Erin E. Peters
Last Updated on February 7, 2007
Background
After working for one year as an electrical engineer, I knew that I wanted to work more directly with people, so I went back to school to get a degree at the University of Illinois in Teaching of Physics. Schools in Illinois were consolidating at that time, so I was RIFed (Reduction in Force) 6 times in 6 years. Looking back on that time, I now realize that it made me a stronger teacher for two reasons. First, I needed to document my growth each year because of the frequency of interviews that I attended. I needed to show my perpective employers why I was a valuable teacher and this situation forced me to do that many times. The other benefit I received from being at 6 schools in 6 years was the large network of experienced teachers I was able to interact with. I sought out activities and tools of the trade from all of the teachers I worked with and I have learned a great deal from them.
I have been teaching in Arlington County Public Schools (APS) since 1996 and enjoy the freedom given to us with regard to planning lessons. APS depends a great deal on their teachers to develop the curriculum and I have taken the opportunity to work with other teachers in designing curriculum each summer since 1996. Working at the county level has given me a broader perspective for the meaning of science teaching that working in my classroom could not provide. I also had the opportunity to design several problem-based learning scenarios that are being used in all 8th grade science classes around the county. Lately I have been involved with developing an Understanding by Design (UbD) framework with my colleague, Jim Styron from Thomas Jefferson Middle School. We used the Atlas for Science Literacy to find the big ideas in physical science. Included are examples of essential questions and unit questions so that teachers new to UbD can see the difference. Arlington County Public Schools continues to provide challenges for my professional growth.
I have a unique opportunity to incorporate my teaching experience, my experience as a teacher leader, and my experience as a doctoral student. As I teach, I play close attention to how, why and what students learn and try to observe trends in their learning. When I work with other teachers, I find out what works for them and why those learning environments are beneficial. In my doctoral work, I am better able to quantify what I experience as a teacher and can make my experiences more abstract.
Conducting Professional Workshops
I realized early in my career that I enjoyed and felt the need to work with other teachers in lesson design. I found that "cookbook" or verification labs did not really teach students core material, so I changed these types of labs in different ways to suit my students' needs. Several of my colleagues encouraged me to present these strategies at professional conferences, and I put together a presentation titled, "Reforming Cookbook Labs into Critical Thinking Labs". I first presented at the Virginia Association for Science Teachers Annual Conference and then modified it using the participants comments to present it at the National Association for Science Teachers Annual Conference.
National Boards for Professional Teaching Standards
When I began my 12th year of teaching, I was talking to a colleague about options for professional development other than attending conferences. She suggested that I try to become a Nationally Board Certified Teacher. I looked into the process and decided that it was beneficial for three reasons. First, the program was research-based. Second, it would give me a vehicle for reflection that went beyond anything I had tried in the past. Third, it would help me to codify the ideas I had about science teaching but never had the opportunity to do so. The process of obtaining my National Boards for Professional Teaching Standards certification in Early Adolescent Science was completed in November of 2004. The writing that was required during that process helped me to understand that I needed to pursue a doctoral degree so that I could affect change in science education.
Teaching and Research
In the past few years, I have observed a gap between the research that is being done in science education and the practice of science education. My first experience with this gap came when I was studying for the National Boards Assessment. It was the first time that I discovered the Atlas for Science Literacy even though I was very active in the realm of professional development. As I take more research courses in the future, I am going to be vigilant of the problem I see as the gap between research and practice. I have contributed to the connection between teachers and research by participating in the Arlington Public Schools Teacher Research Convocation and by becoming an Intern for the Centers for Learning and Teaching at the National Science Foundation.
National Perspective on K-12 Education
My experiences as an Einstein Fellow at NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate have given me a broad perspective on the workings of a national K-12 education program. I have direct experience with developing, distributing and evaluating products for the K-12 classroom. I feel these experiences will help my future career as a teacher educator and researcher because I have an understanding of the issues outside of a single classroom. I am aware of the difficulties in maintaining fidelity from curriculum designer to the delivery of instruction as well as the excitment generated from working toward a STEM goal as amibitious as sending humans to the Moon and beyond.
After working for one year as an electrical engineer, I knew that I wanted to work more directly with people, so I went back to school to get a degree at the University of Illinois in Teaching of Physics. Schools in Illinois were consolidating at that time, so I was RIFed (Reduction in Force) 6 times in 6 years. Looking back on that time, I now realize that it made me a stronger teacher for two reasons. First, I needed to document my growth each year because of the frequency of interviews that I attended. I needed to show my perpective employers why I was a valuable teacher and this situation forced me to do that many times. The other benefit I received from being at 6 schools in 6 years was the large network of experienced teachers I was able to interact with. I sought out activities and tools of the trade from all of the teachers I worked with and I have learned a great deal from them.
I have been teaching in Arlington County Public Schools (APS) since 1996 and enjoy the freedom given to us with regard to planning lessons. APS depends a great deal on their teachers to develop the curriculum and I have taken the opportunity to work with other teachers in designing curriculum each summer since 1996. Working at the county level has given me a broader perspective for the meaning of science teaching that working in my classroom could not provide. I also had the opportunity to design several problem-based learning scenarios that are being used in all 8th grade science classes around the county. Lately I have been involved with developing an Understanding by Design (UbD) framework with my colleague, Jim Styron from Thomas Jefferson Middle School. We used the Atlas for Science Literacy to find the big ideas in physical science. Included are examples of essential questions and unit questions so that teachers new to UbD can see the difference. Arlington County Public Schools continues to provide challenges for my professional growth.
I have a unique opportunity to incorporate my teaching experience, my experience as a teacher leader, and my experience as a doctoral student. As I teach, I play close attention to how, why and what students learn and try to observe trends in their learning. When I work with other teachers, I find out what works for them and why those learning environments are beneficial. In my doctoral work, I am better able to quantify what I experience as a teacher and can make my experiences more abstract.
Conducting Professional Workshops
I realized early in my career that I enjoyed and felt the need to work with other teachers in lesson design. I found that "cookbook" or verification labs did not really teach students core material, so I changed these types of labs in different ways to suit my students' needs. Several of my colleagues encouraged me to present these strategies at professional conferences, and I put together a presentation titled, "Reforming Cookbook Labs into Critical Thinking Labs". I first presented at the Virginia Association for Science Teachers Annual Conference and then modified it using the participants comments to present it at the National Association for Science Teachers Annual Conference.
National Boards for Professional Teaching Standards
When I began my 12th year of teaching, I was talking to a colleague about options for professional development other than attending conferences. She suggested that I try to become a Nationally Board Certified Teacher. I looked into the process and decided that it was beneficial for three reasons. First, the program was research-based. Second, it would give me a vehicle for reflection that went beyond anything I had tried in the past. Third, it would help me to codify the ideas I had about science teaching but never had the opportunity to do so. The process of obtaining my National Boards for Professional Teaching Standards certification in Early Adolescent Science was completed in November of 2004. The writing that was required during that process helped me to understand that I needed to pursue a doctoral degree so that I could affect change in science education.
Teaching and Research
In the past few years, I have observed a gap between the research that is being done in science education and the practice of science education. My first experience with this gap came when I was studying for the National Boards Assessment. It was the first time that I discovered the Atlas for Science Literacy even though I was very active in the realm of professional development. As I take more research courses in the future, I am going to be vigilant of the problem I see as the gap between research and practice. I have contributed to the connection between teachers and research by participating in the Arlington Public Schools Teacher Research Convocation and by becoming an Intern for the Centers for Learning and Teaching at the National Science Foundation.
National Perspective on K-12 Education
My experiences as an Einstein Fellow at NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate have given me a broad perspective on the workings of a national K-12 education program. I have direct experience with developing, distributing and evaluating products for the K-12 classroom. I feel these experiences will help my future career as a teacher educator and researcher because I have an understanding of the issues outside of a single classroom. I am aware of the difficulties in maintaining fidelity from curriculum designer to the delivery of instruction as well as the excitment generated from working toward a STEM goal as amibitious as sending humans to the Moon and beyond.
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