OCMS teacher hosts ‘Science in Action’ series on GPB
Steven King is on a mission to show middle school students science isn’t so frightening.
“People are sort of scared of science in some ways,” said King, Oglethorpe County Middle School gifted science teacher. “Either you’re very involved in it, or you’re a little afraid of it — depending on your early experiences in science classes.”
Last fall, the Georgia Department of Education approached King, an Oglethorpe County native, about a special project: “Science in Action.”
“Science in Action” is an eight-episode series produced by the Georgia Department of Education and Georgia Public Broadcasting. The series focuses on instructional methods — rather than content — to make science instruction more engaging for middle school students.
“I see so many teachers that are just overwhelmed with the day-to-day planning that changing the way they teach — because it is a huge transition — seems so overwhelming,” said Chloe Westhafer, a sixth-grade earth science teacher at West Jackson Middle School who is in the series.
Westhafer and King hope the series makes it easier for middle school science teachers to implement more effective teaching strategies.
“This is a means to give people ideas of how to structure things and to make it where science becomes more relevant,” King said.
King said the Georgia Department of Education reached out to him about participating in the series, and he filled out an application. All eight episodes were recorded over two days at GPB’s studio in Atlanta.
In each episode, King leads a discussion with middle school teachers from across the state about a specific instructional strategy, paired with video of the strategy in action in a classroom.
“We don’t invent anything,” King said. “We reuse things as teachers, so we’re constantly finding things that are good and making them better.”
For King, who is one of three science teachers at OCMS, the most valuable part of the experience was learning from other teachers about what works in their classrooms.
“They get ideas from me, and I get ideas from them — and that’s the beauty of what I do: sharing ideas and trying new things.”
The series was released in June. All episodes are available on GPB’s website (gpb.org/education/production/middle-school).
“There was a need for this in science education in Georgia,” Westhafer said.
King said the Georgia Department of Education has received such positive feedback on the series, it’s now working on a version for high school teachers.
“What I’ve always strived to do is to make it very relevant and let kids who might be a little bit rusty with science say, ‘Hey, this is for me.’”