Aimee Spahos, a sixth-grade teacher at Waunakee Intermediate School, contributed to the development and testing of two new additions to Meet the Lab, PBS Wisconsin Education’s online collection of educational resources which introduces middle school science students to relevant real-world issues and cutting-edge research.
PBS Wisconsin announced the the two new additions and Spahos’ work on the resouces recently. They include Virus Investigators, which explores the work of the John W. and Jeanne M. Rowe Center for Research in Virology at the Morgridge Institute for Research, and Data Decoders, which features the work of the Solís-Lemus Lab at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery.
Virus Investigators introduces students to Center for Research in Virology Director Paul Ahlquist and his team of researchers. They learn about the lab’s work to better understand how viruses function, how they can make people sick, and how to prevent or treat infections. In Data Decoders students meet lab leader and statistician Claudia Solís-Lemus. They learn how researchers in this lab make and use computer models to help biologists analyze data to better understand activity in communities like soil, crops and others.
“Being a member of the PBS educator cohort, gave me the opportunity to connect and collaborate with other science teachers in Wisconsin to help design labs that can be used directly in the classroom,” said Spahos. “Meet the Lab is very user friendly and encourages students to use inquiry to investigate issues in the real world. They work to solve problems that actual scientists are currently studying. This is a great free resource for anyone that teaches middle school science.”
Working directly with Wisconsin educators was a high priority for PBS Wisconsin Education during the project’s development and production.
“Engaging educators is integral to our production process,” said PBS Wisconsin education producer Ian Glodich. “By fostering a direct connection between teachers and scientists, I feel that this addition to Meet the Lab really responds to their classroom needs.”
Meet the Lab is made possible through partnerships with the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, Wisconsin Alumni Research Association Foundation, Morgridge Institute for Research, and Wisconsin educators and students. Funding provided by the Timothy William Trout Education Fund – a gift of Dr. Monroe and Sandra Trout, the Focus Fund for Education and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
PBS Wisconsin is a service of the Educational Communications Board and The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
