Robert Williams “Otter” Brown
The Wheeler School
Providence, RI

A product of the Massachusetts Audubon Society Education Department, Otter Brown has taught elementary, middle and high school students at the Wheeler School for 35 years. In the 1990s, his student stream teams won more than $200,000 in awards and competitions. Brown coached six different five-student Envirothon teams to the Rhode Island State Championships. Last year, he was honored as the Siemens AP Math Science Teacher of the Year in Rhode Island. He plans to use his Amgen award to support teams of CoyoteKids in his next endeavor of researching urban coyotes through the use of tracking telemetry and GPS radio collars. Brown wants his students to feel the wild within and share his sense of wonder.

Doris E. Lawson
Potter Burns Elementary School
Pawtucket, RI

“Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand.” This ancient proverb has been Doris Lawson’s philosophy of education for 28 years. She involves her third-grade students in a science adventure that makes them wonder and discover the marvels of the world in which they live. You never know what you’ll find when you walk in her classroom. Lawson could be standing on a desk preparing to let a rock crash into a pile of flour-sprinkled dirt to simulate the creation of a moon crater. You might find her students in the cafeteria flying airplanes to determine how many paper clips will minimize the drag. Or they’re likely at the river investigating animal habitats. Lawson is a National Board Certified Teacher and a grant writer for the Potter Burns School.

Dr. Joel Gluck
NEL/CPS Construction Career Academy
Cranston, RI

Dr. Joel Gluck believes that all students have the ability to learn and reach high standards. As a teacher, he says it’s his responsibility to monitor and adjust his science instruction based on their individual needs. He has been developing a curriculum that teaches the wonder of scientific inquiry in such a way as to encourage, challenge and nurture students. Classroom visitors will see students engaged in active learning, prompted to solve problems by brainstorming, troubleshooting, researching and experimenting. Dr. Gluck’s attraction to science education stems from his training as a physician. “The real challenge is getting my students to believe in themselves,” he says. “I love seeing the look of astonishment on their faces when they finally ‘get it.’ They are learning not to please me as much as they are learning to please themselves.” Dr. Gluck won the 2006 EDS Technology Grant for innovation and bringing technology to the forefront of the science classroom.

Daniel J. Potts
Chariho Regional Middle School
Wood River Junction, RI

After 16 years teaching middle school students, the only thing Daniel Potts is certain of is the uncertainty of each day. “That is why our science experience is a full-year adventure outside of the classroom walls as well as inside,” Potts says. He and his seventh and eighth graders kayak down the Wood River, research and track the fish population in a nearby stream, participate in a winter night hike at the W. Alton Jones Campus of the University of Rhode Island and pull weeds in the hot summer sun from the Kid’s Grow garden. The idea: Keep students actively engaged in their education. With the help of science professionals, Potts ensures that his students participate in real science inquiry so they can make informed decisions about issues that impact their lives today and tomorrow. “My students work diligently in rigorous activities, and they have fun while learning valuable skills,” Potts says.