The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and Kemin Industries have announced the recipients of the 2022 Iowa STEM Teacher Award, sponsored by Kemin Industries.
The North Central STEM Region’s honoree is Jamie Pudenz, agricultural science teacher at Aplington-Parkersburg High School in Parkersburg, Iowa. He was recognized for his ability to leverage partnerships to create hands-on learning opportunities for his students.
In 2020, Pudenz completed an Iowa STEM Teacher Externship with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) at the Big Marsh Wildlife Management Area. That experience inspired a new natural resources and environmental management course at Aplington-Parkersburg High School. Students work directly with the Iowa DNR to contribute to projects like population and disease tracking in local wildlife.
In 2021, Pudenz and his plant science students met with Dr. Michael Bechtel, an associate professor of science at Wartburg College, to explore aquaponics: an approach to food production where plants are cultivated in water rather than soil. The collaboration helped the class overcome challenges they were facing, allowing them to build their own aquaponic system in the course.
Pudenz challenges his students to think differently, focusing on the process of working toward an answer, rather than just the answer itself. In an engineering course, he challenges students to design and build a working backhoe with plastic syringes, tuning, wooden dowels and cardboard.
Now in its eighth year, the Iowa STEM Teacher Award is given annually to one full-time, licensed preK-12 teacher from each of the six STEM regions in Iowa. Each recipient is honored for their efforts to foster enthusiasm and inspire a passion for STEM that goes beyond the classroom and helps prepare students for future high-demand careers.
As a recipient of the 2022 Iowa STEM Teacher Award, Pudenz will receive $1,500 to use for his classroom and $1,500 for personal use. He recently received his award at a celebration at his school and will later be honored, along with his fellow recipients, in a recognition ceremony during STEM Day at the Fair at the Iowa State Fair on Sunday, August 21, 2022. For more information about the award and all current and previous recipients, please visit https://iowastem.org/teacheraward.
