2019 Winner–Health Science in Today’s World

Photo of 2019 Dare to Dream WinnersSandy Bussian and Kimberly Truchan, science teachers at the WSHS, wrote the grant, Health Science in Today’s World, and were chosen for this year’s Foundation for Winona Area Public School’s $5000 Dare to Dream grant.  The teachers wrote, “Health science is a complex and rapidly changing field of study and the goal is to provide relevant and current immersive experiences in order to prepare students in this very technical and challenging field of study.” They proposed this Dare to Dream grant idea for the purpose of improving student outcomes by incorporating connections between the “real world” and textbook knowledge in the health science concurrent courses offered at Winona Senior High. Ms. Bussian and Ms. Truchan wrote this grant to help students engage in real life and learn beyond the book.  Students can better grasp the concepts when the models are there for them to touch and see the inside of the organ.

Many WAPS students take all of the health science courses currently offered at WSHS and some of the topics are difficult to conceptualize from a textbook alone.  This grant request is designed to provide funds to purchase models which will enhance the student understanding of the intricate physiological workings of the human body. New neuroscience lab equipment, purchased from this grant money, as well as, physical assessment tools like spirometers and oximeters will bring the hidden world of the human body into play in an educational yet engaging way. Students will be able to better learn three-dimensional molecular geometry. Certain concepts like the muscular and nervous system are hard to understand through the written word and are easier to grasp through physical constructs.

The grant monies awarded will allow WAPS to purchase neuroscience lab equipment, biochemistry protein modeling kits from 3D molecular designs, organic chemistry equipment, physical assessment tools for anatomy and nutritional assessment toolkits.  Finally, the students will be able to go to the Body Worlds at the Science Museum in Minneapolis. This trip will give students a better understanding of diseases and illnesses, such as, cardiovascular disease, cancer, dementia, arthritis, and obesity. In addition, students will see more than 100 plastinated human body specimens and get a glimpse inside the human body in a rare and authentic way.

Congratulations to Sandy Bussian and Kimberly Truchan for Daring to Dream.