The Persnickety Pelican

I am teacher who specializes in science curriculum development and have worked as a science department head at a large high school. I love to collaborate with other science teachers and help create curriculum to fit their classroom needs. I have taught many life, physical, and Earth science electives. I've taught a traditional schedule, modified block schedule, Saturday School, Summer School, after school remediation, and online classes.

I think science should be fun and interesting. I try to find ways to engage the students in groups and use hands-on methods. Our learning is student-centered, with the teacher acting as a facilitator more than just a Sage on the Stage. We use technology and online applications whenever possible, and try to collaborate with students in other parts of the world. Most of the labs I create are inquiry based, and students get to drive the lab with their questions about the topic and decide how they want to solve them. I offer choices whenever possible, even on tests, so that students can focus on their strengths and work to show me that they truly know and understand the material we have been learning.

I've earned science grants for the classroom, helped my students win awards at science contests, and been recognized for science teaching and learning in my school, state, and university.

Bachelor of Science in Zoology. Master of Science in Science Education.

My Mission Statement is: To share my love and fascination of science with the students in my class, thus providing students with a deep background understanding of scientific content and processes, which will allow students to become active aware citizens in a global world. My Goals include: To improve student achievement by teaching the necessary skills to allow students to understand how they learn and what they need to do in order to improve. To raise student achievement in scientific content, process, and reasoning skills.