[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Grasselli-Assalone.jpg” caption=”Matheus Grasselli, assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, and Rosa Assalone, a Grade 11/12 physics teacher at Bishop Ryan Catholic Secondary School, participated in the T-STOP program, which builds partnerships between researchers and high school teachers. Photo by Martin Wiessenz.”]Like many high school physics teachers, Rosa Assalone may not have thought about using interest rates and stock options in her lessons. However, she has discovered just how well it can be applied in the classroom.

Assalone has spent the last two weeks working with McMaster researchers as part of the Teachers' Science and Technology Outreach Program (TSTOP). This dynamic program, created by the Ministry of Research and Innovation, gives Ontario elementary and secondary science and technology teachers a chance to be mentored by some of the province's pre-eminent researchers.

Since participating in the pilot program last year, McMaster has welcomed four teachers to campus. Greg Slater, assistant professor and Canada Research Chair for the School of Geography & Earth Sciences, worked with high school teacher Rachel Muvrin in 2006.

“Interaction continued with a one-day visit by Rachel's chemistry class to McMaster,” said Slater. “This allowed the students to see where the things they were learning in class could lead. It also provided a learning opportunity for my graduate students who presented and discussed their research with the students.” T-STOP encourages this kind of continued contact after the program.

“McMaster has great minds at work, but we need to share our knowledge and discoveries with the broader community,” said Allison Sekuler, associate vice-president (research), who oversees the TSTOP program at McMaster. “The TSTOP program enables high school teachers to become immersed in leading-edge research at McMaster. And the connection we form with each teacher impacts over hundreds of students every year.”

Assalone is a Grade 11 and 12 physics teacher at Bishop Ryan Catholic Secondary School in Hamilton. She has been working with Matheus Grasselli, assistant professor and Sharcnet Chair in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, and Mike Lukas, one of Grasselli's undergraduate students, on a project called Real Options and Game Theory — A Road Map for Strategic Decision Making.

“We are developing new methods to combine games and real options into a unified framework,” said Grasselli. “In this way, the conflicting effects of time flexibility and competitive behaviour can be analyzed simultaneously, leading to a more coherent theory of strategic decision making.”

Assalone added that “the experience gave me a chance to find out what a researcher like Dr. Grasselli actually does, as well as what math research is and how it can be applied.” She explained that some high school students believe that there are “no open problems in mathematics.”

Students don't realize that math is constantly evolving until they get to university, Grasselli adds. He will visit Assalone's class next year, and in turn, her class will visit McMaster to participate in a stock market simulation and visit the science labs.

“This collaboration is not just a way for members of the Faculty of Science to share their knowledge within the community, but it is making a significant impact on young people, who will become the scientists of the future,” noted John Capone, dean of science.

The ultimate goal of TSTOP is to assist teachers in encouraging their students' interest in science and technology. McMaster's support of partnerships like those between Grasselli, Lukas and Assalone creates a bridge than enables educators to nurture young minds.