Jacobs teacher makes complicated subject easier
Although he's only been a teacher for two years, Conrad Rogers is a favorite with students at Jacobs High School in Algonquin, who praise him for the way he makes complicated concepts easy to understand.
Rogers, who teaches honors biology and advanced biology, earned a bachelor of science in psychology from Bradley University and a master's degree in Secondary Education from Roosevelt University.
The Daily Herald caught up with Rogers to find out more about his teaching style.
Q: Who or what inspired you to become a teacher, and specifically, a science teacher?
Rogers: Throughout high school, and entering into college, my focus had been on science. This was supported by a string of excellent science teachers through my junior high and high school experiences that fostered my desire to learn and curiosity about the world around.
At Bradley University, I again had the good fortune of coming across great professors from a variety of fields, and I followed my curiosity and settled into the social sciences. As I began working on a graduate degree in psychology, I started to look toward the high school setting as a focus of my coursework.
Eventually, I realized that my personal goals and passions best fit the role of classroom teacher. Choosing to be a science teacher made sense not only because of my background but also because I believe that a quality science education gives students knowledge and skills that are useful to even those that choose nonscience related careers.
Now my goal is to incite the same curiosity and desire to learn in my students that so many of my teachers had done for me.
Q: High school classes seem much more advanced, more like college courses, than they were 20 years ago. How has the teaching of your subjects evolved and how are you able to teach these advanced topics in high school?
Rogers: There is a shift from expecting simple recall of facts to applying said facts to solve a problem. The key is to give students many different perspectives on a topic and to challenge them with ever more complex problems to promote student-led questioning and independent learning.
Q: How do advances in technology shape how you teach as well as what you teach?
Rogers: Technology provides a greater variety of presentation and engagement options including virtual labs, interactive demonstrations, and a wealth of up-to-date resources that allow us to bring examples of real science into the classroom.
Q: Tell us about your favorite classroom lab. Why do you like it, and what does it teach the students?
Rogers: My favorite is a lab that demonstrates how selective predation can change the genetic makeup of a population. It's a difficult topic and the students don't really enjoy the math component, but the use of Teddy Grahams as the model organism makes it a productive and goofy experience for the students.
Q: What was your science fair topic when you were in school, and how did the project turn out?
Rogers: I have never competed in a science fair. I must say that based on some of the excellent work I see completed by my students, my project probably would not have fared so well in comparison.