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Christine Brothers "One of the things I enjoy most about teaching is that my students challenge me intellectually and constantly make me expand my own understanding of science," says Christine Brothers, who has taught high school biology for 13 years. Last year, her AP biology classes were among those from three schools nationally to pilot the NSF/HHMI-funded “Discover the Microbes Within! The Wolbachia Project.” In this initiative, students use biotechnology techniques to test insects for infection by a bacterial endosymbiont that affects insect evolution. Her students also write and illustrate children's books about Gregor Mendel, role play the evolution of giraffes and the steps of photosynthesis, fertilize sea urchins to study their embryology, maintain a class blog, design board games that demonstrate natural selection, "travel" vicariously to the Galapagos and conduct independent research projects. Brothers is National Board Certified in biology and won the 2003 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching. |
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Kristen Cacciatore Kristen Cacciatore says she can't get enough of teaching chemistry, and her busy schedule proves it. In addition to teaching full time, Cacciatore runs a year-round enrichment program (every Saturday morning and summers) for AP chemistry students in five Boston schools. In the program's first three years, the number of students taking and passing the AP chemistry exam in Boston has more than doubled. Cacciatore also helped develop Active Chemistry, an innovative inquiry-based high school curriculum. She now travels around the country leading workshops to help teachers successfully adopt this curriculum in their own classrooms. As a part-time chemistry doctoral student at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, Cacciatore focuses her research on designing and field-testing novel, green, inquiry-based chemistry experiments for advanced high school and beginning college chemistry. These experiments are now in use at schools throughout the country. |
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Charles Duggan Charles Duggan approaches education as a way to develop students' critical processing skills and enhance their understanding and awareness of their surroundings. In the lab, his students analyze phenomena to form a complete and accurate picture of what they observe. Competitive projects include real-time applications as students generate and demonstrate subject-specific inventions. Duggan's past educational-based projects include developing a summer astronomy program for young students and forming a teacher-based investment club. He is president of the North Shore Science League, which brings 25 high school science teams together six times a year to compete in a variety of subjects. |
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Erin L. Flynn As a first grade teacher, science was always Erin Flynn's favorite subject to teach. She thinks of it as the hook that can engage even the most reluctant learners, using thematic units to connect the entire school day to science topics that excite young learners. Today, Flynn says she has the "job of her dreams." She teaches inquiry science to kindergarten through fifth grade teachers, and she collaborates with teachers on units that integrate science and literacy. Flynn often partners with local organizations such as the Boston Nature Center and the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University to bridge her classroom teaching with the natural world. Flynn provides professional development to teachers throughout the Boston school district. Her recently published article in Science and Children allowed her to share strategies for a successful science fair. |
