Seneca Valley Middle School science teacher Diane Goldsberry said the $1,000 grant she recently received from Westinghouse Electric Co. might help inspire one of her students to become the next Thomas Edison or Benjamin Franklin.
Goldsberry, of Cranberry, is using some of the grant money to purchase multimedia software to help improve her eighth-grade science classes' energy conservation unit. She was one of five teachers in an eight-state region to receive a grant.
"I feel the energy unit is one of the most important topics students study," Goldsberry said. "Students need to understand energy issues and energy conservation. I tell them we need to find new, young scientists to help us solve this problem."
As adults, regardless of the profession students choose, they will be energy consumers, Goldsberry said.
"It is my hope my students will grow up to be knowledgeable citizens who can make informed decisions when voting on energy and environmental issues," she said.
Goldsberry, who thinks science is the most engaging subject matter to teach, makes sure her students see the link between the science topics they study and everyday applications in their lives. "How many classes do students take where they learn how to make a cloud and how a laser is used in a burglar alarm system?" Goldsberry asked.
To prepare her students for their future roles as energy conservationists, Goldsberry used some of the grant money to organize an Energy Conservation Carnival, which took place last month.
Goldsberry described the carnival as a "science fair with a twist -- knowledge combined with fun and games."
About 120 students in Goldsberry's five science classes participated in the carnival.
Each student researched an energy topic, analyzed the information and prepared a presentation. Up to 350 middle school students and 24 parents visited the 33 booths staffed by students working in teams.
At each booth, visitors were given a minilesson on an energy topic, ranging from fossil fuels, nuclear power and wind energy to conservation tips for the home, school and cars. After listening to the lesson, visitors were asked questions about the topic, and if they answered them correctly, they were eligible to play carnival games and win prizes, Goldsberry said.
"The carnival was really fun, and I think it was terrific that she (Goldsberry) got the grant," said Zack Thompson, 14, of Cranberry.
Zack's team had games relating to hydropower. "I found out about a lot of different energy sources and how they can be reused to conserve energy," he said.
Goldsberry's hands-on teaching makes learning about science more interesting, said Dustin Soller, 13, of Prospect. "She lets us discover things by doing our own experiments and research," said Dustin, whose team focused on landscaping to save energy.
Leigh Dunn, a learning support teacher at the school, said other subjects, such as math and English, were tied into Goldsberry's energy conservation unit and the carnival. In math class, students made a water log to determine how to save water, and in English, they created a parody of a popular song so that the lyrics related to a form of energy.
"Exposing students to this type of group learning allows them to learn how to work together and also improves their presentation skills," Dunn said.
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