TEACHING STE ( A ) M OUTSIDE OF THE BOX
How does one go from a struggling student in math and sciences to an award winning STEM ( Science , Technology , Engineering , Math ) teacher ? For Carla Cooper it took finding her way past failures and obstacles and learning to teach outside of the box .
In May , Carla Cooper ( BEd ' 08 ), a teacher at Lumsden High School and graduate student doing her Master ' s in Education at the University of Regina , was informed that she was a recipient of the prestigious Prime Minister ' s Award for Teaching Excellence in STEM .
Cooper , who grew up in Moose Jaw , went back to school for a semester after graduating from high school to improve her marks . " I knew I wanted to do something in the sciences but I struggled in the sciences and math , quite badly . Fifties weren ' t going to be good enough for me , so I spent a semester at Vanier , thinking a change might help . It was a huge help ." The change , or possibly a new maturity , Carla speculates , gave her success at Vanier , and from there , she went to Red Deer College to become a geneticist . However , life got in the way and before she finished , Cooper left college , moved home , got married , and began her family .
" I don ’ t teach in a box , and I want students to take risks , too . I want my kids to become healthy risk takers ."
Not long after , Carla started in a new career direction : She had always been drawn to teaching . " I was that kid who had a chalkboard in my bedroom . I was always pretending , playing school . I love being in school : the atmosphere , being around the staff and students , the smell of the school ; it ' s weird . I love the sounds , the feel , the buzz ." Cooper was working as an Educational Assistant when Dr . Sandy Kitz observed her teaching math . Carla says , " Afterwards she pulled me into her office . I thought I was in a lot of trouble , but Dr . Kitz said , ' What are you doing here ? You need to go back to school . You need to spread your wings and fly .' That was the push ," says Cooper . The next step in 2001 , was to enroll part-time in Science , while waiting for admission to the Faculty Education at the University of Regina . Cooper took the required sciences for the Science Education program and in 2004 , she was accepted to the Education program , in which she chose a double major in biology and chemistry , and moved to fulltime studies .
By that time she was a busy single mom , and her memorable moment is not a very positive one : " It was the first year I was accepted into the Faculty of Education , and my first time back at University on a daily basis , and I got my first Biology mark back ... it was horrible . I had really high expectations of myself but I realized that just because you ' re mature , doesn ' t mean you are going to succeed ." But Cooper pushed past this initial failure . From there , she says , " I improved and improved and improved and I figured out how to be a mom and a student ."
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