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Carolyn Denise Evans Crapo Carolyn Crapo will go to most any lengths to help students experience real-life applications of the science they’re studying. In Crapo’s six years of teaching high school physics, her students have used blow guns to analyze projectile motion, Hot Wheels cars to study energy conservation and life-sized cardboard and duct tape boats that they design and row across a swimming pool to study fluids. Crapo takes her students indoor skydiving so they can experience terminal velocity and to amusement parks to analyze the physics of the rides. One summer she volunteered to teach science and math at a rural secondary school in Tanzania. There, she added simple labs using everyday materials to their previously lecture-only curriculum. Her enthusiasm and commitment continue to inspire students to see physics in the world around them. |
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Pam Schmidt You might find Pam Schmidt’s sixth, seventh and eighth graders digging for fossils in the badlands, building model roller coasters high up in a rainforest canopy or happily surrounded by snakes of all sizes and colors. One thing is for certain: No matter where they are, Schmidt and her students will be engaged in learning and engrossed in the adventure of discovery. Schmidt has amassed a substantial record of fostering student achievement and excitement for exploring the world. While modeling a passion for lifelong learning, Schmidt nurtures positive relationships with her students and creates opportunities for them to achieve their goals and dreams. She has been Colorado Teacher of the Year and a National Milken Educator. She and her students — and their 47 classroom snakes — were recently featured on Animal Planet’s “Emergency Vets.” |
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Gary Wilkinson “To discover science is to enrich one’s life with wonder, amazement and understanding,” says Gary Wilkinson, who has dedicated his entire teaching career to the Monte Vista School District. Wilkinson’s Science Seminar, which he designed, gives high school students the chance to create high-quality science fair projects. So far, 39 students from that program have participated in the International Science and Engineering Fair. Wilkinson has been the Science, Math, Computer and PE department chair since 1989. He was the Colorado Teacher of the Year semifinalist in 1999 and Colorado Science and Engineering Fair Teacher of the Year in 2003. He’s a previous member of the Colorado State Model Science Standards Task Force. Each year, Wilkinson’s MESA science club performs scientific demonstrations for local third graders to help further excite youngsters about science. His passion for teaching has enriched the lives of many. |
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Charles “Charlie” R. Warren, Ph.D., NBCT Charlie Warren’s fascination with science began when he was a small child catching butterflies with his mom. By the 1990s, he was helping to develop the first science curriculum and tests for the state of Ohio. He then developed The Crestone Charter School’s outdoor education center in the San Juan Mountains. “It’s all about creating memorable learning experiences and observing and reflecting on what happened,” says Warren, who teaches sixth, seventh and eight grades. Living in the Sange de Cristo Mountain of southern Colorado, Warren and his students scour the environment for answers to their questions on everything from water purity to local geology. His class camps and hikes all over the area and frequently travels around the country to extend their studies. “Half of the curriculum comes from me,” he says. “The rest comes from my students’ sense of wonder.” Warren is a National Board Certified Science Teacher and a Colorado Master Teacher. |
