Four area educators honored by Iowa Children’s Museum

CORALVILLE - Four area educators are being honored for their dedication to active learning.

Fawn Boston-Halter, Shawn Cornally, Christine Sobocinski and Ruth Temple are the recipients of the 2016 Robert E. Yager Active Learning Award from the Iowa Children's Museum. They are to be recognized during the Celebrate Play! Gala at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at the museum, located inside the Coral Ridge Mall, 1451 Coral Ridge Ave., Coralville.

Active learning involves incorporating 'strategies to help kids take responsibility of their education,” said Deb Dunkhase, executive director of the Children's Museum. This includes 'cooperative learning, problem-based learning and the use of case methods and simulations,” according to the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan.

The award, which Dunkhase said is in its fourth year, is named for Yager, professor emeritus of science education at the University of Iowa.

Dunkhase said the museum receives nominations each year, and a selection committee made up of local educators and museum board members selects the winners.

To Dunkhase, the award is a great way to give recognition to hardworking teachers in the area.

'I think teachers are really modest about the work they do, so to be honored, it means a lot and it's a great tribute to educators,” Dunkhase said.

Here is more information on each of this year's winners:

Fawn Boston-Halter

Fawn Boston-Halter, a first-grade teacher at Tiffin Elementary School, said she found out she won the award during a surprise assembly at the school. There, Iowa Children's Museum employees - including her sister, Gretchen Kemple-Taylor - presented the award.

'I was really excited and very honored,” she said. 'I didn't know I was nominated.”

Boston-Halter, who has been in the Clear Creek Amana Community School District for seven years, earned degrees in education and dance from the University of Iowa. She says she uses her experience in dance in her classroom by creating teaching strategies through song or motion.

'I saw how wonderful learning through play can be,” she said.

Shawn Cornally

Shawn Cornally is director and lead teacher at Iowa BIG, a high school program sponsored by The Gazette Company and based in Cedar Rapids where students from area school districts earn credit by working on community based projects. Cornally created the program four years ago.

'We've been wildly successful,” Cornally said. 'Our community is just awesome. Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, just as a Corridor, we have something special here.”

Cornally earned his master's degree in science education through the University of Iowa.

Christine Sobocinski

Sobocinski, a first- and second-grade teacher at Willowwind School in Iowa City, also was surprised with her award in front of her classroom last week.

Sobocinski, who earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education from the University of Iowa, she said she feels fortunate her school allows her to teach in a way she finds best.

'I try to find authentic opportunities for us to apply what we're learning so that we can synthesize and fully understand,” she said. 'We read about something and then we go outside and find it - touch it, feel it, be in the middle of it.”

Sobocinski said she believes educators across Iowa, and the United States, are seeing the importance of differentiating teaching methods to allow students to better understand the material.

'In the profession in general, people are realizing that kids need to be active in order to take it in,” she said. 'Absolutely it benefits the kids, and in the long run it'll benefit us in society.”

Ruth Temple

Ruth Temple, a second-grade teacher at Borlaug Elementary School in Iowa City, said she is humbled to be selected for the award.

'I was overwhelmed by the whole thing,” she said. 'There are lots and lots of people in our district who do a good job. There are lots of people who do lots of things that I'm doing. '

Temple earned her elementary education and psychology degrees from Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant. She's in her 37th year of teaching.

Temple incorporates hands-on learning in the classroom and also takes class outside.

To her, active learning is about validating what her students are interested in.

'Obviously, they're making connections and they're excited,” she said.

Each of the honorees have received a prize package from the Iowa Children's Museum, Dunkhase said. Prizes include free passes to the museum for students, a free field trip to the museum for their class, two family memberships to the museum and 10 family one-day passes.

If you go:

- What: Iowa Children's Museum Celebrate Play! Gala

- Where: Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, 300 E. Ninth St., Coralville

- When: 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11. The program begins at 7 p.m.

- Details: The 2016 Robert E. Yager Active Learning Award recipients are to be honored.

- Cost: $100 per person; all proceeds benefit The Iowa Children's Museum

Other nominees

The 2016 Robert E. Yager Learning Award recipients are Fawn Boston-Halter, Shawn Cornally, Christine Sobocinski and Ruth Temple. Here is a list of others nominated for the annual award:

- Andrea Pieper-Askelson: Penn Elementary School, North Liberty

- Ashley Bass: Hiawatha Day School, Hiawatha

- Deidra Benser: Little Angles Learning Center, Iowa City

- Katy Bolender: Bortaug Elementary School, Iowa City

- Jessica Kite: Grinnell-Newburg School District, Grinnell

- Tara Luers: Stewart Elementary School, Washington

- Julie Madden: Van Allen Elementary School, North Liberty

- Colette Nakielski: Willowind School, Iowa City

- Jo Nowak-Thompson: Washington Elementary School, Mount Vernon

- Nicole Upchruch: Prairie Green School, Cosgrove

- Beth Weis: Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Clinic, University of Iowa

- Carolyn White: Shimek Elementary School, Iowa City

- Debbie Wilson: Willowwind School, Iowa City