Building Character

If you’re one of those people who thinks scientific research is all about antiseptic rooms, white lab coats, latex gloves, and test tubes, you probably wouldn’t feel at home in one of Hector Ibarra’s (BS ‘75/MS ‘92/PhD ’05) classes.

The West Branch Middle School science teacher believes students should get their hands a little dirty while learning about physics, ecology, chemistry, and other subjects.

Take a used oil filter for instance. It’s loaded with used oil, which is why you don’t want to toss it in the local landfill, where the oil can leach into the soil and contaminate groundwater. It’s also full of other things, too, that might be recycled, like plastics, metals and lots and lots of paper, which is what holds all that oil in there.

Ibarra said that when his students dismantle used oil filters, they are equally surprised at how much waste is contained in such small canisters. And he likes that—the surprise—because he said it goes a long way toward helping students remember, understand, and appreciate science in ways textbook readings alone can never equal.

“I like the idea that kids are problem solving and asking what’s going on, how it’s going to affect them, and increasing their critical-thinking skills,” said Ibarra, who teaches sixth- and seventh-grade general and earth science.

For the last half of a nearly 30-year teaching career, the problems Ibarra has posed to his students have been largely environmental, like pollution and the dwindling supply of fossil fuels. But don’t call Ibarra a “tree hugger,” a term that he says carries too many negative connotations.

The truth is, Ibarra isn’t a big fan of hiking in the woods or paddling canoes. If he’s ever had an epiphany about teaching environmental science, it came to him not on top of a snow-capped mountain, but in a class taught by UI Science Education faculty member John Dunkhase.

Ibarra said Dunkhase got him fired up about inquiry teaching while taking a class from him as part of his master’s degree program. Inquiry teaching, Dunkhase says, encourages students to learn by doing rather than just by memorizing texts and concepts.

Curious how solar energy works? Build a small-scale vehicle with a solar panel, drive it around, and measure just how much of the sun’s energy it takes to make it move, like Ibarra’s students have.

Think the school district is wasting money by using standard light bulbs? Study the wattage of the old lights, the cost to light them, and then calculate the potential savings of switching to fluorescent lights, like Ibarra has, saving the district about $1,000 a month on electric bills. The project was so successful that it caught the attention of former President Bill Clinton, who cited Ibarra’s study in a 1997 address on global climate change.

Since 1992, Ibarra’s commitment to science education has earned him nearly $500,000 in grants and an endless string of honors. He was named to the 2002 All-USA Teacher Team, USA TODAY’s recognition program for outstanding teachers. And earlier this year, Wal-Mart and Phi Delta Kappa named him National Teacher of the Year for his innovation in the classroom.

He also inspires his students to do great things. Sixteen of them have each netted $7,000 in competitive research grants from the U.S. Army after developing projects addressing everything from lead in paint, pottery, and even candy, to the particular hazards faced by young drivers in rural communities.

Many have made careers of science. One former student is working on a master’s degree to become an agricultural meteorologist. Another became a Rhodes Scholar and now teaches computer science at an Ivy League university.

For all his success and recognition, Ibarra said he hopes his teaching does more than simply educate his students.

“The big part of teaching isn’t really what students are learning in class,”
Ibarra said. “It’s about helping them become responsible adults and developing respect and character.”

–by Stephen Pradarelli