Helping teachers teach

Patrick Gibbons, Ph.D. (center), professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, shows Paula Mulhearn (right), middle-school science teacher at St. Justin Martyr Catholic School in south St. Louis County, and Stanley Gill, second-grade teacher at Jackson Park Elementary in University City, how to make paper models showing differences in the sun’s rotation and visible constellations throughout the year. Gibbons instructs five physics and physical science courses for K-12 teachers through the Department of Education’s Science Outreach program. Gibbons has worked with teachers since 1991. In addition to his research on crystal structures and semiconductors, Gibbons also publishes teaching strategies for K-8 science.