Lauren Mess, SMU education major, teachers her group of ALC high-schoolers how to use a gps unit. - USFWS photo

In November staff from Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge were asked to teach students at St. Mary's University (SMU) how to teach high school students how to use GPS units.  This is a perfect fit for the refuge since they received Flex Funds to purchase 120 GPS units.  This is exactly how the refuge wanted the GPS unit lessons to work too - have volunteers teach others how to use GPS units.  This allows people to learn about a tool used at the refuge and it gets them outside.

Laura McCauley, SMU professor stated, "GPS units are an ideal tool to teach science and math."  SMU approached the Winona Area Learning Center (ALC) about letting SMU students teach the high-schoolers how to use GPS units.  The ALC students signed up for the sessions.  Through a summer workshop, Laura McCauley learned that the refuge had GPS units to loan.  She asked Refuge staff to conduct the initial training and the lesson plan took shape.  Refuge staff spent a couple hours at St. Mary's University in the classroom teaching how to connect GPS units to the computer and downloading and uploading data.  Then it was outside to find a hidden treasure that the refuge staff had located on SMU campus for the day. 

The SMU students created the same thing for the high schoolers.  Lauren Mess a science education major led her team of ALC students outside to find points and treasures.  The ALC students did all the navigating with the GPS units. 

However, a lot more happened on that cold and windy day then learning how to use a GPS unit.  A spark was ignited in a youth.  SMU professor Bonnie Breza called refuge ranger Cindy Samples and said, "We kept a student from dropping out of high school!"  She went on to explain that one of the students was about to drop out of school but waited until after the GPS unit training was over.   She said even if we keep him in school for one more week this is exciting.  Some of the ALC students have even asked about attending SMU.  "We never even thought that a GPS unit would be the thing that kept a student from dropping out of school", commented  refuge ranger, Cindy Samples.