College of Education to host national, Oklahoma Teacher of the Year at Celebration of Teaching

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

(March 31, 2009  Stillwater, OK) – National Teacher of the Year Michael Geisen and Oklahoma Teacher of the Year Heather Sparks are the featured speakers for the 19th Annual Celebration of Teaching hosted by OSU’s College of Education, April 6, 2009.

Geisen, a science teacher at Crook County Middle School in Prineville, Ore., will present the keynote address and Sparks, an algebra teacher at Taft Middle School in Oklahoma City, is scheduled to give the luncheon address.

Geisen was selected the 2008 National Teacher of the Year because of his innovative approach, community focus, and teamwork with other teachers. His continuous goal is to ignite such passion for learning in as many people as possible and to help students make informed decisions in their everyday lives. Geisen strives consistently to keep his curriculum, labs, assignments and activities hand-tailored. He focuses on the research that shows when both sides of the brain are engaged, more authentic learning occurs.

Geisen will be featured during the morning session from 9 to 9:45 a.m. in the Student Union Theater. His keynote topic is “Children as Complete Human Beings: Going Beyond a Narrow Approach to Measuring Student Improvement.”

Sparks was announced as Oklahoma’s Teacher of the year because of her ability to foster a love of math and raise math achievement among the inner city students she serves. Sparks has 15 years teaching experience. Fourteen of those years have been with Oklahoma City Public Schools and one year with Edmond Public Schools. She began working at Taft Middle School in 2005 and it is there that she said her passion for teaching truly ignited. She embarked on a new teaching mission: to engage students in math, so they could experience the power it held. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Oklahoma City University. Sparks has also received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Sparks will speak during a luncheon, which runs from 12-1:30 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom. Her address is entitled “The Big 12: Skills for Teachers (and Life)”.

There will be breakout sessions designed to demonstrate creative teaching techniques, provide opportunities for panel discussion, information about College of Education programs and tips for job interviews.  Senior elementary education candidates’ poster presentations will also be available for viewing throughout the day.

This annual celebration is a unique opportunity for many of the state's outstanding classroom teachers and their students to meet the National and State Teachers of the Year, former Oklahoma Teachers of the Year, and others who are uniquely dedicated to education. The OSU College of Education has been the official chartered home of the Oklahoma Teacher of the Year organization since 1989.  

This year's Oklahoma District Teacher of the Year finalists, nationally-board certified classroom teachers were given the opportunity to attend. Also attending will be Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education ACE and LEAP Teachers and OSU College of Education Cooperating Teachers (the classroom teachers who host student teachers).

The Celebration is sponsored by the OSU College of Education and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Minority Teacher Recruitment Center. The College of Education Associates also support the event.

For more information about attending this event, please call Brandi Dotter at (405) 744-8933 or (800) 765-8933.  You may also visit the event website, www.okstate.edu/education/celebration.