a chemistry and physics teacher at Chippewa Falls High School and Middleton High School.

Full Name: Dr. Kevin Mason

Job Title: Professor

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College: College of Arts & Human Sciences

Department: School of Education Teaching, Learning & Leadership Department

Curriculum Vitae: Kevin Mason CV (198.13 KB)

Education:

Degree: Ph.D. Curriculum & Instruction

University: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Degree: M.Ed. Education

University: University of Minnesota

Degree: B.S. Chemistry

University: University of Minnesota

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New instructor ��. passion for science began at STEPS for Girls

schusterg — Sat, 18 Nov 2017 16:32:17 +0000

New instructor ��. passion for science began at STEPS for Girlsschusterg November 18, 2017

Returning to campus

Tiffany Hoage, a new biology instructor at ��, works with students during the first day of fall semester classes, Sept. 6. / ��

Tiffany Hoage and dozens of other new instructors began their University of Wisconsin-Stout teaching careers when classes began the first week of September.

It ��. a pretty safe bet that, among the new crop of faculty and academic staff members in the three colleges, no one felt more at home than Hoage.

Hoage graduated from �� in 2006 with an applied science degree and a minor in math. Many of her former instructors are now her colleagues, and she ��. running some of the same classrooms and labs in which she used to sit.

Her career as an undergraduate wasn’t her first experience, however, at ��. Nine years earlier as a middle-schooler in 1997, the Colfax native spent a week at �� in the first STEPS for Girls summer program.

That week, she fell in love with science. Each girl made a remote-controlled model airplane and flew it at the end of the week, learning the physics of flight among many other introductory science skills.

“It was an amazing experience. I had an opportunity to explore STEM careers, and the people who taught us were so enthusiastic,” Hoage said. “It greatly influenced my decision to attend ��.”

When she reached Colfax High School a few years later, she already was headed for a career in science, taking classes in computer aided design and advanced courses in biology, math and chemistry.

The STEPS for Girls experience helped inspire her to consider teaching and pursue science education outreach. Even as a senior at Colfax, she was an assistant math instructor for fifth grade. “My passion is to help people,” Hoage said.

Hoage is believed to be the first STEPS for Girls participant to return to �� to teach. More than 3,000 girls have participated since that first year when Hoage attended. STEPS completed its 21st year this summer.

“Having Dr. Hoage back on campus is indeed evidence of the success of STEPS in helping sixth-grade girls pursue a future in the STEM fields,” said Chuck Bomar, dean of �� . College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Management. “I hope she is the first of many STEPS graduates to come back to �� and share their passions for the various STEM fields.”

�� education and beyond

As a �� student, Hoage tutored fellow undergraduates for 3½ years in math and science and was a teaching assistant in biology and chemistry. She also led lab tours on campus for Girl Scouts and high school students.

During her Preservice Teaching Internship at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, she developed a science curriculum based on her research experience there.

She then earned a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from Mayo Clinic Graduate School in Rochester, Minn., and taught at Winona (Minn.) State University.

At ��, Hoage is beginning her career by teaching three sections of Human Biology this fall. Her goals include restarting the zebrafish research lab, which she helped establish as an undergraduate. “Zebrafish is an amazing model for science education outreach and for students to research with,” she said.

“�� has a very family-like culture. I’m here for the students to empower them to pursue STEM careers and appreciate science,” said Hoage, who also completed a graduate certificate program in instructional design at ��.

She would like to develop an outreach program with area schools similar to the Integrated Science Education Outreach program. “When I was an InSciEd Out volunteer during graduate school, I enjoyed providing teachers with hands-on opportunities to strengthen their scientific research skills and getting elementary kids excited about science,” she said.

Hoage is enjoying being back at �� and working with her former professors in the STEMM College. “I very much respected them and still do,” she said.

Bomar taught Hoage as a freshman. “Even as a first-year student, I remember her intensity and focus in the classroom. It was pretty clear there were no projects too big or too complicated for her to succeed,” he said.

In the summers Hoage hopes to get involved with STEPS for Girls, where her career path began 20 years ago.

To learn more about STEPS for Girls, go to the STEPS website. The program ��. major sponsors are ��, 3M, Hampton Family Trust, Xcel and Polaris; learn more on the STEPS Sponsors page.

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Top and bottom: Tiffany Hoage, a new biology instructor at ��, works with students during the first day of fall semester classes, Sept. 6.

Middle: Chuck Bomar

Tiffany Hoage and dozens of other new instructors began their University of Wisconsin-Stout teaching careers when classes began the first week of September. hoage-tiffany1_cs.jpg

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News

Students from three area high schools set to visit science labs

Recent graduate receives Early Career Educator honor

Kevin Mason

New instructor ��������. passion for science began at STEPS for Girls

New instructor ��. passion for science began at STEPS for Girls