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TSTOP sparks student interest in science and technology

How can we encourage student interest in science and technology? The first step is getting teachers out of the classroom and into the lab for direct research experience. The Teachers' Science and Technology Outreach Program (TSTOP) is a Ministry of Research and Innovation pilot program that gives Ontario teachers the opportunity to work with researchers in publicly funded research institutions.

By giving teachers two to four weeks of hands-on experience, the summer program enhances their understanding of current research underway in Ontario. The teachers use this unique experience to build student interest in science and technology in the classroom. Activities based on the teacher's summer research experience can include a school trip to the laboratories and school visits by university researchers and graduate students.  

The 2006 pilot program was held in Hamilton, Ottawa, Toronto and Sudbury, and initial results are very promising.  The government is now assessing the pilot program with the aim of expanding it province-wide in the future.

TSTOP at McMaster covers physics, chemistry, and plant sciences

Three teachers participated in the TSTOP program at McMaster University in Hamilton this past summer. Rachel Muvrin, a chemistry teacher at Bishop Reding Secondary School in Milton, spent two weeks studying samples of pollutants from Hamilton Harbour. Keith Morris, a physics teacher at Bishop Reding, worked with a team in the Department of Physics and Astronomy that is researching the magnetic properties of crystals. Chris Clovis, a science teacher at Pope John Paul II Catholic Secondary School in Scarborough, worked with a team in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences that is researching the properties of enzymes as targets for anti-fungal agents.

Video: see TSTOP in action at McMaster University

TSTOP takes students to SNOLAB

Ottawa teacher Susan Dubois took the TSTOP experience one step further. Ms. Dubois visited the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Laboratory (SNOLAB) last summer to participate in the development of a laser resonance scattering system. This fall, she returned with her Grade Six class for a "sunset to sunrise" visit that included meeting SNOLAB Director David Sinclair. The trip was followed up with separate classroom visits from Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, MRI Deputy Minister Alastair Glass and senior MRI officials.

"I am teaching our future scientists," says Ms. Dubois,  "and they have seen first-hand how a successful researcher works by interacting with David Sinclair. He shared his knowledge in a way that the students could easily grasp, he is passionate about his work, and he conveyed his confidence in their ability to make discoveries too."

See news video of the First Avenue Public School visit to SNOLAB.

Building on success

TSTOP builds on the success of the Youth Science and Technology Outreach Program (YSTOP).  Under YSTOP, the McGuinty government is investing $4.2 million over three years to connect youth with Ontario's leading researchers and technologists through community-based projects that give them hands-on experience in diverse fields such as robotics, life sciences, environmental science, engineering and theoretical physics.

More information on YSTOP is available at: www.ontario.ca/ystop.