Georgia Public Broadcasting films Science in Action series at TCMS

Sep. 19—THOMASVILLE- Two outstanding Thomas County Middle School science teachers were filmed by Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) on Monday and Tuesday after being selected to appear in a Science in Action series.

According to Thomas County Schools Director of Science Education, Dr. Scott Sweeting, the school was selected due to its large number of teachers who have received the title of STEM Scholars.

"We've had several teachers who were selected to be STEM Scholars," Sweeting explained. "About 20 teachers in the state of Georgia every year are selected to be STEM Scholars and receive recognition from the Senate and House, as well as receive $500 to use in their classroom. It's just a really big deal."

Having one STEM Scholar is an honor, but last year Thomas County Schools had two STEM Scholars, and the Georgia Department of Education took note.

"We were up at the State Capitol last year and the Science Program Manager Keith Crandall came up to me," Sweeting recalled.

Crandall was hoping Thomas County Schools may be able to help GADOE with their new program on GPB. The program details what science classrooms look like in action.

The program originally focused on an elementary school science classroom and has now transitioned into middle school.

The goal of the program series is to provide a model for new science teachers, showcasing what a science classroom should look like under the new standards set forth in 2017.

"Teachers are still getting used to these new standards," Sweeting said. "There are a lot of materials and resources out there, but nothing as in-depth and detailed as seeing it for yourself inside the classroom and how it's supposed to look."

After hearing the initial proposal to film TCMS, Sweeting jumped on the idea.

Sweeting knew most of the schools in the original science elementary series were from the urban Atlanta area, so showcasing a rural South Georgia school as the model for science education would be the ultimate feather in Thomas County Schools' cap.

Sweeting was required to choose two teachers to appear in the series. The chosen teachers would have a day in the life of their classroom appear on the program.

"I had no doubt in my mind who I would choose," Sweeting said. "We have dynamite staff here. We are very fortunate and very blessed to have the teachers that we have."

Samantha Sturrup and Clayton Woodfin were chosen to represent TCMS in the series and have been working with the GADOE and GPB to set up their classroom for optimal filming.

GPB and GADOE gave free rein to both Woodfin and Sturrup on the lesson plan, allowing them to keep up with their pacing for the year.

Sturrup chose to focus her lesson on the solar eclipse, which the students will actually view later this year.

"We are going to have a huge solar eclipse viewing this year because this will be the last solar eclipse viewing in the United States until 2045," Sweeting said. "This lesson and filming really helps with that buildup."

While Sturrup is excited for her students to have the opportunity to view the solar eclipse, she said she specifically chose this lesson to showcase the investigation that takes place when discussing scientific topics.

"I presented a phenomenon to them that they had to plan and investigate with their peers to sort of uncover that phenomenon, which was the moon shadow moving across the Earth," Sturrup said.

In order to prepare for the big filming, Sturrup said she just ensured that her students understood the concept and were really doing the thinking and investigating for themselves.

"I just really wanted to make sure it showed them in action with the science," she said.

Sturrup was really proud of her class and how they handled the filming while continuing to ask educated and thoughtful questions.

"I think middle schoolers get a bad reputation because they are still kids, but they are really curious and engaged in their learning," she said. "They are kind of at that happy spot, where they're mature enough to do it, but still really inquisitive. They really rose to my standards and expectations, when I gave them the freedom to do so."

Sturrup and her students were definitely the stars of the show and Sturrup looks forward to individuals getting to peak behind the scenes and see the hard work that goes into setting up these moments of engaging dialogue and activities.

Additionally, Sturrup hopes those watching see the support that the teachers receive from the administration in order to accomplish these detailed lesson plans.

However, Sweeting said it is a group effort and something the BOE is incredibly proud of.

GPB has not announced an airing date for the program yet, but Sweeting said that once released, he will share it with all the staff.