Attending conferences is always fun for us. This summer we attended National Marine Educators Association annual conference—and it was a BLAST!
A highlight was meeting the enthusiastic (and, we mean enthusiastic!) teacher, Charlene Mauro who has been using Shape of Life in her classroom for 20 years. Charlene teaches at The Navarre Beach Marine Science Station- a unique fusion of formal and informal education.
Lacey Moore has worked and played outside all her life. As an adventure travel guide Lacey enjoyed the physical engagement of being outside backpacking and kayaking in the Pacific Northwest- “but, my favorite part was sharing the science behind the natural world with people of all ages. I believe it lends greater depth to the outdoor experience,” says Lacey.
When we asked Lisa Uttal if she thought of herself as more of a teacher or scientist she quickly responded, “I can't decide which one-- I love doing both.” We could tell she had given it some thought. And, on the gorgeous sunny day we met Lisa at the Santa Cruz Wharf—there was no question that she had struck the perfect balance between science, education and communication. The kind of balance that can only result in a contagious curiosity about our oceans.
Jeffiner Reynolds NSTA from Shape of Life on Vimeo.
Take a gorgeous 75 degree California day, a group of rambunctious middle school students coming inside from lunch, and get them to focus on how the sun can be transformed into renewable energy.
No problem for Angela Duke who teaches 6th and 7th graders about the environment and where they fit into the protection of it.
Nestled in one of the most remote areas of West Virginia known as the Birthplace of West Virginia, you’ll find an incredible teacher who opens up the world to her AP Biology high school students.
"Despite being the second largest county in West Virginia, we have one of the smallest populations. Most of the county is comprised of state and national forest; It’s a biologist's dream. I moved here in 1990 and have never left.”
Kathy White, has been transcending socio economic barriers for 27 years at Pocahontas H.S. Find out more about how she inspires students to pursue a lifetime love of science and sense of environmental protection.
Every time we go to the National Conference for the National Science Teachers Association we become inspired and stoked about our work. It’s the one-on-one conversations we have with science teachers that brings us the greatest satisfaction.
One such conversation was with Barbara Shannon. Currently, Barbara is the Director of STEM Education for Synergy Academics whose mission is to create solutions that eliminate the achievement gap. But, before that, Barbara spent many years teaching science to kids in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
Where a Healthy Respect for Science is Cultivated“Good afternoon,” greets each student as Ms. Putney individually welcomes students into her 7th grade science class at El Sausal Middle School in Salinas, California. Once students are seated, Robin stands before her classroom and is greeted with an equally respectful, “Good Afternoon, Ms. Putney…”
When Mark Friedman walked up to our booth at the recent CSTA annual conference in October and shared that he’d been using Shape of Life classroom resources for 13 years, we had no idea the degree of great work he had accomplished using our resources.
You see, Mark doesn’t just teach science– he creates a world where his personal dedication to social justice and equality is applied to the success of inner-city high school students in one of the nation's most challenged regions of LA. Kids who wouldn’t ordinarily be exposed to the wonders of marine biology have a whole world opened to them because of Mark’s belief in the power of education. And, the fact that Shape of Life plays any role in this endeavor is beyond rewarding to us.
When you walk into Greg’s classroom, you feel like you’re walking into a science exploratorium that makes you want to learn about everything, all at once. There is a diverse mixture of all kinds of media that captures and holds the squirreliest of monkey-minds.
When Greg McBride starts off the school year, he requests that each student take an online test that doesn’t measure a students’ intelligence—but, how they are intelligent. “Kids learn at all different levels. When they take this test, they don’t discover ‘if’ they’re smart—they discover how they’re smart!”, said McBride. “Shape of Life’s online resources engage kids on multiple levels with writing, reading, listening, drawing and also by viewing never-before-filmed feeding and habitats of animals. Shape of Life offers students lots of ways for their brains to latch onto pretty nerdy concepts.”