 |
Laura Baumgartner Laura Baumgartner teaches science to help students pursue their interests and curiosity. Inspired to teach by watching children learn, she ties strong content knowledge with a student-centered approach, and then guides, steers, cheers and encourages students to accomplish more than they thought possible. Baumgartner is a National Board Certified teacher in Adolescent and Young Adulthood Science. She teaches at an alternative high school and loves to work with students as they struggle to turn their lives around and achieve success. Baumgartner and her students are often found outside the classroom collecting data in the parking lot and local parks, debating with and learning from students from similar courses and schools and learning about community resources. |
 | |
 |
Jessica C. Levine Jessica Levine grew up believing every moment is an educational opportunity, and that students learn by seeing, hearing and exploring. The key, she says, is paying attention. Her fondness for inquiry led her to pursue degrees in natural sciences. Later, inspired by her hero Dr. Jane Goodall, she entered the education field. Levine is committed to teaching and nurturing children to become avid observers, participants and stewards of their local and global environment. Her students know that she rarely gives answers. Instead, Levine guides them to discover answers, and more questions, for themselves. She is a leading environmental educator, creating partnerships and curriculum with area organizations to make science relevant for students. Levine is a dedicated bike commuter and a NBPTS candidate. Her master's degree work on journaling appears in the NSTA journal, Science Scope. |
| |
 |
Deborah E. Rumbaugh "Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure science." So says Edwin Powell Hubble, one of Deborah Rumbaugh's favorite scientists. Rumbaugh has had many opportunities to expand and explore her role in science, both as an educator and as a community member. She is an SEP certified science teacher, assisting the FHCRC Lampe Lab in developing a protein biomarker diagnostic tool for the detection of ovarian cancer. And she has participated in the University of Washington's Genome Sciences Outreach, bringing biotechnology directly into her classroom. Rumbaugh received her school's Thinking Upstream award for innovative thinking. Her training with the AP College Board qualifies her as an AP Biology teacher. She has been a master teacher through Washington State University's School of Education, and an Auburn School District mentor. She also has trained at SBRI's Bioquest Academy in the study of malaria. |
| |
 |
Dana Stairs What do bouncing balls, dissected starfish, budding amaryllis and swinging pendulums have in common? They're K-5 science lessons designed by Dana Stairs to put a gleam of excitement, wonder and curiosity in the eyes of her science students. Using total-emersion, high-interest, hands-on science inquiry units, Stairs engages and inspires previously turned-off students to question, explore, record and speculate about the science in the world around them. Her students' enthusiasm for learning science permeates throughout the school, district and region. Kneeling beside excited students as they measure the swing of a pendulum, inspiring fellow teachers as her district's Science Lead, modifying her bouncing ball lesson for multi-grade level use and applying her unique insights into students' pedagogy are but snapshots of her abilities to consistently raise the standards of science learning and teaching. Stairs is well known for her holistic visions and frameworks. |
