September

I've put in another month of weekly volunteering in the biology class at SciHigh. I'd like to get some photos, The class is fast paced and busy, so the photo opps can be difficult to make time for, but I'll work on it. I'm posting a picture of the visitor name tags that I get at most of my visits (although sometimes they are out of them.)

I enjoy working with the students, and I hope I have made at least a small positive contribution. The students are all memorable, but the most striking part of this experience has been the amount of energy and dedication that Dr. Loftus puts into his classroom. The lesson plan is always packed with thought-out, thoroughly prepared activities. His work-ethic, and polished teaching ability enable him to keep the students engaged in the material.

This month, the students continued to learn about food webs and nutrient cycles. They are also working on their projects for the upcoming science fair.

Dr. Loftus intentionally allows the students lots of freedom on these projects. I make rounds to each group and try to provide a tiny bit of direction amidst the chaos. I've been able to streamline some of their procedures with little things like making one large master mix of reagents and then distributing an aliquot to each reaction vessel instead of mixing them all individually.

My most defined duty has been to work one-on-one with students who have fallen behind on their project deadlines. We sit down in the library and outline quick and easy experiments that are structured around the ideas they provide. The difficulty is I am only there once a week, so there is little time to clarify, follow-up, or troubleshoot. I turn them loose, and then they are on their own to complete the project. I hope they are having fun, and I am looking forward to seeing what they present at the fair.

24 hours of volunteer work completed.