Tyna Meeks-Siptrott poses with a note for her students while teaching virtually.

Tyna Meeks-Siptrott, Ph.D., has dedicated 28 years to teaching, leaving an indelible mark on her students and colleagues at Indian River High School in Upstate New York. Her relationship with the University began with ���ϲ����� Project Advance (SUPA) and continued as an alumna through her ongoing involvement with the program. Throughout her career, Meeks-Siptrott has exemplified a profound commitment to education, innovation and student engagement.

Collaboration with SUPA

Meeks-Siptrott’s involvement with SUPA began early in her teaching career. “I remember my very first year as a newly hired teacher at Indian River and a little postcard was in my mailbox that said, ‘Have you considered teaching college courses?'” she says. She immediately contacted SUPA and trained to teach SU chemistry that summer. “I have been teaching SU chemistry for 27 years,” she says.

A few years later, Professor Jim Spencer, the faculty liaison for SU chemistry, asked if she would be interested in being a part of the pilot program for Forensic Science. Meeks-Siptrott eagerly took on her second SU chemistry course.

Early Research and Shift to Science Education

Meeks-Siptrott began her research journey with summer programs at SU, working on projects such as creating a coating to prevent rust on Humvees and designing a thin film to detect antibiotics in milk. Reflecting on her early experiences, she says, “There was always this piece of me that liked to play and liked to answer questions.”

Driven by her passion for chemistry, and with support from Spencer, Meeks-Siptrott decided to pursue a Ph.D. Initially focusing on chemistry, Meeks-Siptrott had a defining moment that changed her path. Spencer asked her to step in and deliver a lecture to his campus class.  A student approached Meeks-Siptrott afterward saying she got so much out of the class that she wanted to take any class Meeks-Siptrott taught. At this point, Meeks-Siptrott realized her true calling was science education.  With Spencer’s support, a unique approach merging education and scientific inquiry was approved and Meeks-Siptrott transitioned to a Ph.D. in science education, conducting innovative research directly in a science classroom.

“Tyna has a unique gift to quickly make a deep connection with her students,” Spencer says. “I believe this arises from her own lifelong pursuit of learning and understanding of science. She is a truly outstanding and dedicated researcher, inspirational teacher, thoughtful colleague and true friend.”

Innovative Approaches in Forensic Science Education

Meeks-Siptrott and Spencer developed active learning lessons (ALS) to engage students in large lecture halls, a novel approach for forensic science education. These lessons aimed to better engage students and improve their learning outcomes. “Together Jim and I wrote 15 of these active learning lessons that we hoped would better engage the students in a large lecture hall,” Meeks-Siptrott says.

The research found that active learning had varied impacts based on gender and ethnicity. “Asian males actually did worse in an active learning environment, and based on what we could glean from some of the additional research that I had done, it’s because they don’t trust anybody but the actual professor,” she says. In contrast, “An African American female was not only like more likely to get eight to nine points higher on every exam but would almost pull an alpha roll and would end up not just guiding her own learning but guiding everybody else’s learning that worked with her.”

Inventive Teaching and Impact on Students

Meeks-Siptrott’ teaching approach is characterized by creativity and a willingness to experiment. One of her more memorable initiatives included a forensic science project that provided students with a hands-on, interactive experience in collecting evidence. This approach not only engaged students but also fostered a deeper understanding of forensic science.

Her influence extends beyond the classroom, affecting the academic and career paths of many students. “Several students have gone into neuroscience, pre-med, and other scientific fields,” she says. A former student, Deanna Chavez, who is now working in media, contacted Meeks-Siptrott many years after graduating. She tells Meeks-Siptrott, “I remember my forensics class I took with you, and we need somebody who’s willing to talk about their perception of police and investigations and evidence.”

Meeks-Siptrott’ teaching philosophy centers on fostering a love for learning and creating a supportive, engaging environment for her students. She believes in being adaptable, open to new ideas, and the value of learning alongside her students. “If that means that you’re learning together, that’s okay because they love to see you in that scenario where you say, ‘Look, we’re going to do this together and it might not work out the first time, but that’s okay because we’re going to learn this together.'”

Advice for Future Educators

For those considering a career in teaching, Meeks-Siptrott offers sage advice: “No fear. You’re doing this because you love the students, and you want to bring them something new. So, no fear. It’s new. It’s going to be new to you, but it’s new to them too.” Her encouragement to embrace challenges and think creatively has undoubtedly shaped the careers of many educators.

A Joyful Farewell

As Meeks-Siptrott prepares for retirement, she looks back on her decades-long career with joy and a sense of accomplishment. “I always said that I would know when I was ready to leave. I want to depart with the same joy with which I began,” she says. Her tenure at Indian River High School and SUPA is distinguished by her passion, innovation, and steadfast dedication to her students. Her alumna connection to ���ϲ�����, of course, will continue forever.

“Spreading an informed web of knowledge,” says Trinkle. “That’s education!”

Trinkle is a chemistry teacher and coordinator of the science research program at (SUPA) partner Smithtown High School East in Saint James, N.Y., and an SU adjunct instructor who teaches SU chemistry at her high school through SUPA. She is one of two 2012 SUPA Teachers of the Year.

She is joined by Jeremy Wertheim, a sociology teacher at SUPA partner Bergen County Technical High School in Teterboro, N.J., and an SU sociology adjunct instructor. Receiving an honorable mention this year is Sara Primerano, an English teacher at SUPA partner Liverpool High School in Liverpool, N.Y., and an SU English and writing adjunct instructor. All three will be honored at this year’s SUPA Summer Institute Welcome Breakfast at the Sheraton ���ϲ����� Hotel & Conference Center on June 25.

“These teachers exemplify the skills, qualities and accomplishments that truly define a Teacher of the Year,” says SUPA Director Gerald Edmonds. “Namely, a commitment to innovative and effective real-world learning strategies; a determination to prepare students to be successful, engaged student citizens in high school, college, and beyond; and a demonstrated passion for teaching. SUPA is grateful for the opportunity to showcase these talented and dedicated teachers.”

In their nomination packets, each of the teachers outlined the innovative strategies they use to elicit debate and free inquiry in their classrooms, to deepen students’ knowledge of a topic, and to connect classroom lessons to students’ own experiences.

One strategy that stood out was Wertheim’s “Coffee House Project.”

“I saw a similar technique being used at New York University,” says Wertheim. “In my version, I set up a room like a coffee house and bring in coffee and donuts. People chuckle about the artifice of the setting, but it creates a safe space to get discussion going.”

Wertheim has students volunteer to chat about a sociology topic with their peers, and, like the NYU version, he invites other teachers and administrators to eavesdrop. “Students discuss sociology issues such as identity, race and class. Our textbook is a starting point, but it’s very much a Socratic dialogue, and I allow students to make connections between the topics and their experiences.”

At a certain point, the conversation is opened up to the “eavesdroppers,” and the discussion widens, giving students a chance to debate in a highly intellectual setting. That sounds like pressure, but the students warm to it, says Wertheim, maturing as they do.

Projecting the textbook outside the classroom is a technique Trinkle employs. A classroom should not be a dead end, she believes, but a gateway. “We never learn from just one place; we must connect everything we do to experience. In my classes, there’s always something we’re connecting to, and students I’ve sent to college often write to me saying those connections are still happening.”

Trinkle says she’s not just creating chemists in her classroom, but also informed citizens. “That’s the most important thing I do as an educator. Chemists don’t live in a bubble. They will be tomorrow’s policy makers, and they need to learn that decisions have impacts.” That’s why Trinkle’s chemistry lessons often have a “ripped from the headlines” feel to them. “When we discuss the electromagnetic spectrum, we talk about cell phones. When we look at ultraviolet light, we look at tanning. I created Project Choice at my school to explore the science of hard drugs and what they do to a body, so students can make informed decisions.”

For her nuclear chemistry module, Trinkle has her chemists work with social studies students, to examine the subject in the context of World War II. “This way, I challenge their naivete about the impact science can have. All the students come alive, working together to get a more complete picture. We’re buzzing after the lectures; kids talk about the subject in the hallways!”

In Primerano’s writing classroom, free debate begins with “deconstruction,” a tricky analytical concept even for college students, let alone high schoolers. “I want my students to be able to understand arguments, especially those that use emotional appeals on them.”

To make this concept stick, Primerano has students unpack arguments in the contemporary school reform debate. “This gives my students a chance to enter a debate that affects their own lives. They are, after all, the target of reform,” she says. “We watch ‘Waiting for Superman’ and analyze how it persuades its audience. The students then create their own mini-documentaries.”

As with Wertheim and Trinkle, Primerano’s students are expected to get in the habit of communicating what they have learned to peers and elders—in this case, school administrators are invited to view their final projects. It’s a nerve-wracking task, surely, to offer views on school reform to professional educators. “But they’re up for it,” says Primerano. “The whole module is a shared experience and mutually beneficial. In getting to grips with a complex topic, my students help me rethink reform.”

“It’s so easy to take great teachers for granted,” says SUPA Associate Director John Fiset. “They can make what they do seem so effortless because they have committed endless hours to perfecting their craft. As students, we’ve all had truly outstanding teachers, and in each case they live with us for the rest of our lives. How fortunate we are to be able to recognize these excellent professionals.”

SUPA would be the first program in the nation to bring university courses into high schools outside of the United States. Initially, the pilot program will run in select schools throughout the United Arab Emirates, focused predominantly in Dubai, with potential expansion throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey in subsequent years.

“The global expansion was a natural extension of SU’s commitment to serve the public good through academic excellence and engaging the world, “ says Edmonds, director of Project Advance.

Expanding globally not only brings SU courses into high schools outside of the United States, but also brings teachers from around the world to the ���ϲ����� campus for the SUPA Summer Institute, where they will train to teach the SU courses. Teachers from the United Kingdom, India, Australia and other nations who currently teach in UAE high schools will join the U.S. teachers at this year’s Summer Institute, providing opportunities for exchanges of best practices from internationally recognized secondary curriculums, as well as forging international learning communities.

SU courses being offered to students in the UAE include biology, calculus, chemistry, economics, English/writing and psychology.