AAAS Leadership in Science Education Prize For High School Teachers

General Information

The AAAS Leadership in Science Education Prize for High School Teachers recognizes high school science teachers for the development and implementation of innovative methods for teaching and encouraging the next generation of scientists.

With a generous donation from AAAS member, Dr. Edith D. Neimark, high school science department chairs and administrators are urged to nominate qualified science teachers to receive the AAAS Leadership in Science Education Prize for High School Science Teachers.

Once nominated, the teacher must complete and submit to the Nominator an application to be considered for the prize. The Nominator is responsible for e-mailing or mailing the completed package to AAAS by the deadline date .

Objective

This annual prize recognizes a high school science teacher who has contributed significantly to the AAAS goal of advancing science education by developing and implementing an innovative and demonstrably effective strategy, activity, or program.

Entries must be able to demonstrate the results of an inventive teaching strategy designed to encourage a diverse range of students to become motivated, successful learners of the ideas and skills that are critical to science literacy.

Qualifications for Prize Candidates

The teacher must be currently employed as a science instructor in a public or private school for grades 9-12 in the United States or its territories. Science teachers must be nominated by an administrator within their school (e.g., a principal), their district (e.g., the science curriculum specialist), or their state (e.g., the state science supervisor) who is in a position to know the nominee's work and to assess the extent of its impact on others.

Self-nominations are not permitted.

The Prize

The recipient will receive a monetary gift in the amount of $1,000 to support the development and continuation of the strategy, activity, or program. This honor will be conveyed by June of 2009 for use during the 2009/2010 school year. The winner will be notified by AAAS and an announcement will be displayed on the AAAS Web site and printed in Science magazine. In addition, the winner will be invited to attend and make a brief presentation at the annual Shanghai International Forum on Science Literacy of Pre-college Students as a guest of the Shanghai Association for Science and Technology.

The winner will be selected by a panel of judges made up of representatives from AAAS staff in Education and Human Resources, Project 2061, Office of Public Programs and the National Science Teachers Association.

Deadline

Applications for the 2009 AAAS Leadership in Science Education Prize must be received no later than 22 May 2009.

Forms

• Nomination form: Word document, Adobe PDF

• Application form: Word document, Adobe PDF

(Adobe Reader for PDFs can be downloaded for free.)

Nominator should e-mail completed forms to Lester Matlock. Forms may also be mailed or faxed to the following:

Past Prize Winners

2009 Winner: Michael Lampert, physics, microelectronics, and astronomy, West Salem High School in Salem, Ore.

2008 Winner: Diane Riendeau, Physics, Deerfield High School in Deerfield, Ill.

2007 Winner: Chris Kennedy, Chemistry, Hiram High School in Hiram, Ga.