By Maegan Murray, ���سԹ�

RICHLAND, Wash. – As part of a class at Washington State University Tri-Cities, adjunct education professor Cathie Tate picked up two simple objects: a popsicle stick and a paper clip. She asked the future teachers sitting before her how they would describe the objects to a young child.

With students describing traits such as color and material, she then asked her students: “Ok, how would you compare the two objects?”

It was a start of a lesson in showing the students how to describe mathematical concepts in a simple manner. It was also one of many lessons for the students in how to make teaching math less daunting and more fun. It is what many students describe as a talent of Tate’s.

Tate was recently recognized for her teaching accomplishments after being honored with a Crystal Apple Award by the regional Educational Service District. The award recognizes public school educators who have made a positive impact on the lives of their students.

Deisy Cardoso, a former student of Tate’s at Delta High School and now a current student majoring in education at ���سԹ�, said Tate is the person who inspired her to major in education with an endorsement in middle level mathematics.

“I was thrilled when presented with the opportunity to take her course here at ���سԹ�,” she said. “In that class, she provided me with the tools to confidently teach math to future students and encourage them to take responsibility for their learning.”

Nominator Judy Morrison, academic director of ���سԹ�’ College of Education, said Tate has a passion for making math an approachable subject, even encouraging a love for the subject in students – including those who were hesitant of teaching math at first.

“Many elementary teacher candidates are anxious about approaching mathematics as not only an adult learner, but as a future teacher who will be entrusted with helping pupils to understand and enjoy mathematics,” Morrison said. “Cathie uniformly takes these students from a state of anxiety about teaching math to one of excitement for the future.”

A yearning to teach

Tate has taught at ���سԹ� since spring 2009. She teaches math for elementary teacher courses through the ���سԹ� College of Education. In addition to

serving as an adjunct professor at ���سԹ�, she teaches full-time at Delta High School, educating students in the subjects of calculus and multi-variable calculus. She also presently serves as an adjunct college in the high school professor for Central Washington University and used to teach courses at Columbia Basin College.

At the K-12 level, and especially with the Pasco School District, Tate said she has worn many hats: middle and high school teacher, department chair, instructional coach and math facilitator. She was also on the planning committee for Delta High School in 2008. But what she loves most is the interaction with her students, whether that be students at the K-12 level or the college level.

“I can’t imagine not getting up each morning and going to teach,” she said. “Students, high school or college, inspire me to be a better version of myself. I want to bring my ‘A’ game to every class because that is what my students deserve. I joke with my students that the day I stop caring about bringing my ‘A’ game to class is the day I retire.”

Overcoming math stereotypes

Tate said she was inspired to go into a career teaching mathematics by an instructor she had at Columbia Basin College in the 1970s.

“She was the first female math instructor I had ever had,” she said. “In 1974 and 1975, mathematics was an unusual profession for females. She became a role model to me and encouraged me to become a math teacher.”

Tate said she was told many times that, as a female, she couldn’t do math.

“I chose to become a math teacher to change this perspective,” she said. “Along the way, I realized that our schools were filled with math anxious students and it was my job, as a high school math teacher, to eliminate that stress.”

Changing the perception of math

Tate said at the high school level, she was able to impact about 100 students in a year, but she felt that she could give even more. She said she was thrilled when she was offered the opportunity to teach mathematics for elementary school teachers at ���سԹ� so that she could try to make even more of a difference.

“How do I change an adult student’s perspective of mathematics?” she said. “I do this by asking them the first day of class to trust me. I explain that we will be looking at math through a different lens and that I am there to help them be successful. I inform them that they will be given more than one opportunity to succeed at a learning target. I also ask the students who have found previous math courses easy to open their minds to view math through the eyes of a struggling student.”

Tate said seeing the light in a student’s eyes when they first understand and embrace a concept is still the most rewarding part about teaching.

“It is indescribable and it still has the power to rejuvenate me as a teacher,” she said.

Preparing the world’s future educators at ���سԹ�

At ���سԹ�, Tate said she enjoys being able to interact with a new generation of teachers and hopefully inspires in them a passion for math.

“In my role at ���سԹ�, I am able to show adult learners that math is fun,” she said. “If future teachers can have fun in math class, this will impact the students they will someday teach.”

Tate also inspires students’ parents, of which sometimes double as current students.

Anna Arthur, a previous education student of Tate’s at ���سԹ� and the parent of a student of Tate’s at Delta High School, said Tate is a favorite teacher of both her son and herself.

“She has a way of teaching you with respect, which becomes mutual and deserved,” she said. “Learning how to teach math was a fun, entertaining and educational experience because Cathie knows what she is talking about and how to create an environment of learning that takes the fears away about mathematics.”

“She can effectively speak to her students about the academic topics while still reaching a level of mutual respect and friendship, but still maintaining a professional manner,” Arthur’s son Stuart said.

Tate accepted her Crystal Apple Award from ESD 123 earlier this month.

By Maegan Murray, ���سԹ�

RICHLAND, Wash. – A curiosity for the world and the yearning to know how it works.

It is what brought Allan Felsot to the world of science and it is what inspired in him an interest and passion for teaching and academia at the college level. He brings this passion to his students, which is what has led to Felsot earning a regional teaching award.

Felsot, the academic director for the math and science sector of the College of Arts and Sciences at Washington State University Tri-Cities and professor of entomology, was recently announced as the recipient of the pacific branch of the ’s award for excellence in teaching.

The award honors educators at the university or community college level who have excelled through innovations in developing new courses, programs and teaching methods in the field of entomology and the sciences. The regional award covers the region of 11 western states, seven U.S. territories, five Canadian provinces and four states in Mexico. After winning the regional award, Felsot is now up for the national award, of which will be announced at the society’s annual meeting in St. Louis this November.

Skeptical inquiry teaching philosophy

In his classes, Felsot approaches every lecture with an approach he regards as skeptical inquiry. He said the approach comes from the Greek noun “skepsis,” which means consideration, inquiry and examination.

“It is about asking questions, questioning authority, but seeking answers or the truth,” he said. “To doubt, but then to find out what the truth is. I want students to be skeptical in that sense. Part of being skeptical is developing a sense of curiosity. My idea is that if they develop a sense of curiosity, they will develop something they are passionate about, which will lead to other areas of interest.”

In his courses, he brings recent news articles and headlines into the discussion, providing relevance to what the students are learning about.

“The principles they are learning about do relate to something in the real world,” he said. “What they are doing does matter in society. I hope it also brings about a sense of civic responsibility.”

Mentorship and a passion for learning

Over his 26 years at WSU, Felsot has mentored more than 50 master’s and doctoral students. He has also been instrumental in developing new courses at ���سԹ�, as well as several for the WSU Global campus. His research throughout his career at WSU has focused on environmental toxicology and risk assessment of pesticides. Prior to coming to WSU, he worked as a project leader for pesticide chemistry and toxicology research at the University of Illinois.

At WSU, he teaches courses across WSU’s College of Arts and Sciences and College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, ranging from general entomology, to integrated pest management, to pesticide toxicology, to insect and plant physiology. Teaching a range of diverse courses, he said, encourages his own love for learning. His own love for the learning process inspires his students, as well as fellow faculty members.

“If you were to ask me to name an instructor that has had one of the greatest impacts in my entire academic a career, I would answer Dr. Allan S. Felsot,” said alumna Yessica Carnley. “The dedication and commitment that he has to his students and to the proliferation of knowledge is one that is rarely encountered. One of the greatest lessons I learned in his courses was to question everything and to answer your own questions through proper research and testing, if possible.”

Kate McAteer, ���سԹ� interim vice chancellor of academic affairs, said having a dynamic and engaging instructor like Allan in the lab gives students the opportunity to explore and understand concepts and develop a love of science.

“As students have often remarked, ‘How could you not think science is fascinating when Dr. Felsot teaches it?’” she said.

Academic contributions outside the classroom

Outside of his teaching, Felsot provides dozens of lectures for workshops and programs each year. He also develops insect biology youth workshops for middle school students through WSU’s GEAR UP programs, which helps prepare students for college, and ���سԹ�’ STEM summer camps, in addition to formerly through the Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement program (MESA).

“Professor Felsot is a well-recognized member of the Tri-Cities community,” McAteer said. “His talk on insects and bugs is undoubtedly the highlight of the campus tour for many middle school children every year and for those students that attend the STEM summer camps.”

Felsot will accept his regional award from the Entomology Society of America during an awards luncheon in San Diego, California, on April 2.