RADFORD – Radford University senior and elementary education major Stephanie Richardson of Yorktown, has received the 2009 Student Teacher Research Award from the Association of Teacher Educators in Virginia.

Her research focused on the best way to teach fifth grade students in a science setting, asking the question, "Do students learn better through hands-on learning, inquiring or practice/drills?"

Richardson did her student teaching at Auburn Elementary School in Riner. Candidates had to meet four criteria established by the RU School of Teacher Education and Leadership to be eligible: evidence of high academic standing and strong, positive professional characteristics and dispositions; dedication to RU and the teaching profession; ability to synthesize experiences and communicate a thoughtful message; and good public speaking skills.

Richardson says, “This award means there are many people out there who are willing to support my dreams and goals to find the best way to teach students. This award has given me so much motivation and strength to keep pressuring the educational system and trying to find the best way to teach students. I am a teacher of students, not a teacher of subjects.”

Richardson has taught UNIV 100, served as an RU Ambassador for the College of Education and Human Development, and is currently serving as a peer mentor and tutor to freshmen in the Students on the Road to Success (SORTS) program. She is a two-time participant in the Undergraduate Student Research Forum, a winner of the 2009 ATE-VA Student Teacher Research award, first place winner of the 2007 Elevator Pitch award at the RU Entrepreneurial Summit and an active member of Kappa Delta Pi, the educational honor society.

Assistant professor and program area leader for elementary education Holly Robbins said, “Stephanie is an amazing teacher. She embodies what we’d like to see of all our teacher candidates. She seeks extra opportunities to learn and grow, always challenging herself. During her early field experience semester, she designed a self-study to examine the effects of different instructional approaches on fifth-grade students’ interest in and retention of science curricula.”