EKU professor to receive Acorn Award

Local News

September 27, 2008

Special to the Register The Richmond Register Sat Sep 27, 2008, 09:56 PM EDT

A love for learning that first flourished in a one-room Knott County schoolhouse has taken Dr. Jerry Cook to the top of the college teaching profession in the Commonwealth.

On Monday, the long-time Eastern Kentucky University Foundation professor of physics will receive the 2008 Acorn Award, the highest honor for teaching excellence bestowed by the Kentucky Advocates for Higher Education. The award, instituted in 1992, is presented annually to a college or university professor who exhibits excellence in service and commitment to students.

With the presentation of the 2008 award to Cook, EKU now boasts more Acorn Award recipients than any other college or university in Kentucky.

“The (one-room) school had 32 students in eight grades,” Cook recalled of his childhood, “and I was related to every one of those students. The young teachers had little formal training … yet they instilled a love of learning in me that has not faltered to this day. Since those early days I have always known that I belonged in the classroom.”

Through his undergraduate days at Berea College and his graduate work (master’s and doctorate) at the University of Kentucky, Cook “always observed teachers and noted what worked or didn’t work in their classrooms. The best teachers were the ones who made every student in the classroom feel like they were the most important person in the room. They were truly interested in their craft and were lifetime learners. These are the people who have inspired me to become a teacher.”

After teaching stints at the University of Kentucky and Cumberland College, Cook joined the EKU physics faculty in 1983. He divides his teaching career into two distinct sections marked by the year 1998.

“Until then,” Cook explained, “I used the traditional lecture methods commonly used in most college or university science courses. I was evidently very good at this approach if one uses student evaluations as a measure of effectiveness. Yet, I perceived something was missing in the way students were learning, or not learning, materials presented in my classes. Their work did not indicate a true understanding of what science really is, how it functions, and the questions science could or could not address.”

Much as he learned from his teachers in that one-room schoolhouse many years earlier, Cook listened closely to his students and learned about different teaching and learning styles from EKU colleagues in the College of Education.

“The simple idea that one learns science by doing science has guided my teaching career since 1998,” Cook continued.

Over the past decade, Cook has developed courses in inquiry physics for middle school and elementary teachers that utilize a hands-on, peer-learning environment that allows students to learn science by doing it. In this type of course, students enter the learning cycle at the discovery stage instead of the summative stage as is traditional in most lecture-based science courses.

The net result, Cook said, is that “a whole new generation of science teachers who have seen inquiry science modeled in a college classroom is now being produced at EKU. That approach has been so successful with future teachers than I am now working to change all the introductory courses in physics taught at EKU into a similar format.”

Dr. John Wade, interim dean of EKU’s College of Arts and Sciences, said the “merger of lab and lecture” makes the courses “much more engaging for students and has resulted in better retention, course assessment and growth in physics majors. Dr. Cook has been the key faculty member leading the way in this process, not only making the transformation himself but leading his colleagues in making the switch to the ‘studio concept’ as well.”

Indicative of his commitment to K-12 science education, Cook is the principal investigator for several substantial grants to improve science education in the public schools, especially in his native Appalachian region.

“His outreach and service to the community is an example of outstanding regional stewardship by a faculty member,” Wade said.

Just as 1998 marked one turning point in Cook’s teaching career, who knows what’s around the next proverbial corner?

“I am still learning my craft,” Cook said. “I would not want to be in a profession where I am not progressing and becoming better each day.”

Text Only

Local News

Standoff at Super 8 Motel ends peacefully
A bizarre drug-fueled standoff at the Richmond Super 8 Motel ended peacefully with no one hurt, including a child who was in the room with a man that police found wielding two knives.

About 1:53 a.m. Friday, police received a call about a man who was threatening someone with a knife at the motel on North Keeneland Drive, according to Richmond Police Chief Larry Brock.

February 6, 2012
Trial for couple accused of human trafficking delayed
The trial for a Berea couple accused of human trafficking involving their daughters has been delayed.

Despite Monday morning television reports that the trial was beginning Monday, it was postponed because the attorneys are not ready to try the case.

February 6, 2012
Richmond man charged with child porn possession
(Editor’s note: The following story contains graphic information some readers may find offensive.)

A Richmond man has been arrested for possession of child pornography as a result of a nearly one-year investigation by local police.

February 6, 2012
Noted author to deliver keynote address for Black History Month
Almost a year ago, Arnold Rampersad stood in the East Room of the White House as he was presented the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama.
On Thursday, Feb. 16, the noted author will stand in O’Donnell Hall of Eastern Kentucky University’s Student Success Building to deliver the keynote address for the university’s Black History Month observance. Rampersad’s visit is also part of Eastern’s year-long Chautauqua lecture series, and the title of his talk, “Black History: The Challenge of Living with Others,” coincides with this year’s Chautauqua theme, “Living with Others: Challenges and Promises.”

February 6, 2012 1 Photo
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity of Madison and Clark Counties, which has built 160 homes for people in need since 1992, is seeking applicants for partner families, according to Judy Flavell, executive director of the organization.
“We really need applicants right now,” Flavell said. “More people can qualify for Habitat homes than people realize.”
Eligible applicants must have lived in Madison or Clark counties for at least one year, have a stable income, be able to pay a modest monthly mortgage and be able to demonstrate that their current housing is overcrowded, physically substandard, too expensive, unsafe, or they are living in subsidized housing, according to Habitat.
For more information about eligibility, or to apply, call Habitat for Humanity at 625-9208 or visit its office at 1417 East Main Street in Richmond. Visit online at habitatmadisonclark.org.

February 6, 2012 2 Photos
Occupational therapy dept. at EKU offers program for adults with memory loss
For local adults who are experiencing memory loss related to dementia or Alzheimer’s, the Department of Occupational Therapy at Eastern Kentucky University has provided “The Place to Be” for the past two decades.
The department will again sponsor the free eight-week program on Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., beginning Feb. 9. Participants can attend Thursday and/or Friday. Applications still are being accepted (call 893-0653) for the free service, which is offered in Room 100 of the Dizney Building on EKU’s campus.

February 6, 2012
Bible Belt towns in state consider going ‘wet’
In this Appalachian college town where socially conservative views are bedrocks of life, some people want to do what was once unthinkable: legalize liquor sales.
Supporters say passing the measure in Tuesday’s special election in Barbourville would tap a new revenue source in a place where hundreds of jobs are evaporating as one plant shuts down and another cuts its workforce in half. But from the pulpits to the courthouse square, opponents have been pressing their case that uncorking liquor sales would irreparably harm the town of about 3,200.

February 6, 2012
Tea party setting sights on state legislature
Nearly a dozen tea party candidates, including one of Kentucky's most recognizable fiscal conservatives, have set their sights on state legislative seats up for election this year.
Louisville businessman Phil Moffett, who finished second in the GOP's three-way gubernatorial primary last year, delivered candidacy papers last week to run for a House seat, hoping to bolster the tea party's foothold in the state Capitol.
Such a move has been slower in coming to Kentucky than other states.

February 6, 2012
Trial date set in murder case
The attorney for a Berea man accused of murder has had his client evaluated by an “expert” witness, he said Thursday in Madison Circuit Court.
A report of the evaluation of Mitchell Ray Turner, 34, has been shared with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office, attorney Brian Barker said during a pretrial conference in the case.
“The commonwealth would like more information before they decide if they want to do their own evaluation,” Barker told Judge Jean Chenault Logue.

February 6, 2012 1 Photo
State financial actions putting strain on MEPCO
State government’s efforts to cut its spending and shift more of its financial burden to local governments, school boards and public agencies is beginning to take its toll on MEPCO, the home health organization run by the Madison County Board of Health.
Last week, MEPCO, which serves residents of Madison, Estill and Powell counties, reported a $455,500 deficit at the midpoint of its fiscal year.
The deficit was recorded even after MEPCO has cut expenses by about $383,000.

February 6, 2012
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

EKU professor to receive Acorn Award

Have you ever attended a meeting of a local government agency or taxing district?

Site Map