Teacher in Residence – Handbook

I was trained as a high school chemistry teacher at Occidental College in Eagle Rock, California. I began my teaching career in 1977.  For the first five years I taught a variety of science and math courses in a continuation high in Santa Maria, California.  While it sounds strange, it is was the purest teaching and involved the least classroom management of any job of my teaching career.   My new wife and I then decided to move to the US Virgin Islands to live and teach out the rest of our lives.  It lasted one year, the teaching not the marriage (we are still married).  Upon returning to the mainland, I started teaching in a Jr. High school in Los Osos, California.  I thought it was only until I could find a job at the high school level.  It turned out I loved the age and the curriculum and didn’t leave for 19 years.   In 2000 I started working at San Luis High, where I taught physical science, a little chemistry, and some math. Now I am extremely lucky and happy that the local college, Cal Poly, asked if I would serve as a Teacher in Residence for the year 2005-2006.

I have a great supportive family, my wife and two daughters: one away a college and one a sophomore in high school.  I enjoy the recreation and fellowship of playing in basketball, softball and tennis leagues. Over the years I have participated in the variety of extras that teachers involve themselves in.  A partial list includes having served as a mentor teacher, union negotiator, and technology mentor. I’ve participated in pilot teaching programs, been the site teacher of the year, club advisor and been the science department representative on more committee meetings than seems possible.

I’ve always been interested in the importance of education even though I didn’t originally have any intention of going into it.  My original goal was to do research in the field of astrophysics.  That plan included getting an undergrad degree in physics and then looking for an astrophysics grad school.  Towards that end I started by attending the University of Denver receiving a B.S. in Physics in 1980.  After my sophomore year, I was hired by Hughes Aircraft Company and wound up working there for about ten years as an aerospace systems engineer/analyst.  I never felt particularly fulfilled at that job and wanted to do something more meaningful with my life. 

Teaching had become more and more of an attraction for me so I quit my job and attended the University of Colorado at Boulder, receiving my teaching certificate in secondary science.  I landed my first teaching job (1991) at Boulder High and have been there ever since.  I have taught physics, AP Physics B and C, and astronomy.  I taught part-time while I went back to the University of Colorado and received my master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering Sciences in 1999 and then returned to full-time teaching.  I had heard of the Teacher-in-Residence program through our local Teacher Advisory Group meetings and it sounded like a great opportunity.

I began teaching in 1982 having just graduated from Michigan Technological University in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula certified to teach both math and physics.  My first teaching job was in a small private school in center-city Philadelphia, quite a change from the shores of Lake Superior to the middle of the big city.  When my wife finished her graduate work we moved back to Michigan.  I completed my M.S. in Science Education at Western Michigan University and started teaching at Allegan High School in Allegan, MI, a small town on the west side of the state not far from the Lake.

I finished my PhD in 1999 and my dissertation was focused on students’ mental models and how they are constructed. I have experience teaching at a wide variety of levels in both mathematics and science from AP Calculus & AP Physics to middle school level courses for honors, grade-level and below grade-level students. Over the years I have been very interested in teacher preparation issues so I am excited about being involved in the PhysTEC Project as a TIR. Being a TIR allows me to share some of the lessons learned, from my experiences, with pre-service teachers and beginning teachers who are connected to the Project.

I currently reside in Allegan with my wife and two daughters.  Our two sons are grown and off on their own preparing to start families of their own.

During my teaching career (15 years in middle school science) I have taught all areas of science (life science, physical science, earth and space, oceanography, etc) and developed engaging/challenging curricular materials and methods suited to the diverse needs of my at-risk/inner city student population. As I was teaching, I became involved in educating new science teachers through programs through both the University of Arizona' College of Education and College of Science teacher preparation programs, and Prescott College's Adult Degree Program in Elementary Education. I also worked with the University of Arizona Extended University's SEEK Program as on-site administrator for their Middle School programs for ten years, and expanding on my experiences and qualifications as a Master Teacher in two programs: ASSET (Arizona School Services for Educational Technology) / NTTI (National Teacher Training Institute), and Intel's "Teach to the Future" Master Teacher program for bringing technological training to other classroom teachers within the school district.

Besides my teaching degree in elementary education (BA, '89), I have a minor in Computer Science and an extensive practical background in that area. While pursuing a master's degree in Deaf Education, my graduate studies focused on the uses of technology with special needs and at-risk students. I am an avid learner and make it my practice to regularly expand my scientific knowledge by participating in science related activities such as underwater digital photography. I am nearly completed with my PhD in Science Education, and a minor in Special Education. My dissertation research is focused on development and testing of a computer based resource for inclusion science students in middle school classrooms, in the area of astronomy/space science. I am most excited to be a full-time member of the College of Science teacher preparation program as a TIR this year. It is in many ways a culmination of where I have been prior to this time in my career, but also a first step on my path towards future science education practice.

As a positive professional educator my focus is on lasting learning, empowering individuals by celebrating collective efforts in understanding, and impacting learners' lives so they are willing and able to become responsible, contributing members of society. Learning requires students, elementary through pre-service teachers, to engage in a continuous process of accessing their prior world knowledge, elaborating and expanding this knowledge, and organizing and restructuring it into systematic frameworks. This is accomplished through providing powerful, meaningful, and relevant curriculum where rapport and parameters are established and participation is nurtured. 

My philosophy of teaching has developed from 24 years of teaching in grades 2-6.  During those years I received a master's degree in elementary education and began pursuing a specialist degree in reading, curriculum and instruction.  My passion for teaching elementary students is not to be outdone by my passion for teaching pre-service/in-service teachers.  Therefore I've been honored to represent AIMS (Activities Integrating Math and Science) as a 15-year instructor traveling throughout the U.S. presenting hands-on, inquiry based science.  My teaching philosophy has included integration of math and science within all subject areas.  The integration continued when I team-presented a K-4 Integration Crusade in Arkansas for seven years.  In the year 2000, I became a National Board Certified Teacher.  Now my love for science and teaching continues, as a TIR within the University of Arkansas' PhysTEC program. 

An (almost) lifetime Baltimorean, I graduated from The George Washington University in 1980 with a degree in Human Kinetics and Leisure Studies (Physical Education). My first career was as a gymnastics coach/instructor at local clubs in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Baltimore, Maryland. After that I entered the teaching profession in a non-traditional way, teaching second and third grades at Sinclair Lane Elementary School in Baltimore City as I finished coursework to become certified. In 2000 I received my M.S. from John Hopkins University in Special Education, Mild to Moderate Learning Disabilities.

Science education has been a crusade for me as the school system emphasizes reading more and more. I feel it is important for young children to learn to observe, question, and wonder about what is going on around them. As such, I have participated in and presented at science professional development sessions in the Baltimore City Public School System and partnered with the Irvine Nature Center to bring outdoor science activities to inner city school children through the Natural Connections Program.