KBS-based NSF Research Experiences for Teachers educator wins national award

When Kirsten Salonga next returns to the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, she’ll be bringing the prestige of the Robert E. Yager Exemplary Teaching Award from the National Science Teaching Association with her.

Salonga, an educator at Justice High School in Falls Church, Virginia, is one of six full-time K-12 science teachers in the nation to receive the Yager teaching award for exemplary use of innovation and excellence in their classrooms. She said the time she’s already spent at KBS — MSU’s largest off-campus educational site that specializes in field experimental research in ecology and evolution — has helped shape her approach to teaching, which reflects her passion for science and experimentation.

For example, she uses balloons as props to illustrate cell respiration. She’s prepared a targeted classroom activity known as a “Data Nugget,” which is shared for free through another program developed at KBS. She even won an Educate Fairfax Teacher Grant that enabled students to experiment with hydroponics to learn about photosynthesis.

“I was ecstatic to discover this RET at MSU’s Kellogg Biological Station because of the specific focus it has on evolutionary biology,” she said. “It was so refreshing to come to KBS and really delve into experiments that are content-specific. The lab itself is amazing and the people are phenomenal.”

Science in action

Like most science teachers, Salonga is teaching her students how nature works. But, by immersing herself in research, she’s also in a unique position to share how science works.

“The misconception is that they sometimes think, ‘Oh, my experiment didn’t show that my hypothesis was true. It’s a bad experiment,’” Salonga said. “No. That’s still data and your experiment is fine. Your hypothesis is just supported or not supported.”

“We’re good at drawing conclusions based on our biases or our preconceived notions,” said Jeff Conner, principal investigator in the Conner Lab where Salonga was based. “What she’s really doing is teaching her students to think like scientists by drawing conclusions based on evidence.”

In addition to the Yager award, Salonga was selected to be among 35 Grosvenor Teacher Fellows by National Geographic Society and Lindblad Expeditions to participate on a voyage exploring Alaska’s coastal wilderness this summer.

But she’ll be back at KBS, as well, joining a group of 10 undergraduate and graduate students, technicians and a postdoctoral fellow. They’ll also welcome a new teacher who will be peer-mentored by Salonga as part of the RET program.

“Getting students enthusiastic about science through experimentation is probably the best thing that I’ve done in my career so far,” Salonga said. “KBS has really helped with that.”

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