About Me, Per Olav Verås

I am passionate about science education.

The faces of my science students here in Norway fill with wonder when I describe how awestruck I felt watching Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin walk on the moon, on my old RCA Victor black and white vacuum tube TV. Back when I was just a kid.

The moon landing was an epic, life transforming event for my young mind. That is when I believe I was first inspired to consider science education as a possible profession.

Now looking back with many years of teaching science I realize an important fact- inspiring young minds in becoming engineers and teachers and doctors and astronauts is the best way to ensure that we, as citizens of a global community, on this tiny "pale blue dot" we call Earth, have a sustainable and inspired future.

What should you know about me? I am an impassioned science teacher with a goal of inspiring my students to reach for the stars.

It is said that “ when you teach you learn twice.” My teaching philosophy is simple. When teachers become students, when students become teachers-that is when real, active learning happens.

I seek to develop citizen science ambassadors who become active members of a global community of active learners. My students shall demonstrate Respect to all individual backgrounds, regardless of religion or culture, and self motivation to learn and actively use critical thinking skills in a sharing school culture of mutual trust and respect.

My teaching philosophy in the sciences:

• -Fosters high academic excellence
• -Supports high achievement
• -Educates the whole child within a values-based setting based on the MYP sciences curriculum.
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• In the past several years I have used the launching of high altitude balloons to the edge of space to inspire my students to reach for the stars. One of my students was only ten years old when he joined my balloon team and helped me launch a balloon four times higher than a jet plane- to over 100,000 feet in the stratosphere. That defining experience in his young life inspired him to rediscover how “cool” science really is. Later, when this student was fifteen, after our fifth balloon mission to space, he used the skills he learned from his previous missions to determine the altitude of the polar jet streams over Southern Norway using data from our mission. This is real science, this is active learning. In my science classroom I will nurture this active approach to learning. My next high altitude balloon mission to the edge of space is tentatively scheduled for May 2022. My students will be actively involved in the preflight, flight, and post flight mission. Stay tuned...

 

Picture taken by Per Olav Verås and his science students, at an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet over Southern Norway in June, 2011.

Next flight to space-from Kristiansand- May 2022.

I use tried and true traditional teaching methods such as THINK-PAIR-SHARE with an emphasis on inquiry based learning. I actively use the latest technology as a supplement- for example incorporating virtual reality, and augmented reality tools such as the HTC VIVE, the Microsoft HOLOLENS, and the Oculus Quest, where students can land on the moon, take a tour of our solar system, or actively take a virtual tour of the human cell, with all the magic that goes with using holograms and virtual reality in the classroom.

This picture  shows a few of my previous students investigating structures inside the human cell.  Students tell me that the  visualization of complex structures such as the cell with 3D models allows for better comprehension and understanding.  

In my classroom I will foster an enriched environment with transparent goals, guidelines, and expectations for all my students.

I will provide active opportunities for parents to engage with me thru dialogue connecting thru the schools Managebac platform.

Students will be informed about opportunities to compete in national and international science and competitions including the Norwegian Ungeforskere, (grades 8 to 10) Nysgjerrigper (grade 7) and the Norwegian Water competition. (for all students between the ages of 15 to 20 years)

Each day students enrich my life by positively meeting the challenges a comprehensive science education presents, with an enlightened attitude where answers to questions are discovered thru critical inquiry. I love questions, I love a laboratory based quest for answers. More than anything else, I love what I do, and do what I love-engaging students so they can be better prepared to meet the challenges ahead in a world where collaboration and dialogue are essential skills in tackling challenges such as climate change.

In summary I reflect upon the MYP Student profile. My students are tasked to be:

-Knowledgeable

-Risk-takers

-Caring

-Reflective

-Principled

-Communicators

-Inquirers

-Open-minded

-Balanced

-Thinkers

THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE IS CHARACTERISED BY ITS TEACHING METHOD, FOCUSED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIFIC SKILLS RELATED TO THE STUDENT’S FUTURE CAREER: THE USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES, RESEARCH, CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF LITERARY WORKS, STYLES AND AUTHORS, FIELD WORK, THE USE OR HISTORICAL RESOURCES, ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING OF INFORMATION, THE COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY, INDEPENDENT THINKING AND LEADERSHIP.

I look forward to a bright year ahead. I hope to inspire my students as much as they will inspire me.

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