Virtual science experiments connect college students with Windham eighth-graders

By Ed Pierce

Even in the middle of the pandemic, some RSU 14 educators are still striving to be innovative while teaching remotely and creating memorable and innovative lessons for their students. A great example of that is Pamela Mallard, Windham Middle School math and science teacher.

With her eighth-grade students in the classroom twice a week and having to learn remotely on Fridays, Mallard teamed up with Chemistry Professor Dr. Emily Lesher at Saint Joseph’s College to conduct a series of engaging experiments online this fall for eighth-graders led by college chemistry students. In past years, Saint Joseph’s have sat in on some of Mallard’s classes in person, but the pandemic resulted in a change of plans with all-virtual experiments that students can perform on their own at home.

Skyler Conant, an eighth grtader at
Windham Middle School, shows an
experiment he worked on virtually
this fall with chemistry students
attending Saint Joseph's College. 
In the experiment, Conant
demonstrated a chemical reaction by
mixing baking soda and vinegar
causing a gas that blew up the balloon.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

“It has made it possible to overcome a barrier that has been difficult,” Mallard said. “Last year Emily brought her science students into my classroom and did engaging experiments. Our goal was for my Middle School students to see how Science could be fun and lead to a career. This year with the restrictions due to the pandemic, visitors were not going to be allowed to come and present.”

Mallard said that Professor Lesher reached out to her to devise a plan about how to implement the same program but in a different way. 

“She devised with her students to come into my class by Google Meets. College students then led the middle school students in experiments and learning adventures,” Mallard said. 

Supplies needed for the special labs and experiments would be delivered by Dr. Lesher so that the eighth-grade students would have what they needed to perform the experiments at home each Friday. 

Skyler Conant, an eighth grader in Pamela Mallard’s science class at Windham Middle School shows an experiment he worked on virtually this fall with chemistry students attending Saint Joseph’s College. In the experiment, Conant demonstrated a chemical reaction by mixing baking soda and vinegar causing a gas that blew up the balloon. SUBMITTED PHOTO

 

“My students couldn’t wait to see what the package held,” Mallard said. “The surprise brought such excitement to my students. I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Lesher and her students.  This year has been very difficult for students and this outreach allowed them to have something to look forward to.”

According to Mallard, each of Mallard’s 40 students were given a virtual lesson and experiment, split up into 10 at a time.

“At this age, my kids don’t always see the importance of science,” she said. “But these college students were able to connect science to careers they were preparing to enter such as a medical biologist or a game warden. This allowed excitement to happen again for my students and they could see the crossover to the future plans for these college students and opened meaningful dialogue about it.”

Adding to the relevance for the eighth-grader students were that three or four of the Saint Joseph’s College chemistry students helping lead the experiments were graduates of Windham High School, Mallard said.

“This allowed my students to see local kids who are attending a local college and gave them an opportunity to think about what they might want to study at that level too,” she said.

Participation among the Windham Middle School eighth graders was 90 to 95 percent for the Friday experiments, which spanned a range of topics from chemistry to physical sciences.

“They gave them everything they needed to do the experiments at home and that was met with real enthusiasm by my students,” Mallard said. “They were able to relate to the college kids and the entire program was extremely worthwhile because it helped promote math and science and they could come in to class the next week and share what they learned.”

The final day for the fall experiments for Saint Joseph’s College students interacting virtually with Windham Middle School math and science students was Nov. 16.

Mallard said because of the success of the program this fall, she hopes to continue it in January with Lesher’s new class at Saint Joseph’s  College. < 

WPS third grade math students learn to solve problems in creative and useful ways

WPS third grade students with Rene Daniel of Social Services

By Lorraine Glowczak

“Hi there!” is how the message began. “My name is Caitlin Mansir. I teach third grade at Windham Primary School (WPS) and my team, which is three third grade classes, recently completed a clothing drive for the Windham Clothes Closet.”

What Mansir humbly left out is that the goal for this third-grade class was to not only collect 550 pieces of clothing and give it to the Windham Clothes Closet, but to do so as part of their hands-on and experiential math project.

Arithmetic and service to the community can go hand in hand and the third-grade team of teachers that included Jessica Melcher and Melissa Fries, prove that their innovative teaching techniques guide students in solving problems, not only with the obstacles faced in math, but obstacles that many face in life.

In terms of math, the lesson was division. “We divided clothing by separating those items into bags,” explained third grade student, Elias Whitney. “We learned that it took nine Hannaford shopping bags for 72 items of clothing.” That number, of course, was different if you put clothing in big trash bags,
which the third-grade students also calculated.

Besides division, students discovered that there are hardships placed on others and you can be the one to help solve that problem, too.  “I found out that it’s very important to survival and there is always a need for help,” student Madison Buzulchuck stated as one thing she learned from the project. “It’s nice of people to donate clothes because you make a big difference in the community and the lives of others,” student, Anthony Napoleone-Sweet said.

In the course of this project, General Assistance Administrator of Windham’s Social Services, Rene Daniel, was invited to speak to the students. “He told us that no school has ever done anything like this before, and he was very happy that we were doing this,” third grader, Nicholas Sferes said when he asked what he learned.

Daniel verified Sferes’ statement. “It’s true. We have never had a donation come from a school as part of a project. Prior to my work in social services, I taught for 25 years, and I was very impressed with the way the third-grade teachers at Windham Primary School incorporated this learning and giving project into the curriculum.”

The students exceeded their goal and donated over 1000 items of clothing

All third-grade students helped to load the bags of clothes into all  three of the teachers’ vehicles, because “it took all three of us to get all of those clothes to the closet because we had so many,” Mansir said.

The clothes were donated by the families of the third-grade students and they exceeded their goal by donating over 1,000 pieces of clothing and other items such as shoes and jackets. The exact amount, however, cannot be determined. “We received so many bags of clothing that we stopped counting the pieces after we reached 1200 articles,” Daniel said. “We serve between 97 to 100 households a month and this donation will get us through until mid-March.”

Fries admitted she was surprised that this large donation of clothing would only last for about a month.

There are other surprising facts that that the public may not know. “What a lot of people may not be aware of is that we are one of only two pantries in Maine who do not require proof of need,” Daniel continued “Anyone who lives in Windham can use our services.”

Daniel also explained that the Food Pantry is open 32 hours a week, rather than two to four hours that
most other pantries are open, and confidentiality is of the utmost importance. “You do not have to stand in a long line with others,” Daniel said. “All an individual needs to do is make an appointment. They can then come in and get what they need in privacy and with dignity and respect.”

The food pantry is located at 377 Gray Road in Windham and is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., except for legal holidays. The clothes closet is open every Monday and Tuesday from 10 to noon. To make an appointment, call 207-892-1906.

The pantry and closet are always accepting donations. “Imagine if you were someone in that situation. You would want to stay warm, too,” stated student Luke Hangge.