Celebrating Innovative Science Education with Westridge Elementary’s Mashell Stott

May 1st, 2024 /
Spencer Tuinei /
Elementary School, Foundation, News, Schools, Westridge

In the Provo City School District, our educators are more than just teachers; they are innovators, companions, and caretakers, tirelessly crafting the future of education. The Provo School District Foundation recognizes and supports this dedication through its mini-grant program, highlighting outstanding educators like sixth-grade teacher Mashell Stott.

Today, we had the privilege of stepping into Mashell Stott’s classroom, a hub of scientific curiosity and learning, where her multi-faceted project involving milkweed bugs, terrariums, aquariums, and the broader scientific curriculum has the entire sixth-grade class act as scientists from the confines of the classroom.

Mashell Stott’s classroom is a live demonstration of life cycles in action. Here, students get hands-on experience by setting up habitats for milkweed bugs and observing their mating, egg-laying, and hatching processes.

“The purpose behind the project is to let the kids see them grow through the entire life cycle,” Stott explains. “Kids helped set up the habitats in these plastic bags with water and food. They’ve observed the mating, laying eggs, and hatching. They’ve been super excited about it.”

The classroom also features reference gardens, which are small-scale experiments that allow students to observe plant growth and compare and correlate it with those in their terrariums.

Incorporated seamlessly into the end-of-year curriculum, Stott’s project is not just about observing flora and fauna. It extends to complex ecosystems housed within classroom terrariums and aquariums, where students can study interactions between consumers, composers, and decomposers.

“It all fits right in with our end-of-year curriculum. Learning how to conduct a scientific study, discussing the pros and cons of studies, and controlling and examining variables are all built right in.”

This hands-on approach helps students understand food webs and energy flow within ecosystems, essential elements of their scientific studies.

Flipping through the pages of a student’s notebook, Stott shows Lilly’s detailed observations over time, marking the engagement and enthusiasm the project inspires each year. Stott has been running this project for four years, and each year, anticipation builds among the students who look forward to this engaging, hands-on learning experience.

When asked for advice for new teachers considering similar projects, Stott advises just going for it and giving yourself a little grace: “My philosophy with anything like this is ‘ready, fire, aim.’ You jump into it and adjust on the fly. You may find that you need to scrap it or adjust for your class—and that’s okay.”

Mashell Stott’s classroom is a space where students do more than read about complex scientific concepts; they get their hands dirty with them. The tangible learning experiences she prepares for her students make her classroom a dynamic environment where students learn and thrive.

The Provo School District and its Foundation continue to support and celebrate the creativity and dedication of teachers like Mashell Stott. Educators like her transform educational experiences and inspire future generations through their commitment and innovative approaches to teaching. Congratulations to Mashell Stott for her incredible work, and thank you for significantly impacting your students and the broader community.