When Glyn Davies students volunteered him for a science experiment, he had no idea hed be leaving the Anderson elementary gym with a $10,000 cheque: $5,000 for him and $5,000 for science projects at his school.
Davies is the winner of an Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence.
I was 120 per cent surprised, said the beaming Grade 6/7 teacher. Im a shy person, so I was happy to sit back and watch the presentation, but I was shocked when they called me down. What a treat, what an absolute treat.
Since 2008, U.S.-based pharmaceutical company Amgen Inc. has been recognizing science teachers who significantly impact their students. Only one Canadian teacher receives an award every year.
To catch their teacher by surprise, Anderson principal Pam Essex and Davies students planned an elaborate rouse at the school assembly Monday morning.
The event was MC-ed by five of his students, dressed in their astronaut garb from a previous space project they had done.
At the beginning of the assembly, the Grade 7 students, Christina Yang, Vivian Yan, Carie Tu, Ryan Fobert and Simone Williams, introduced two enthusiastic Science World representatives who conducted a series of experiments, which included a jellybean taste test and a Van de Graaff generator.
The guests were there to congratulate the kids for their achievements during Earth Day.
For their second to last experiment, the duo needed an astronaut volunteer to help them launch a water bottle rocket. The five MCs deliberated and decided on their space commander, Mr. Davies.
Davies successfully completed his task and was asked to hang back for his award, presented by Amgens Jim Favaro, MLA Linda Reid and school trustee Kenny Chiu, representing MP Alice Wong. The school erupted into applause and a standing ovation.
His teaching is very different from other teachers, said 12-year-old MC astronaut Ryan. He does hands-on learning. He doesnt just give us a worksheet. We make the projectwe make it happen.
Davies experiential and creative teaching style is one of the reasons hes being recognized. Hes often visited and remembered by past students.
Every term, he has his kids work on a creative project where they each take different roles.
Something Ive always done since I started out was to try and imagine what it would be like as a child in the classroom, said Davies, who has been teaching at Anderson for 17 years.
Then I develop assignments from that viewpoint. I try to create that hook of interest. We always have a sharing component where the children are teaching other children or adults or people in the community what theyve been learning.
Last February, one such assignment had his class setting up a space station at Aberdeen Centre. The students assumed the roles of astronauts and took community members on a tour of the solar system.
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I was really excited because knowing Mr. D, hes probably going to use the money to fund science experiments and other science things, like these projects, said Carie in Grade 7.
We were all excited for the future classes, said 13-year-old Simone.
We were like, wow, whats he going to come up with next. We cant wait to visit next year.
