In addition to my work with college students, I have a long-standing interest in primary and secondary STEM education, both formal and informal. Some of my experiences in this field include:

  1. Developing and writing a K-8 science curriculum under the supervision of Karen Oberhauser, focused on Monarch butterflies, before starting graduate school.
  2. Teaching and mentoring high school teachers and students in the Monarch Monitoring Scientist-Teacher-Student Collaborative Research Program (a partnership between the Science Museum of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota). This project included a week-long field experience for teachers and students in Minnesota and Texas.
  3. Developing and offering activities for Biotopia, Pacific University’s annual biology outreach day that attracts hundreds of families.
  4. Teaching a seminar in which undergraduates worked with classroom teachers and developed curriculum modules for K-5 students tied to Next Generation Science Standards. Their draft curriculum modules (which have NOT been tested in the classroom) can be viewed here; if you are interested in testing them in your classroom, please contact me!
  5. I also participated in a seminar at FSU that produced ideas for curriculum. These DRAFT ideas can be viewed here. We are testing these in classrooms and summer camps in Florida, and are preparing some of them for publication. If you are interested in testing them in your classroom, please contact me or Nora Underwood (nunderwood@bio.fsu.edu).