Teacher Sophia O’Brien (middle of the front row, seated) beams, surrounded by students in her Science Exploration Class.
About This Series
Our families want to know what’s new in local schools. So we’ve created the Our Students Have Class feature series. We visit classrooms and ask educators what they are teaching and ask students what lessons are most important to them to provide a snapshot of daily life.
By the end of the first trimester on Dec. 1, students in Sophia O’Brien’s class had observed salmon hatching from eggs and sprouts springing from seedlings. They also learned to identify several species of plants and animals during nature walks.
O’Brien teaches Science Exploration at Mountain View Middle School, an elective available to any students in Grades 6-8 who want to study the science behind the natural world. She incorporates independent research and hands-on learning in her lessons to maintain and grow students’ wonderment and love of learning.
O’Brien focuses on natural science because she says there is so much for students to learn about the world around them. She also creates a safe environment where they feel encouraged to take risks, and to be vulnerable enough to explore new topics and ask questions about them.
“I want kids to be excited about learning,” O’Brien said. “Science is all around them; science is in every single thing they do, from the food they eat to the phones they use to the air they feel on their skin.”
Her efforts to fire up her students include nurturing salmon from eggs to young fish that students will take out and release into the Tualatin River. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife provides eggs to schools statewide, with MVMS joining the salmon program this year.
“When I think of salmon, I think of them in the wild,” seventh-grader Melody Scott said. “It’s not something I would have expected … but I’m really glad we did it. We learned a lot.”
To demonstrate their understanding of salmon, seventh-grader Alicia Alvarez-Morales said that Science Exploration students delivered some fish-forward presentations about the life cycle of salmon.
“We learned how they migrate and how they’re able to go back to where they started as a baby,” seventh-grader Alicia said. “They use their sense of memory and smell.”
She is fascinated with the athleticism of their journey.
“They also jump up waterfalls; they can actually jump up to 12 feet,” Alicia said.
She added that these finned wonders even change color, starting out green as babies and slowly developing a red cast to their scales everywhere except their heads, tails, and lower fins.
Sparking a fascination with natural science (in all its color-changing glory) is something O’Brien does strategically. She taps into all of her students’ senses with nature walks, gardening, and carrying their own hatchlings out to nature.
“Middle school is the time that kids can get invested in their learning or can start to view school in a negative light,” O’Brien explained. “I want to catch them before they think, ‘School’s not for me.’”
To keep that from happening, O’Brien not only uses experiential activities but also builds strong connections with students. A good relationship with their teacher makes grasping the material easier for students because they know and trust the person who is guiding them through it.
“When you need help she’ll help you, and she explains things clearly,” Alicia noted.
“She’s really fun, and she engages with her students well,” Melody added.