EDUCATION
DREAM SCIENCE CLASSROOM Room renovation for TV MAKEOVER SHOW surprises industrial chemist-turned-middle school teacher RACHEL PETKEWICH, C&EN WASHINGTON
BRAD EDWARDS is the kind of enthusiastic teacher who usually works in his classroom during the summer. But this past summer, school officials told the 32-yearold to stay out of Rahway Middle School in Rahway, N. J., during asbestos removal. When Edwards walked into Room 321 a week before classes began in September, he learned the real reason he had to stay away. He was the recipient of the Science Channel's "Dream Science Classroom." Edwards happily didn't recognize a single square inch of his old classroom. The chalkboard had been swapped out for a computer-enabled, touch-sensitive interactive whiteboard. Instead of standard classroom desks, lab tables equipped with laptops, microscopes, and smart technolo-
gies such as wireless devices that permit e-instruction awaited students. Three sinks, including one with handicapped access, replace the old one. The room features a safety shower, eyewash station, oodles of storage space, and a portable, self-contained fume hood with an organic filtration system. Ample power outlets line the walls. Special shades slide up and down over the windows with the flick of a finger. A digital projector, fossils, and model planets hang
overhead. On the floor is new tile with hues that reflect the celestial landscape. "The goal was to create an interactive learn• • • ing center that also has a museum atmosphere," says Eli Kabillio of Mad Dog Films, who produced and directed the makeover show. "Pm still speechless," Edwards told C&EN on the second day of school. But he didn't waste any time incorporating the new technologies into his classes. And what do the kids think? "As they walk in, you hear a lot of'wow' and 'cool,' " Edwards says. "It's a lot to take in for a 12- or 13year-old. They've never seen anything like it, that's for sure. And that's a function of their experiences and the places they have been able to go with their resources. To see the types of things they are going to be able to use firsthand, there's a lot of amazement."
MAKEOVER Edwards* classroom was renovated by the Science Channel over the summer.
"The goal was to create an interactive learning center that also has a museum atmosphere." WWW.CEN-0NLINE.ORG
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OCTOBER 23, 2006
EDUCATION
The room lures parents, too. About back-to-school night held earlier this month, Edwards says, "For most of the evening, parents of students not even in my class were visiting to look at the room." EXTREME MAKEOVER shows—trans forming everything from people to houses—are big television hits on a number of networks, but the Science Channel claims that "Dream Science Classroom" is the first endeavor involving a school. Steve Jacobs of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) had the initial idea and presented it to Steve Burns, now the executive vice president of production for Discovery Networks. Concerned about dwindling science literacy in this country, Burns wanted to do something that would showcase science education and thought a classroom makeover would be a good way to provide some visibility and attention, says Allan Butler, executive producer for the Science Channel, which is part of Discovery Networks. They looked for a middle school science teacher, Butler adds, because their research showed that middle school is often the first time students have teachers who specialize in science, and middle school science teachers, who are often new to the teaching profession, can use as much help as they can get. Finding an inspiring teacher with a classroom in need of a makeover was the next step. The team searched around the New York area for months, Kabillio says. 'We found a lot of teachers who were good, but I was just looking for a teacher with that extra special spark," he says. Then Kabillio decided to visit Rahway, his hometown. When the two met for the first time in May at the school, Kabillio simply told Edwards that he and the camera crew were scouting for a show profiling several great science teachers. Kabillio was impressed with Edwards' enthusiasm and smiling students amid modest classroom conditions. Edwards is such a dynamic instructor, and the new remote technologies perfectly match the way he teaches, he adds. Edwards didn't start his career as an educator. Growing up in Rahway, he played baseball, took honors classes in high school, and was the first in his immediate family to attend college. After graduation, he took a laboratory chemist position with a contract company and did chemical analyses for Union Carbide. He says he enjoyed the science but found the industrial environment wasn't
for him. Another avenue emerged after an invitation to speak at an annual sports banquet in Rahway. "My old baseball coach asked me if I had ever considered teaching," Edwards recalls. He tested the waters with substitute teaching and has been in his current position since 2000. Edwards also likes the opportunities he has to coach youth sports and organize the middle
school's Science Club and Science Olympiad programs. He draws on his industry experience to prepare for the classroom and for these extracurricular activities—and not just because the Olympiad participants need to learn a little extra organic chemistry. To prepare for a competition, the students also need to learn how to research and
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EDUCATION solve problems. He finds himself saying, "Well, when I was working in industry, if a situation like this came up, then these are the types of things we might do." Edwards' resources in the school are not so vast as those available in industry, so it is also a chance to encourage his students to be creative. While observing class, Kabillio asked
Edwards for a list of things that he would want in a "dream" classroom. Edwards had coincidentally returned from the NSTA convention in Anaheim, Calif., only a few weeks earlier. Fresh in his mind were myr iad new teaching tools and lab classroom set-ups he had seen in the exhibition hall. Although Edwards initially stood in awe of the renovation the first day he saw it, he
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