School:
Pocatello High School

Years Teaching:
24

Degree:


Graduate Partner:
Jennifer Teixeira

Special Accomplishments/Interests:

2008 Simplot Inspirational Teacher Award.

I still strive to learn more and do my best to teach and motivate students. I enjoy watching students realize that they are capable of learning seeming difficult things. I am constantly working on improving my lectures, labs, and demonstrations. This year I want to incorporate power point presentations and demos, and also use more technology in my labs. I would like to use this technology to enhance the problem-solving skills of my students.

I am also working with the district to implement the Senior Project required in the new graduation requirements, and helping to establish a meaningful advisory program in our high schools. I am hoping that these two programs will act as a springboard to make high school education more relevant for our students with teachers leading them to post-secondary education/training.

How will you integrate an aspect of GK-12 and your partnership with graduate students into your classroom?

Jenn will share her research on a regular basis with my AP Chemistry students. Today, she showed actual mass spectrometer data from her research. Since she is also working in the field of chemical education, developing question-driven exercises, we will use this approach with students. We will also use the computer for modeling the geometric structures of molecules and make computations.

How has the GK-12 experience changed you, and how has your participation changed the GK-12 project?
n/a

Profile date: Sept. 2008