Category: About Us
Andy Zucker was a senior scientist at the Concord Consortium. Penny Noyce served on the Concord Consortium’s Board of Directors. Andy Zucker and Penny Noyce, both formerly associated with the Concord Consortium for many years, created a free one-week curriculum unit for grades 6-12 called Resisting Scientific Misinformation. The unit includes four short videos especially […]
Our Precipitating Change project has been exploring the science of weather and weather prediction with students in Alaska. We’ve been assisted by someone many Alaska students recognize, Jackie Purcell, chief meteorologist at KTUU Channel 2 in Anchorage. Jackie gets around, and not just on television. At the Alaska State Fair, “I run into folks from […]
All volcanic eruptions are dangerous. Some are more dangerous than others. Volcanic eruptions range from slow, relatively gentle flows of lava to explosive eruptions of gases, ash, and rock. Our Visualizing Geohazards and Risk with Code project (GeoCode) challenges students to model tephra volcanic eruptions (tephra refers to all particles ejected explosively from a volcano, […]
The year 2019 was a very special one for the Concord Consortium and we’re delighted to present the year in review with our top 10 news stories!
We’re making an impact with 12 publications in researcher and teacher practitioner journals that showcase the state of the field in STEM educational technology in 2019. Learn about a theoretical framework that positions students as data producers rather than merely data collectors (#10), automated text scoring and feedback in Earth science curriculum modules (#3, #12), […]
Craig Beaulieu has set a goal for this school year: to wear a different tie dye shirt every day. He’s on target so far. “As teachers, I feel that we teach in Neverland,” he says. “It is the adults that are getting older while all the children remain in the same age range.” He believes teaching helps him stay young at heart and live a fulfilled life. Wearing colorful shirts to school may help, too.
Kathleen Reynolds found her way to teaching after earning a bachelor’s degree in art history and then spending 20 years at home raising her children. When it came time to think about what to do next, she fondly remembered teaching nature lessons and maple sugaring at The Children’s Museum in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, and volunteering at an inner city day camp for five- and six-year-olds during college. “Becoming an early childhood educator seemed to be a good fit for me.” She’s been teaching kindergarten ever since—19 years.
“Only by making sense of what they are seeing and doing can students truly appreciate what science is and what scientists need to do to better understand our world,” says Ed Crandall.
He brings this sense of adventure to his life and his teaching. When backpacking in Alaska and hiking in Zion National Park, the extreme beauty nearly crumpled him. Ed was equally moved when he first saw Maxwell’s equations in a physics lecture. He now laughs about “being brought to tears by math.”
Khamphet (Phet) Pease had been teaching STEAM elective classes at Wilson Middle School for five years when she was named one of the five San Diego County Teachers of the Year in 2015. She was invited to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a San Diego Padres game. She continues to teach at Wilson—and to be recognized. This year she won an NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Educator Award, which celebrates formal and informal educators who encourage young women’s interest and participation in technology pursuits.
Felicia Yu would love to take a road trip up the West Coast with stops in Ashland (for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver. It’s no surprise that part of her dream vacation also includes “hitting up every major botanical garden along the way,” since she holds a master’s degree in horticulture.