About the Workshops - About the Contributors

Workshop Overview
Workshop Goals
Workshop Structure and Materials
-About the Contributors-

CONTENT ADVISORS

Paul Hickman worked as an engineer and taught high-school physics in Cold Spring Harbor, New York and Belmont, Massachusetts. He is currently a curriculum specialist at Northeastern University's Center for the Enhancement of Science and Mathematics Education (CESAME), and helps teachers to advance K-12 educational reform. He received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching, the Tandy Technology Scholars Award, and the American Association of Physics Teachers' award for Excellence in Pre-College Physics Education. Hickman has been involved with several national programs to improve science teaching and learning, has written for numerous professional journals, and has given talks and workshops for teachers nationwide. He received his B.S. in physics from Manhattan College and his M.S. from Long Island University.

Jennifer Bond Hickman, Ed.D., taught physics and astronomy at the Pomfret School in Connecticut, at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and most recently at Boston University Academy, where she also served as Head of School. Dr. Hickman has served on the boards of several physics and astronomy organizations and is currently on the board of Boston's Hayden Planetarium. She has worked on numerous national curriculum development projects in science and has given talks and workshops around the country. Dr. Hickman is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching and the Tandy Technology Scholars Award, and is the author of Problem-Solving Exercises in Physics. She received her B.A. in physics and astronomy from Wellesley College, her M.S. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and her Ed.D. and MBA from Boston University.

HOSTS

Sallie Baliunas, Ph.D., is an Astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. She is Deputy Director and Director of Science Programs at Mount Wilson Observatory; she also serves as Senior Scientist at the George C. Marshall Institute in Washington, D.C., and chairs the Institute’s Science Advisory Board. Dr. Baliunas has written over 200 scientific research articles, and has received the Newton-Lacy-Pierce Prize of the American Astronomical Society, the Petr Beckmann Award for Scientific Freedom, and the Bok Prize from Harvard University. In 1991, Discover magazine profiled her as one of America’s outstanding women scientists. Dr. Baliunas is a contributing editor to World Climate Report and a receiving editor for New Astronomy, and has been science advisor for the science-fiction series, Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, which has been airing since Fall 1997. Dr. Baliunas received her Ph.D. degree in Astrophysics from Harvard University. Her research interests include solar variability and other factors in climate change.

Katy Abel has covered education and parenting issues in broadcast television, on the Internet, and in print for the past decade. She is currently a writer for Familyeducation.com, part of Pearson's Learning Network, one of the top 50 most visited Web sites on the Internet. For many years, Abel was a reporter, producer, and public affairs host at WHDH-TV, Boston's NBC affiliate. She also wrote a monthly column for the Boston Parents' Paper. Her "Family First" reports were a regular feature on the CBS Early Show with Bryant Gumbel and Jane Clayson. Abel has also produced reports for The Learning Channel's "Teacher TV" series and hosted a live, interactive program for teens, "Student Forum," beamed via satellite to high schools throughout New England via the Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications (MCET).

CLASSROOM TEACHERS

Karen Spaulding has taught sixth, seventh, and eighth grade science at the Morse School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for seven years. As a teacher leader in the Cambridge Public Schools, Spaulding supports other middle-school science teachers in this diverse urban district while maintaining a full-time teaching load. Her leadership work includes curriculum development, assessment, grant writing, designing and carrying out professional development, and peer coaching. Previously, Spaulding taught eighth-grade mathematics in a school district in southern New Hampshire. She holds an M.S. degree in Middle School Science from Simmons College and a B.S. in Middle School Mathematics and Science Education from Lesley College (now Lesley University). The Commonwealth of Massachusetts named Spaulding the state’s Christa McAuliffe fellow for 2001.

Barbara Mitchell is a fifth grade science teacher and curriculum coordinator at the Armstrong School, Westborough, Massachusetts, where she has piloted and implemented standards-based, hands-on math and science curricula. Mitchell began her career designing and developing a K-6 science lab at Happy Valley School, Lafayette, California, and was Program Associate and Project Coordinator for PALMS (Partnerships Advancing the Learning of Mathematics and Science) at EcoTarium, an environmental museum in Worcester, MA. Mitchell holds an M.S. from Clark University in Professional Communication and a B.S. from Castleton State College in Elementary Education. A frequent professional developer and seminar facilitator, she is active in MAST (Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers) and other professional associations.

Joanne Aguiar has taught first grade for the past 13 years at the Laurel Lake School in Fall River, Massachusetts, an urban school serving students from various ethnic and economic backgrounds. Her professional development in science, math and technology has included long-term involvement with the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Buzzards Bay Rim Project, which led to visits at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and research trips to Nantucket and Cuttyhunk Islands. Aguiar also attended the Next Steps Institute in Seattle, Washington and a NEW Urban workshop at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Through the University of Massachusetts/Dartmouth - Fall River Peer Coaching Collaborative Project, Aguiar assists and encourages co-workers to use hands-on science kits in the classroom. She enjoys nurturing young children’s curiosity for learning.

Janet Smithers is a fourth-grade teacher in Harwich, Massachusetts. Her 21 years of teaching experience include regular and special education. She enjoys teaching science to children because they easily absorb the content and process through discovery activities that are both engaging and educational. She finds that the best way for fourth-grade students to learn scientific concepts and develop strong thinking processes is through their own observations and hands-on investigations.

Paul Martenis has taught physics and physical science for eight years in the Boston area, and currently teaches at Newton North High School, Newton, Massachusetts. He also worked on the computer staff at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics for seven years. Martenis holds a master’s degree in Education from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree in Astronomy and Physics from Haverford College.

INTERVIEWERS

Ingrid Allardi is an assistant principal at the Harry Lee Cole Elementary School in Boxford, Massachusetts, where she works with teachers to develop grade-appropriate science curricula. Previously, she taught first grade for six years, and helped plan and create professional development programs in math and science for the Annenberg Channel. Allardi holds an M.A. in Child Study from Tufts University and a B.A. in Psychology from Smith College. She has a special interest in educational administration and educating children with special needs.

Joyce Gleason has been a science educator for over 30 years. She has been a high school teacher, K-12 coordinator, staff developer in two urban districts, educator of student teachers (undergraduate and graduate), and independent consultant. She is a past president of the Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers and currently serves as District Director for the National Science Teachers Association. She was named Massachusetts Science Educator of the Year in 2000, and was Program Coordinator for the National Science Teachers Association national convention in 1999.

Judith Peritz has been a curriculum developer with the Science Education Department of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics for the past 10 years. She also spent 10 years in classrooms as a pre-K/elementary school teacher, and is actively involved in after-school math and science tutoring. Peritz holds an M.Ed from Boston University and a B.S. in Education from Case Western Reserve University.