Meet Dave Gamon, 2023 PAEMST State Finalist
Dave Gamon teaches science at Northwood Middle School in the Mead School District
What is one concept that excites your students and why?
Reactions. They love watching a “controlled” explosion and then figuring out why the reaction took place. Whether it’s the Liquid Nitrogen Cannon and pressure, Elephant Toothpaste, or the Cellular Respiration reaction with the gummy bear burn, they love watching the dynamics of chemical reactions and how they apply to real world phenomena. On the first day of school, I bring in the portable fume hood and we perform the Cell Respiration reaction with Gummy Bears and Potassium Chlorate (and a little heat). The gummy bear lights up like fireworks inside the fume hood and students observe the energy released from the sugar. As we observe the light, the heat, the smoke and the charred remains, we ask about energy and where it came from. Inevitably, it leads us outside to observe the sun with our Google Eclipse glasses and talk about nuclear fusion, photosynthesis, and energy transfer. That leads us into problem number 1 in the “village”…Hunger and Food Insecurity which then is framed not only in terms of food, but energy. The reaction is the catalyst for the unit and the year.
What kinds of problems are your students interested in solving?
Our CTE frameworks and curriculum is built around team-based problem-solving that makes a difference as it addresses real world problems. We begin each unit with a problem. We study Hunger and Food Insecurity, Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Asthma, Genetic Engineering, Environmental and Climate Issues, and Adaptation. When students know that the problems they’re working on are real, relevant, and have connections to their lives, they engage at a deeper and more meaningful level. It’s not what you know that matters. It’s what you do with what you know. After studying Food Insecurity and Hunger, we partner with Generation Alive and make meals for the hungry and homeless in Spokane. After studying Disease and Diagnostics, we form student physician teams and play the Diagnostic Challenge. The student teams diagnose and treat 20 patients coming into their clinic and compete for accuracy. After studying Genetic Engineering, we do the Gene Project, where students design, build and present new species combined from existing genes. We then discuss the ethics of CRISPR and genetic modification.
What is one of the toughest concepts for your students to master? How do your lesson planning and teaching practices support them to engage in that learning and other challenging work?
In biology, the toughest concepts are molecular and microscopic. That’s why bringing them “to scale” and seeing the issues are important to understanding the dynamics at a cellular level. An example of this would be our Organelleville project. Students and student teams build cities that mimic cells and their organelles. Scaling up to a city and building analogies to cell organelles helps students understand form and function at a microscopic level. Some of my kids build 3d models. Others draw, paint, or construct images digitally. A few use Minecraft to create their Organelleville cities and then in their presentation they lead us on a tour of their city. By taking a tough concept and aligning it with something they know and like, they build a better mental scaffold for cellular anatomy and physiology.
What can math and science teachers do to make those disciplines more culturally sustaining for students with diverse identities and experiences?
I think the best inclusive strategy we have is engagement. If we can build hands-on, inquiry-based, curiosity driven activities and projects, students from all perspectives will respond. Inquiry is good for every brain. And every mind responds to engagement with ownership. Engage the learner and transfer ownership. We simply need to identify the best ways to engage the learner. A friend of mine regularly reminds me that we need to figure out what naturally engages our students and then find ways to weave those dynamics into our classroom and curricula. This is where I think gaming and gamification have tremendous potential in education.
What do you do differently in your classroom now compared to 2019?
Due to the learning loss and educational disruption of Covid, I now “shepherd” students through more of the simulations, activities, and projects with my students. They struggle to initiate, focus and complete learning activities. So I will often “launch” them into projects and activities with bite size amounts of work, coming alongside them and helping with completion. I’ve also increased the amount of teamwork students complete together. Relationships are critical and we’re working hard to help students develop 21st century soft skills like collaboration, communication, creativity, curiosity, and problem-solving. That requires a team mentality. The truth is we are all better together. As we work together, students are regaining skills, knowledge, routine, and resilience that they will need in education and life.
What other changes in education do you think are still needed?
I believe that now more than ever, courses and curricula have to be real-world relevant. We need to start with the “Why” and demonstrate the meaning within the learning. Every student deserves a meaningful education that prepares them to be future-ready. They also need 21st century soft skills more than ever. In fact, someone recently commented that the soft skills have become the hard skills. Higher education, industry, and vocational training all agree that what they need most are students and workers who are team-based problem solvers. They can train them in the content and skills necessary in their field. They have a harder time training them in collaboration, communication, creativity, curiosity, and problem-solving. Those are critical for our kids to be future ready and it’s why our focus in education needs to change.
What advice would you give to parents or caregivers who want to support their students’ math and science learning?
My advice would be to engage in the current context of their student’s education and seek additional opportunities for engagement in STEM. As a teacher I appreciate when parents and caregivers connect with me and share their perspectives on their student’s learning. As a STEM coordinator, I appreciate when parents seek additional opportunities for their kids in STEM. As a district, Mead is working hard to offer those opportunities through our Summer STEM Academy and the STEMForward Series during the school year. Summer STEM Academy offers 3 weeks of STEM-based thematic camps focused on the application of various fields and technologies. (Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93h7upGTKEg) The STEMForward Series partners with universities like WSU Health Sciences and Whitworth as well as businesses like Historic Flight Foundation to offer kids and families experiences in STEM related careers. (Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeWBtGQ6E8E) Those experiences include Flight Night, Medical Mystery, and STEMPlosion.
Who have you been following or reading from a math and science perspective in the past two years? Any other publications, blogs, etc. that you would recommend?
We just completed a study of Eric Jensen’s book, “Teaching with Poverty in Mind.” It offered some real insights into educational dynamics, brain anatomy and physiology related to learning, and practical strategies for helping students to grow, achieve, and be future ready. On my own, I’ve been reading “Code Breaker” by Walter Isaacson about Dr. Jennifer Doudna and her team from Berkeley that developed CRISPR, a gene editing technology. She and her team recently won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discoveries. One of our former students, Connor, is part of her team at Berkeley and our class has been able to Zoom with him. I recently recorded a podcast with Connor and added it to our website at N2X as part of our STEM Pathways Series for teachers. His story is remarkable. It’s been fun to read the book about genetic engineering, learn about Dr. Doudna’s team, and watch Connor become a part of the CRISPR story.
