Stephen F. Austin State University

Sharing a table with a container full of murky water, Grand Saline Independent School District teachers Dan and Sarah Macy listened intently to instructions on their next scientific project.

With the green light from their instructor, the married teacher duo began dispersing polymer into the dirty liquid.

About 12 teachers from middle and high schools across East Texas converged in Longview June 15 for the Luminant Environmental Research Program. The two-week program is sponsored by Region VII Education Service Center, Stephen F. Austin State University and the Dallas-based energy provider.

"We may need to put more in it," Sarah Macy said as her husband leaned in to view the chemical's process.

After stirring-up the substance, and adding a couple of squirts of polymer, their water became clearer.

"Look at how low the sediment is," Dan Macy said as he held up a clear plastic container to the light. "Very interesting."

Since the program's inception in 2006, teachers from across the East Texas area have participated — doing everything from riding on a coal mining drag line to constructing compost bins. Upon completion, teachers working on their masters degrees can receive three credit hours, or certification hours.

Robert Gentry, curriculum manager of Tyler-based Luminant Academy at Tyler Junior College, said the program provides teachers with information and resources about environmental and energy-related issues and promotes an understanding of how natural resources can be used to produce electricity while preserving natural resources for the environment.

"This presents an unbiased approach on how power plants operate," Gentry said. "The teachers experience firsthand how lignite coal is removed, what it takes to produce electricity and how we restore the land after mining."

Alan Sowards, Stephen F. Austin State University energy, economics and the environment professor, said the program allows secondary teachers to take what they learn during the course and apply it to everyday lesson plans.

"It provides them with contacts and resources so they can bring sources to talk to their classes," Sowards said.

"This will make their lesson planning more concrete."

Similar to the duties of their own students, the participants are required to take tests about what they have learned, and keep a daily journal of contacts and resources.

"We give them a pretest before the course, and later give them a post test to see what they have learned," Sowards said.

"It's a multiplier effect because they can teach and have hands on activities that follow."

For teacher Dan Macy, the experience is worth all the hard work.

"The field experience is phenomenal," he said. "You can't really understand it all unless you're there ... Where else could I go to learn this stuff?"

The program wraps up Friday.