K-12  Enhancement Activities through my first four years (tenured 2005) at Bridgewater State College (2000-2004):

I presented at two workshops (Fall 2000 and Spring 2002) for K-12 geography teachers during my two years of service on the Southeast Massachusetts Geography Network (SEMAGNET). SEMAGNET offered me the training and confidence to pursue subsequent outreach activities. 

A summer program I developed and taught to Brockton High School (Brockton, Massachusetts) students provided hands-on activities and field trips to increase youth awareness about fresh-water resources in Southeastern Massachusetts. External funding sources from Brockton Schools supported myself and a BSC student for workshop development and delivery.  Students learned valuable facts about water sources and reclamation efforts in Brockton through first-hand experience.  

With the recommendation of my mentor in meteorology at BSC, Jim Moir, I attended the 2003 DataStreme summer training program that prepares a nationwide team of teachers serving as Local Implementation Team (LIT) leaders. Responsibilities focus on implementing semester-long courses for enhancement of atmospheric and oceanic sciences in K-12 education.  Furthermore, my service on the DataStreme program can potentially provide a unique avenue for establishing partnerships and writing collaborative proposals with science coordinators in eastern Massachusetts. I have served as LIT leader beginning Fall 2003 through the present and have trained 15 K-12 faculty, primarily from schools in eastern Massachusetts, including urban districts such as New Bedford, Brockton and Boston.

During 2003 and 2004, in partnership with Dr. Jeff Williams in the Physics Dept., I taught the PHYS560 (see course links) course on Energy and the Environment. Two external grant proposals (about $40k a piece) were successfully funded and implemented in collaboration with Dr. Jeff Williams of the Physics department at BSC.  Both grants present content that meets specific objectives of the Massachusetts Frameworks for Science and Technology. In Spring 2003 I co-wrote the first proposal to get funding for a two-week summer workshop on renewable energy, PH560 “Energy and the Environment” (item 12, tab 2), and we secured a grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.  I developed activities that required participants to design and fabricate wind turbines and then evaluate performance by measuring the output of current and voltage using digital multimeters. With the success of our first summer workshop, in Spring 2004 I co-wrote a new proposal to the Department of Education grants for summer Content Institutes (item 8, tab 5 and item 13, tab 2).  I coordinated and evaluated the gain reports for this Content Institute and the statistics suggest that we were more effective at teaching the standards targeted by our proposal.  

I have taught a short (1 credit) courses on meteorology for K-12 teachers and a course on phase change of water in the atmosphere; EASC560 (see courses link).

I will continue to build upon my endeavors and dedication to preparing K-12 teachers in Science Education.