KNOXVILLE — Nicholas Wilsey, a teacher at Knox County Schools’ L&N STEM Academy, returned to the classroom this year a ‘STAR’ after participating in the prestigious “Siemens Teachers as Researchers” (STARs) fellowship program. Wilsey was part of an exclusive group of 40 teachers from across the country selected to learn new and exciting tools that will help his students gain a more practical understanding and stronger appreciation for the use of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts in their daily lives. The program allowed him to participate in an immersive research program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Sponsored by the Siemens Foundation and administered by Discovery Education, and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Wilsey took part in an elite fellowship program and worked with a team of respected research scientists and fellow educators on a project examining magnetic fields.

The STARs program is part of the Siemens STEM Academy, a premier online professional development community for STEM educators that encourages and celebrates excellence in STEM education through a wide offering of innovative resources, webinars and networking opportunities. The program’s goal is to invigorate teachers by immersing them in authentic research alongside some of the country’s brightest scientific minds and enable collaboration to help inspire their students to pursue STEM education and careers. Siemens STEM Academy amplifies Siemens Foundation and Discovery Education’s commitment to building the future pipeline of STEM graduates prepared to succeed in the global economy.

"We are honored to host such inspiring teachers like Nicholas and hope he and his colleagues walk away from this experience with new ideas for their classrooms and exciting insights into STEM education that will impact a future generation of young professionals,” said David Etzwiler, CEO of the Siemens Foundation. "The STARs program is an important part of the Siemens Foundation’s efforts around STEM education, and we are so proud to receive such an enthusiastic response from the educational community every year.”

While at Oak Ridge, Wilsey and his fellow educators worked with scientist Kevin Berry on a preliminary investigation of the effect of magnetic fields on the performance of gas-filled neutron detectors in use at the facility’s neutron reactors.

“Working with Kevin at the Spallation Neutron Source on a real scientific question was a full immersion experience,” Wilsey said. “This is how I want my students to learn, by tackling authentic STEM problems in a collaborative work environment. As a champion of problem-based learning, the STARs program was the best professional development I could ask for.”

In addition to their research, Wilsey and the other STARs fellows were involved in a number of seminars aimed at helping them effectively incorporate research into their classrooms. Each teacher also received a grant to purchase equipment and/or supplies for their classroom to use in the coming school year.

Following the programs, the Fellows will serve as ambassadors in their schools and communities as they continue working together on various STEM projects and empowering their peers with the tools and knowledge gained at the STARs program. The hope is that these teachers will then bring the experience back into their classrooms and inspire students to pursue opportunities in STEM-related fields.

Please visit www.siemensstemacademy.com for a full list of STARs fellows and additional background.

Published August 12, 2014