Life Of The School Podcast: The Podcast For Biology Teachers

Bonnie Nieves teaches high school biology and anatomy and physiology at Millbury Memorial Junior Senior High School in Millbury, Massachusetts. Bonnie is passionate about engaging students in authentic activities, incorporating restorative practices, and leveraging technology to empower students to make an impact on their community. She enjoys connecting with educators through social media, professional organizations, conferences, Twitter chats, and edcamps. For MassCUE, the Massachusetts Computer Using Educators organization, Bonnie serves as an Elementary and Secondary Education Science and Technology Ambassador and a Social Media Ambassador. Bonnie is a also a member of the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT), Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES), and NSTA; and has written for the NSTA Blog, and has present at multiple conferences. You can follow Bonnie on Twitter @biologygoddess, on Voxer @bonnienieves, and via her WordPress blog.

Dillon is a science teacher at Southern Lee High in Sanford, North Carolina. At Southern Lee, Dillon has taught a wide variety of Biology courses including inclusion courses, Honors Biology, AP Biology, and he created the school's Zoology program. Outside of the school, Dillon has served as Chair of the School Improvement Team, Academically-Intellectually Gifted (AIG) Advisor, facilitator of the Advanced Placement PLC and the Biology PLC, and Literacy Leader. He has also served on the Curriculum and Instruction Committee, the AVID Site Team, the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) team, the District Literacy Working Group, and the District AIG Advisory Council. He also coaches the school's Science Olympiad and Quiz Bowl teams. Dillon continues to engage in research to improve his instruction. He has presented on teaching literature in zoology courses at the North Carolina Science Teachers' Association 2016 conference, and he also published the article "Long-form Science: Teaching with Extended Texts" in

Samantha Agoos is a biology teacher Denver East High School in Denver, Colorado. Samantha currently teaches honors genetics and honors biology, but she has taught a wide variety of science courses. Before teaching at Denver East, Samantha taught in Bloomington Indiana and in Chicago Illinois. Samantha has been working on the Inquiry HUB project (iHUB) with Bill Penuel at Colorado University. The iHub project works to connect researchers, computer scientists, educators, and other stakeholders to implement learner-centered teaching that promotes adaptability and responsiveness to the differing needs of diverse learners. Samantha has also been working to promote student research and has attended the Research Teachers Conference in Washington DC sponsored by the Society for Science and the Public.

Jason Crean teaches biology at Lyons Township High School in La Grange, Illinois and both biology and preservice science teaching courses at Saint Xavier University, in Chicago. Jason has been recognized for his excellence in teaching by being been awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching in 2009, the High School Science Teacher of the Year from AAAS in 2010, the Golden Apple Award in 2016, just to name a few of his many awards. Jason serves as Past President for the Illinois Science Teachers Association, President for the Illinois Association of Biology Teachers, and sits on the Board of Directors for the Association of Presidential Awardees in Science Teaching and the College Board's National Science Advisory Panel. Jason began the NGSS Biology Storylining Working Group in which he has collaborated with other teachers to create a full NGSS aligned biology course using six coherent storyline units that are now used across the country and internationally.

Tanea is a biology and environmental science teacher at Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, AZ. Before 2015, Tanea taught internationally at the Wells International School in Bangkok, Thailand, and Concordia International School in Shanghai. Back in 2012, Tanea was a member of the JASON Project Teacher Argonaut Program, on which she went on an expedition that explored the waters of the Black, Aegean and Mediterranean Seas off the coasts of Turkey and Cyprus. More recently, Tanea has been involved with the American Modeling Teachers Association and she has run Biology Modeling Workshops. Tanea earned a Bachelor of Science in biology from California State University-East Bay, a Master of Education from ASU, and a Master of Science in teaching earth science from Wright State University.

Glenn is a biology teacher at Berkeley High School, in Berkeley, California. With a few breaks, including working as a school administrator about 15 years ago and in the multimedia industry during the 1990s, Glenn has been working as a teacher since 1987. He’s currently also a co-leader for the Berkeley High science department and has worked as a small schools leader, and co-coordinator for professional development. Glenn is well known for his music videos posted on YouTube and on sciencemusicvideos.com. These include The Cell Song, DNA, Fantastic!, and Membranes! His main project now is creating an online AP, College-level Biology curriculum: think of it as an interactive, online textbook. He’s also working on producing biology lectures on his youtube channel, and an AP Biology test-prep app (soon to be released).

Tammy Fay is a department leader biology teacher at Masconomet Regional High School in Boxford, MA. Tammy has developed four elective courses in biotechnology, bioethics, and two interdisciplinary courses Prometheus Unleashed and Mission Mars. Tammy has also been involved with implementing the Amgen Biotech Experience in her school district. More recently, she has been part of a team of teachers developing LabXchange pathways for virtual lab experiences as well as assisting in teaching videos to explain a variety of concepts in molecular biology. Tammy holds a B.S.in biotechnology from the Rochester Institute of Technology, an M.A.T. in science education from Boston University, and an M.Ed. from Salem State University.

In this episode, I sit down with five teachers who will be presenting at the 2018 NABT Conference in San Diego. My conversations are Jon Darkow from Seneca East High School in Attica, OH, Kelly Kluthe from Olathe West High School, Olathe, KS, Paul Strode from Fairview High School in Boulder, CO, Dessy Dimova from Franklin High School, Somerset, NJ, and Ryan Reardon from Jefferson County International Baccalaureate in Irondale, AL. The Full Program for the conference can be downloaded from https://nabt.org/files/galleries/NABT2018ProgramGuide_web.pdf .

Scott is currently in his eighth year of teaching biotechnology at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Scott has been involved with implementing aspects of the Amgen Biotech Experience at his school. More recently, Scott has been part of a team of teachers who are designing LabXchange pathways for virtual lab experiences as well as assisting in teaching videos to explain a variety of concepts in molecular biology. He transitioned from working in a research laboratory to science education in 2000. Scott received his B.S. degree in biology and marine biology from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, and his M.S. degree in biology from the University of New Orleans.

Chris Chou is science teacher at Longmont High School in Longmont, Colorado. She currently teaches Advanced Placement (AP) Biology and Forensic Science and coordinates the Medical & BioScience Academy program. In addition to her teaching, Chris advises a Students Modeling a Research Topic or SMART team. Chris is a member of the BSCS/NABT AP Biology Leadership Academy and has facilitated multiple workshops for science teachers. Chris received the 2014 Spotlight Award for Excellence in Teaching from the St. Vrain Valley Education Foundation and the 2016 Outstanding Biology Teacher Award in Colorado from the National Association of Biology Teachers. Before entering the classroom, Chris participated in the Human Genome Project as an intern at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and was a graduate research assistant in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois.

Kelcey Burris is currently the science department chair at Union High School in Camas, Washington. Kelcey has been teaching AP Biology for nearly 2 decades and has also participated as a reader for many AP Biology Exams. Kelsey has worked as a College Board consultant for AP Biology and AP Insight, a role in which he has presented one-day and week-long workshops throughout the world. Kelcy earned his BA in Biology and Chemistry from Concordia University in Portland, Oregon and a Master's in Education from Florida Gulf Coast University.

Kirstin Milks is a science teacher at Bloomington High School South in Bloomington, Indiana. Kirstin is also a senior fellow of the Knowles Teacher Initiative and is editor-in-chief for outreach of the foundation’s publication Kaleidoscope. Kirstin’s professional development work also includes working with the BSCS/NABT AP Biology Leadership Academy, and the Woodrow Wilson Annenberg Teaching Fellowship. Kirstin has been widely recognized for her teaching excellence through awards including NABT’s Outstanding New Biology Teacher award in 2012, the 2014 Yale Educator Award, the 2017 Alumni Excellence in Education Award from Stanford’s Graduate School of Education, and the 2018 NABT Kim Foglia Award. Before entering the classroom, Kirstin was a research scientist having earned her PhD in biochemistry at Stanford. You can follow Kirstin on twitter @DrMilks

Mary is a science teacher at Weston High School in Weston, Massachusetts. Throughout her teaching career, Mary has taught a range of biology classes including AP Biology, CP Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, and Biotechnology. She also serves as the assistant director and instructor for the Advanced Biotechnology Institute at Roxbury Latin School. In 2014, Mary was awarded the Goldin Foundation Award for Educational Excellence. Mary has an A.B. in Biology from Harvard College and an Ed.M in Learning and Teaching from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Britt Czupryna is a biology teacher at Niles West High School in Skokie, IL. Throughout her teaching career, Britt has taught a variety of courses including AP Biology. Additionally, she has supervised several extracurricular activities with a STEM focus, including the Stellar Girls program, where elementary students are brought to the high school for for weekly, hands-on STEM explorations. This past spring, Britt participated in the Pre-AP National Faculty Institute, looking at the content and skills needed to prepare students for AP Biology in the future.

This week I have been at the Center for BioMolecular Modeling (CBM), taking the workshop “Modeling the Molecular World.” This is one of several professional development workshops that introduce teachers to modeling materials and provides them with the experience necessary to confidently use them in their classroom. The Modeling the Molecular World workshop focuses on connecting the macroscopic world in which students live with the invisible world of molecules. This includes using models of all sorts during the workshop – from magnetic water molecules and mini-toober models of proteins to schematic models of membranes and components of the flow of genetic information (DNA → RNA → proteins). There is also a wide variety of different teaching strategies and "pedagogical moments" interspersed throughout the course.

Please support the Jen Pfannerstill Memorial Fund - https://www.gofundme.com/ms7umr-jen-pfannerstill-memorial-fund

Rachel Lytle teaches honors and AP Biology at Brentwood High School in Brentwood, TN.  Rachel just completed her 4th year of teaching, and she has already made significant contributions to the biology teaching community, including at presenting at Several NABT conferences.  Rachel was also recently a first time Reader for the 2018 AP Biology Exam.  Rachel's early contributions to the classroom were recognized as she was the recipient of the NABT 2017 Outstanding New Biology Teacher Achievement Award. Rachel earned her B.S, M.S., and her Tennessee State Teaching License from Middle Tennessee State University.

Michael Ralph & Laurence Woodruff are the hosts of the podcast “2 Pint PLC.” Laurence is a Biology teacher at Olathe East High School and Michael works at the University of Kansas Center for STEM Learning. At one time, they worked in the same high school science department where they both taught biology and developed a professional relationship where they engaged in rich, challenging discussions about teaching and learning. After Michael left to work at the University of Kansas, they continued their discussion and collaboration and started the podcast “2 Pint PLC.”

Tom Martinez is an AP Biology and Biotechnology teacher at Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Illinois. Throughout his long career, Tom has worked to bring a wide variety of research opportunities anc connections to his students. This included working with the BioBuilder synthetic biology curriculum, working with the Barcoding Life’s Matrix program, and presenting his work with students on bioprospecting anticancer drugs from marine animals in England and Sweden. Tom has also lead a BioBuilder after school club where students have traveled to and presented their projects at the BioBuilder Club Summit in Cambridge Mass. This upcoming summer Tom will be leading a workshop on synthetic biology at the Baxter Center Science Education from July 31 - August 2, 2018 at the Northwestern University, Evanston Campus.

Kelly Kluthe is a Biology teacher at Olathe West High School in Olathe, Kansas. She also recently accepted a position to teach biology classes at Baker University. Kelly has present at both state and national biology meetings including the 2017 NABT National Conference where she presented “Project-Based Learning in the NGSS Biology Classroom” along with Camden Hanzlick-Burton and Andrew Davis. Kelley was the 2016 recipient of the Outstanding Biology Teacher Award for the state of Kansas. She has held many roles within the Kansas Association of Biology Teachers including OBTA director and secretary. You can follow her on twitter @KlutheScience