Ellen Hurtgen, eighth-grade science and math teacher at Lake Country School in Hartland, has led the district's adoption of the Lawrence Hall of Science's Full Option Science System (FOSS), a K-6 program that stresses hands-on experiences and the scientific process. Ms. Hurtgen has trained her district's elementary teachers in this approach, so that her future students will be prepared for the problem-solving activities and scientific inquiries they will encounter in her classes. A believer in hands-on instruction, she conducts experiments using everyday items, not only as class demonstrations but also as a strategy for performance assessment. Ms. Hurtgen is constantly in search of new instructional strategies, and has attended Science World and several NASA-sponsored workshops.
1981 Cardinal Stritch University, B.A.
