Teacher Feature: Lisa Bahe – Empowering students through science education

Part of the mission of the Sanford Underground Research Facility is to “inspire learning across generations.”  Teachers are on the frontlines of the effort to build the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) workforce essential for SURF to see long-term success in the first part of its mission “to advance world class science.”

SURF’s Education and Outreach team reaches more than 400 teachers each year with resources, classroom tools, and professional development skills they needed to empower the next generation of STEM professionals. Lisa Bahe, who teaches high school biology in Brookings, is one of those 400 educators. 

“I've taken part in different teacher development trainings at SURF for the last several years. Every year, I pull away something different that I can take back to my classroom,” Bahe said. “The training at SURF is a highlight of my summer. It gets you excited again about the next year, and it just helps you become a better teacher.”

SURF offers a range of tools and opportunities for teachers across the state of South Dakota, from hands-on activities and materials they can use in their own classroom, to school presentations by SURF scientists and staff, to professional development workshops that leverage tested teaching techniques and innovative science. The overall effort aims to empower and transform the teaching of K-12 science in South Dakota, and Bahe finds the tools valuable.

“I like that SURF helps provide different ways of getting kids interested in science, because every kid learns just a little bit different. From the modeling activities we do, to the hands-on activities. SURF staff bring lots of ideas and resources I have pulled into my high school classes that get kids excited about science.”

Bahe has been a teacher for 28 years. Like many veteran educators, she continues the work because she draws as much inspiration from her students as they give her in return.

“I teach science because I just love being able to give kids the hands-on experience, to see their reactions when they realize that science is something that they are good at.  It is also something that's fun, and when they start to get those understandings of how the kind of the world around them works.”

Science requires creativity, and successful science and engineering teams include individuals with multiple skillsets and multiple backgrounds working in harmony. The effort to empower future scientific breakthroughs—means getting a wider range of young people interested in STEM. Bahe, is one of those rare teachers, who can inspire kids to explore new paths in life.

“I have so many kids who come to my class saying, ‘I'm no good at science,’ or ‘I don't like science, because I don't really get it.’ And for me, as a teacher, probably one of the biggest joys is at the end of the year when they're like, ‘I love science. I mean, I really get it now.’ They realize that they are good at science. Many students may have only been presented the sciences one way, but again, students have lots of different learning modalities, the ability to teach kids what science means and that there are different ways to look at things, or to show them a part of science that they're good at—that’s very rewarding,” she said.

“It's been said that the greatest honor any teacher can achieve is to be surpassed by their own students. “I’ve had this happen over and over,” Bahe said. “It’s wonderful to see these kids excel. When they're inquisitive, when they're asking hard questions, when you see their critical thinking and problem-solving skills develop, it’s exciting for me, because we need those young people to go on and surpass us, as teachers to solve some of the big problems in the world and without them this won’t happen.”

See a video of Lisa here. Teachers can find resources and keep an eye out for Summer 2024 Professional Development opportunities at SURF on our website here.