The Pacer

Issue date: 1/16/07 Section: Campus News

Dr. Michael Gibson, UTM professor of geology, recently was named Distinguished Educator of the Year for 2006 by the Tennessee Science Teachers Association.
Gibson, an overall award winner, joins four other award recipients designated as Distinguished Science teachers at the elementary, middle, secondary and higher education divisions.

They were chosen from hundreds of science teachers across Tennessee as outstanding and exemplary teachers in the discipline.

They have demonstrated a positive impact on the lives of their students by mastering their teaching skills.

Gibson's award is his second from TSTA, having been named Distinguished Science Teacher for 2003 in the higher education division.

Gibson received a B.S. degree from the College of William and Mary in 1979, a master's degree from Auburn University in 1983 and a doctorate from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1988. He has been a UTM professor in the Department of Geology, Geography and Physics since 1988. Previously, he was a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Geological Sciences at UT Knoxville. He also served as an instructor in the Department of Geology at Auburn.

"My teaching interests are directed primarily toward two groups: university-level students and K-12 teachers, but I have recently expanded to include high school students directly," said Gibson. "I consider myself a geologist/paleontologist and focus my courses on field experiences. Students better grasp concepts and develop stronger self-motivation to learn when they are part of the learning process itself.

"I prefer to use real geologic situations and settings for my students to study. I like them to work on a current project that I have whenever possible," Gibson said. "I also allow students to pursue their own interests. This approach has been successful for me at UTM because the small size of our program allows me to develop a personal relationship with each student. I can work closely with a student to maximize his/her classroom and field experiences to both fill in weak areas and better hone strengths."

Gibson also uses his students as undergraduate collaborators for research and now has student-participation projects in Tennessee, Alabama, Japan, Mexico and Belize.

Gibson considers the K-12 teaching community the foundation for earth stewardship and provides teachers with methods to incorporate geology in their curricula to demonstrate the relevance of geology. "I devote a significant portion of my educational efforts to help teachers become geology conscious," Gibson said.

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