After successfully completing her six-week student teaching experience at Saint Francis de Sales Elementary School, USciences student Megan Garrison arranged for her two fifth grade general science classes to visit the campus on May 5, 2010.
With the help of Science Teacher Certification Program Director Dr. Lois H. Peck, Garrison created an educational day for the students as they explored animal diversity.
Garrison provided Mrs. Elizabeth Conrad and Ms. Caitlin Miller’s fifth grade students the opportunity to view more than 30 different animal specimens, consisting of invertebrates and vertebrates. Both Garrison and Peck taught the fifth graders about special animal adaption, the differences between certain animal groups, and how the brain and heart function.
“It was a great experience because I’ve never seen a real heart before, and I got to see what the bodies of animals look," said one of Mrs. Conrad’s students
While this event was not only beneficial to Garrison passing her six week training, she was still able to produce a gratifying experience for her students.
“The information the students learned that day certainly means much more to them than anything they can read from their textbooks,” Conrad said. “We are very grateful to the University for allowing us to have this wonderful experience”