The Show Must Go On: Learning Science Through Tragedy

This week, the Lab Out Loud podcast talks with Mallory Wills, a biology and earth science teacher at George Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In August 2020, Cedar Rapids and other parts of the Midwest were slammed by a derecho - an intense storm with straight line winds that damaged every school in the Cedar Rapids system. In the wake of the devastation, Mallory applied for a SSP (Science for Society and the Public) STEM Research Grant, hoping that the grant would provide much needed funding to help start a research club. Adapted for online learning, the award of $1000 provided take home STEM kits that helped Mallory provide hands-on learning opportunities in an online learning environment. Mallory joins co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler to describe the damage inflicted by the derecho in her district, how she has been using the SSP award to help her students conduct research in an online learning environment, and to remind us of the resilience, unanticipated benefits and the hope that can shine through tragedy. Show notes at: https://laboutloud.com/2021/02/episode-241-learning-science-through-tragedy