Forest Hills — Science teacher Patti Richardson moves from lab table to lab table, joking and chatting with students as she guides them through a hands-on activity about the process of meiosis, a form of cell division.
The students are pairing up two DNA molecules they’ve built to create a chromosome strand. Then they swap sections of the molecules to replicate the process of “crossing over,” in which paired chromosomes exchange genetic material before separating. It’s the process that helps explain why children from the same parents can look so different from one another.
Richardson is waiting for another process to happen: that moment when the light of understanding crosses a student’s eyes as they grasp the concept.
“It’s really that aha moment, and just seeing kids get excited about something, and then also seeing them be, ‘Oh my gosh, like, that’s just like crazy,’” Richardson said. “(It’s) just kind of opening eyes to their connection to our world, and how that connection and the things that they can do to help the world and the impacts on the Earth … You can just see that curiosity sparked.”
‘It’s really about doing science, not teaching science, and getting the students to think scientifically. We always say science is a verb.’
— teacher Patti Richardson
Richardson had her own aha moment on the impact she has had on science education this fall, as she was named Outstanding Biology Teacher in Michigan by the National Association of Biology Teachers.
“It’s just humbling to be recognized in that sense, with all the other people that were there and all the amazing teachers who I have worked with,” Richardson said.
Science teacher Kristy Butler, who nominated Richardson, said she embodies what it means to be a model educator.
“I nominated (Richardson) because she has always been an example of what teaching excellence looks like,” Butler said. “Her decisions are always guided by what’s best for kids, and not what is easier for her.”
And Richardson’s work as a collaborator and mentor extended beyond the classroom, Butler said, having served on several district committees focused on science and curriculum instruction. She also has supported science education in the state while a board member of the Michigan Science Teachers Association and the Michigan Association of Biology Teachers, and has led professional learning seminars at both the state and national level.
“(Richardson) truly wants all students to succeed, even if they are not sitting in her classroom,” Butler said.
Senior Kaden LaJoie has been in Richardson’s AP Biology and AP Environmental Sciences classes and participated in the Science Olympiad. He said Richardson helped him discover her passion in STEM, design and health; this fall he will attend Eastern Michigan University to study orthotics and prosthetics.
“I do believe her teaching style helped me grasp lessons much better, and even understand concepts on a much more complex level than I would have been able to otherwise,” said Kaden.
As someone with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, he appreciates that Richardson’s varied teaching style addresses “every complexity of her student’s learning abilities and helps me and many more students excel in science.”
Getting the Teaching Spark
Originally from Spring Harbor, in the Jackson area, Richardson said she always loved biology and science.
“I initially thought I was going to go to med school,” she said, adding that it was an opportunity to teach at a Kalamazoo high school that changed her direction.
“Once I got in the classroom, I just loved it,” she recalled. “So I’ve stuck with biology. … It’s really about doing science, not teaching science, and getting the students to think scientifically. We always say science is a verb.”
She graduated from Western Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and teaching, and a master’s degree in science education. She started her career in Honolulu and returned to Michigan to teach at Kalamazoo’s Loy Norrix High School. She has been at Forest Hills for the past 18 years.
She currently teaches Advanced Placement Biology and Environmental Science, but over her 30-year career also has taught chemistry, forensic science, human anatomy, physiology and marine science.
At Central High, she is also a Science Olympiad coach, the National Honor Society adviser and part of the Instructional Leadership Team and Positive Behavior Instructional Support Team.
“The (Next Generation Science Standards) really have pushed science teaching to be more about science practices and helping students to think scientifically, versus like when I was in school, and even when I first started teaching, I was giving (students) information,” Richardson said. “Now I don’t have to give them information; I show them how to find that information, how to use it, how to interpret it, how to make sense of it and apply it to a new situation.”
Passing the Knowledge Spark
There also have been a lot of new scientific discoveries, she said, adding that at a recent conference, organizers kept emphasizing that this was “the century of biology,” because of work in DNA, proteins, the way cells work and brain function, along with the advancement of medical treatments.
Richardson incorporates resources that offer research and real-time data in her classes. Her students analyze that data and answer questions based on it. Each unit or lesson begins with a big, overarching question, and students gather and examine data and information to help them answer it.
In her AP Biology class, for example, her students were assigned to look up various genetic illnesses such as cystic fibrosis and Edward syndrome, also known as trisomy 18. The exercise was part of the lesson about chromosomes and led into the process of meiosis.
After explaining what the different illnesses were, the students then did a compare and contrast. For example, they noted that cystic fibrosis is a genetic defect focused on specific bodily functions, while Edward syndrome is a chromosomal abnormality that impacts the whole body.
Richardson said that activities like this, along with working with replica chromosomes, allow students to actively explore and engage with the content.
The best advice she could give to those interested in teaching science: to incorporate hands-on activities to help students connect with the lessons.
“The teachers are kind of ‘guides on the side,’” she explained. “It’s the phrase that we use instead of a ‘sage on the stage,’ and that’s the biggest shift, I think, in science teaching, that you’re really just guiding the kids to learning knowledge.”
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