After earning a BS in Physics Education from Kent State University in 1999, I began my teaching career at Archbishop Hoban High School in Akron, Ohio. In 2002 I left to study graduate level physics at Ohio State University. After a year of physics studies and working with the Physics Education Research (PER) group at Ohio State, my strong desire to practice what I had learned caused me to return to teaching. I returned to Hoban in 2003, and in May of 2009 I earned my MA in Secondary Science Education at the University of Akron.
As the primary physics teacher and science department chair at Archbishop Hoban High School, I taught 10th through 12th grade students four different levels of physics, including AP Physics C, as well as semester courses in both Astronomy and Earth Science. In addition to high school physics, I have also taught college level physics courses to science and non-science majors at both Kent State and Ohio State Universities. Also, for multiple summers (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015), I taught 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students as part of a ten-day astronomy/science camp at the University of Wyoming.
As science department chair and in conjunction with Hoban's school improvement plan aimed at increasing student literacy across the curriculum, I lead an effort to increase the number of inquiry based student labs in order to develop students as better science writers and communicators with their inquiry lab reports.
Beginning in August 2012 I was pleased to return to public education and start a new phase of my teaching career at South Warren High School in Bowling Green, KY. South Warren moved to block scheduling in the fall of 2012 and I have had the opportunity to teach semester length courses in Astronomy, Physics, Pre-AP Physics, AP Physics B, and AP Physics C: Mechanics. In the spring semester of 2014 I was awarded the Warren County Public Schools Golden Apple Award, (Video, starting at 3:45) and in the fall semester of 2014 I began serving as the science department chair at South Warren. While at South Warren I began experimenting with a flipped classroom model in my physics classes.
In August of 2016 I returned to my Alma mater as an instructor in the Kent State physics department where I worked with my mentor teacher Dr. Jon Secaur. As a full time instructor I taught College Physics I, Physics in Entertainment and the Arts, Seven Ideas that Shook the Universe, and Frontiers in Astronomy.
In August of 2017, I returned to teaching at South Warren High School where I'm pleased to once again work with many hard-working and dedicated educators and to share my love of learning and science with my students. In December of 2017 I earned National Board Teacher Certification.
In May of 2019 I was named an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow by the U.S. Department of Energy and spent 11 months working as a legislative assistant in the office of U.S. Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva. In addition to reviewing and making recommendations on bills pertaining to education and science I also prepared the congressman for education committee meetings, wrote two pieces of legislation supporting bilingual education and school librarians, and facilitated a K-12 education forum for the congressman with AZ-03 teachers and administrators. I also had a great deal of time to reflect on my teaching and engage in amazing professional development especially in the areas of modeling instruction (MI) and standards based assessment (SBA) systems.
I returned to South Warren High School in the Fall of 2020 and began working to change my teaching to incorporate SBA and MI. In the spring of 2023 I was excited to learn I was selected as a Kentucky Finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
Summer 2023 update: I accepted a physics teaching position at The Miami Valley School in Dayton, Ohio where I look forward to working with students and faculty in our search for deeper learning as we practice the values of integrity, celebrating individuality, grit (perseverance), and kindness.
As the primary physics teacher and science department chair at Archbishop Hoban High School, I taught 10th through 12th grade students four different levels of physics, including AP Physics C, as well as semester courses in both Astronomy and Earth Science. In addition to high school physics, I have also taught college level physics courses to science and non-science majors at both Kent State and Ohio State Universities. Also, for multiple summers (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015), I taught 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students as part of a ten-day astronomy/science camp at the University of Wyoming.
As science department chair and in conjunction with Hoban's school improvement plan aimed at increasing student literacy across the curriculum, I lead an effort to increase the number of inquiry based student labs in order to develop students as better science writers and communicators with their inquiry lab reports.
Beginning in August 2012 I was pleased to return to public education and start a new phase of my teaching career at South Warren High School in Bowling Green, KY. South Warren moved to block scheduling in the fall of 2012 and I have had the opportunity to teach semester length courses in Astronomy, Physics, Pre-AP Physics, AP Physics B, and AP Physics C: Mechanics. In the spring semester of 2014 I was awarded the Warren County Public Schools Golden Apple Award, (Video, starting at 3:45) and in the fall semester of 2014 I began serving as the science department chair at South Warren. While at South Warren I began experimenting with a flipped classroom model in my physics classes.
In August of 2016 I returned to my Alma mater as an instructor in the Kent State physics department where I worked with my mentor teacher Dr. Jon Secaur. As a full time instructor I taught College Physics I, Physics in Entertainment and the Arts, Seven Ideas that Shook the Universe, and Frontiers in Astronomy.
In August of 2017, I returned to teaching at South Warren High School where I'm pleased to once again work with many hard-working and dedicated educators and to share my love of learning and science with my students. In December of 2017 I earned National Board Teacher Certification.
In May of 2019 I was named an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow by the U.S. Department of Energy and spent 11 months working as a legislative assistant in the office of U.S. Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva. In addition to reviewing and making recommendations on bills pertaining to education and science I also prepared the congressman for education committee meetings, wrote two pieces of legislation supporting bilingual education and school librarians, and facilitated a K-12 education forum for the congressman with AZ-03 teachers and administrators. I also had a great deal of time to reflect on my teaching and engage in amazing professional development especially in the areas of modeling instruction (MI) and standards based assessment (SBA) systems.
I returned to South Warren High School in the Fall of 2020 and began working to change my teaching to incorporate SBA and MI. In the spring of 2023 I was excited to learn I was selected as a Kentucky Finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
Summer 2023 update: I accepted a physics teaching position at The Miami Valley School in Dayton, Ohio where I look forward to working with students and faculty in our search for deeper learning as we practice the values of integrity, celebrating individuality, grit (perseverance), and kindness.
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