Dr. Roy Binas Basa, an alumnus of the College of Education and the Recoletos de Bacolod Graduate School, together with seven (7) others, received the Shell Urban Science Educators Development Award by Shell and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Conference last on March 22 – 25, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.
NSTA Teacher Award is one of the highest honors any educator can receive in the United States of America. “We are extremely proud of the work these incredible educators have accomplished. Each one of them is an exemplary role model for their colleagues and an inspiration for their students,” NSTA President Elizabeth Mulkerrin said.
The citation reads Shell Urban Science Educator development award winner Roy Basa, CTE/ Science Teacher, Twin Buttes Cyber Academy, Zuni, New Mexico. Dr. Basa’s Classroom activities are student-centered and hands-on. He believes in a learning-by-doing kind of philosophy. Most of his science activities are project-based, such as making fatty acid methyl esters from selected plant seeds as an alternative biofuel, which won the 2022 New Mexico Governor’s STEM challenge. His students also make motors and generators, solar panels, simple robots, and windmills. During these projects, students feel ownership and become inspired to do and learn more. Basa also collaborated with authorities in his community by bringing science students to the Indian hospital service to undergo training and a hands-on workshop with medical doctors and nurses. Students learned about first-aid, basic radiology, ophthalmology, nutrition and dietetics, etc. He helps students with career connections by inviting resource persons from the hospital and fire department in the Zuni community to train students on emergency response procedures. At the NSTA conference, Basa looks forward to learning about effective approaches, methods, styles, and techniques for teaching science. After the conference, he will share his learning with students, colleagues, and his community in the reservation area of Zuni, New Mexico, and possibly in other states.
CONGRATULATIONS! SALTO UNO! SALTO RECOLETO!