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Photograph by George Sakkestad

Peterson Middle School teachers Brenda Goldstein and Vonneke Miller high-five at the entrance to their class' Space Station Freedom.

Space to Learn

Peterson Middle School experiment takes off

By Katherine Petersen

When most people look at storage rooms, they see empty space.

When Brenda Goldstein and Vonneke Miller look at the same old rooms, they envision Space Station Freedom.

Five years ago, the two teachers at Peterson Middle School in Sunnyvale used their vision to transform an unused auto shop on campus into a replica of the still-unbuilt international space station--beating the United States, Russia, Europe and Japan to the punch by getting their design launched into orbit around their students' imaginations.

Peterson's version of Space Station Freedom houses the school's ASTRO-1 class, an interdisciplinary science program supported by the community, small businesses and industry.

There's a "grow chamber," which students are testing for a company back east.

There's a koi pond, complete with waterfall and floating plants. Students use the nutrient-rich water to grow lettuce in the hydroponics lab.

There are space station modules with computers, overhead video projection, ham radios and laboratories.

And there are large, 3-D murals surrounding the space-age room, depicting space flight and environmental "biomes," such as forests, lakes and river rapids.

But the gist of the entire environment is educational, with students using the scientific method and learning about learning.

"We grow seedlings in different media," sixth-grader Chelsea Minor explained. "We measure their height and write down all the data."

As with the real space program, Miller and Goldstein's project didn't come about without some work, research and money.

Miller and Goldstein, both sixth-grade teachers, hunted for funding, applied for grants and even consulted NASA scientists in building the replica, based on an actual model of the space station.

Last month, the two teachers won honors from the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, which sponsored the first annual TeachEach awards Oct. 20 for their excellence in teaching strategies. The foundation focuses on the success of children with different learning abilities. Three other teachers were given top honors, with 18 runners-up.

"It's fairly unique that teachers have both the skills and strategies and interest in reaching every student in the room they walk into every day," said Erin Cutler, spokesperson for the Schwab Foundation. "I think these teachers should have as much recognition as possible. I think too often teachers get looked over and don't get the recognition they deserve."

Miller and Goldstein split a $15,000 cash award, and Peterson Middle School received $10,000. A committee selected the team teachers out of 35 semifinalists in six Bay Area counties.

Goldstein focuses on ecology, biology and the environment. She teaches students about cells and microscopes and chemicals and atoms. Students create environmental tiles, drawing pictures to depict the food chain and animals in their respective ecosystems, such as a deer in the forest or a fish in the water.

"The kids do a lot of hands-on work building models of chemicals and research work in the hydroponics lab," she said. "They're learning something that has a connection to the next step but also relates to real life."

For a lot of her students, science is the one class in which they are successful, Goldstein said.

"Kids are evaluated differently," she said. "You can judge a classroom solely on a written test, but it doesn't allow a lot of students to show potential. It's a good way to block a door to them."

Goldstein and Miller's program is designed to reach all kids. "We've integrated study skills and learning skills into our science program, so children can learn in their own way," Miller said.

Miller and Goldstein present science lessons in a variety of ways to capture the attention of children with different learning disabilities.

"Some of our students don't speak English very well, so sometimes showing them pictures on the computer helps them to understand the material better," Miller said. "They see it, do something with it and hear about it."

"I like the assignments she plans out," student Chelsea Minor said. "They're not boring like most classes. They're exciting, and there's more participation from the whole class." For example, Miller, who specializes in physical science, uses a laser disc player hooked to her computer to visually back up her geology lessons.

Students in Miller and Goldstein's classes learn to take notes and write outlines and how to highlight vital information--in essence, they learn survival skills for high school. To describe a subduction zone (when one of earth's plates moves underneath another), Miller has her students picture a submarine with a volcano on its end that dives underneath a plate.

"As it comes up, the volcano will poke out," she said. Pretty soon, Miller and Goldstein might build their students a volcano.

Anyone can nominate teachers for the second annual TeachEach award, for which the deadline is Dec. 1. For more information on nominating a teacher, call 650/655-2607.

A free booklet highlighting the winning teachers' strategies is available by calling 800/471-9545.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, November 12, 1997.
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