Getting Settled in the Midst of Opportunities

Someone told me that the Einstein Fellowship experience would be like a fountain that doesn’t stop flowing. I found this to be true from day one. There are so many opportunities for continued learning. Since I love learning, it has been a wonderful, but hectic time, especially as we settled into the DC area.

With this said, my next step is to apologize for just now beginning my blog. We have moved three times since coming to DC on August 24^th. It’s a long story, but we have lived out of suitcases in furnished apartments until our apartment was ready. (This photo was taken with my cell phone during our move.)

As life would have it, my husband, Bob, left to go out to Sea on September 6, 2010, with the Consortium for Ocean Leadership’s “School of Rock” for two weeks (See Bob King and School of Rock: http://joidesresolution.org/blog ). He left from Victoria, British Columbia, on the research vessel, the JOIDES Resolution, at the same time that I began working at the National Science Foundation (NSF) on September 7^th. This also coincided with the final move into our unfurnished apartment on September 8^th. Our blowup bed, two bean bag chairs, two lamps, and a card table worked fine until we bought a mattress, dressers, and a table with chairs. It’s nice to finally feel settled enough to begin the blog. So much has happened over these last 30 days. Let me back track a little now to fill in some of the experiences during these past couple of weeks.

I work with Dr. Jolene Jesse, program director for Research on Gender in Science and Engineering Program (GSE), with the Division of Human Resource Development (HRD) under the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR). I attend regularly scheduled meetings each week with Jolene Jesse and with the HRD Division. It’s a very positive learning and working environment. I am always running just to catch up, but I have such a supportive group here at NSF and with the Triangle Coalition (The fellowship has had meetings at such places as NASA Headquarters, the National Academy of Science, and the Library of Congress).

My workspace at NSF begins in a cubicle that provides the quiet space I need to read solicitations and reports, work on updating reports, and to establish contacts and networking through email or phone calls. I get a lot done here, but the work space continues beyond these walls: I’m constantly going to meetings, brown bags, professional events, or even taking work home at night. One of my roles as an Einstein Fellow with GSE is to help with outreach for extension and diffusion services tracks. This outreach isn’t directly for teachers or students, but for practitioners that seek innovative ways to build the knowledge base to address gender-related differences. One of the goals is to bring about positive and sustainable changes that will affect teachers and reach students to increase participation in STEM fields. I am currently working on a brochure for GSE to be disseminated at conferences and meetings.

My first week in Washington DC began with orientation meetings with the Triangle Coalition at the Department of Energy. We met with program managers, as well as a representative from NOAA to discuss professional development and possible interagency connections. We also met with a panel of leaders for three major STEM organizations: The Executive Director for NSTA (National Science Teachers Association, Francis Eberle), the Executive Director for NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Kichoon Yang), and Executive Director for ITEEA (International Technology and Engineering Educators Association, Kendall Starkweather). They each discussed their organization’s initiatives and programs.

There are 32 Einstein Fellows this year to work on the STEM initiative including 20 Einstein Fellows at NSF. The group went to the National Academy of Science to have a “photo op” with Einstein. The photo above was taken of me and my friend, Jean Pennycook, Einstein Fellow for DRL, Discovery Education. Jean and I first met when we participated in the National Science Foundation’s Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic Program. I have 60 journal entries with images of my field experience in Antarctica on line at http://tea.armadaproject.org. I have an online activity, “Skittle Cores” with Dr. Sam Bowser at www.bowserlab.org. Jean works with the Adelie Penguins in Antarctica. Check out her web site and follow her trip this season. www.penguinscience.com. This web site gets a million hits per month during this season. I feel that some experiences and opportunities in life, such as my field experience in Antarctica, prove to be a catalyst in growth and learning. Without a doubt, my Einstein Fellowship is one of those moments in time that will have a lasting impact on my life and learning. It will change the course of my life and provide guidance and opportunities for continued support for STEM Education. I know that I won’t be the same person at the end of this year.

Along with committee meetings and lectures, I have attended several events for continued learning. One evening I attended the Amazon Environment lecture and reception at the French Embassy. I also attended the National Geographic Live with NPR Radio’s “Talk of the Nation: The Gulf Oil Spill and State of the Oceans” with Sylvia Earle and Enric Sala. I’ve networked with the Department of Education Teacher Ambassador Fellows, attended the press conference at the National Press Club for the National Science Board’s “Preparing the Next Generation of STEM Innovators Report”, as well as the Washington Monthly and Education Sector, “Getting to Graduation”, at Resources for the Future Conference Center. I could keep on writing about what all I’ve experienced these last 30 days, but for now, let me stop and continue this later.

Life is Ever Changing

Who would have known at the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year that my life was about to change tremendously. I started last school year with my son getting married on a Saturday, and then started full time with students the following Monday at a new school teaching a new grade level. I had previously taught every grade kindergarten through sixth grade. Teaching 8th grade science made me realize even more how important it is to get STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) into classrooms.

When I was offered an Einstein fellowship with NSF’s Research on Gender in Science and Engineering (GSE), I felt that it was truly my match because I was one of those students that never saw a connection to science or why it was important to my life. It wasn’t until I was an adult, actually a teacher, that I realized the importance of integrating learning by “doing”. When I started working with scientists and going into the field to work on their research, I saw STEM firsthand. This led me toward implementing this type of approach into my classroom and to apply for a fellowship.

When school ended on May 29^th, my husband and I headed west on June 2^nd to help with our oldest son’s geology field research project in Utah (photo: San Rafael Swell). We also helped scientists with two teacher workshops in the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming.

I was so fortunate to be able to spend four days attending sessions at the Joint Annual Meeting (JAM) in Washington D.C. in early June. I appreciate Jolene Jesse, the Program Director of GSE, for inviting me to this conference. It gave me the opportunity to learn more about Gender Research, as well as the chance to meet with GSE extension grantees to see how they successfully implemented research into action. It gave me a greater appreciation of the importance for utilizing research on gender equity during the planning, implementation, and evaluation stage of each project or program, as well as a better understanding of why there are so few, especially women, going into science and engineering. This summer, I found myself talking to teachers, scientists, and parents with children that I just met on the street about the little things that need to be done to make big changes in a student’s learning and career choices.

We came home for a couple of days to wash clothes and repack before heading to work at the National Marine Education Association Conference in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Before arriving home on August 6^th, my husband and I used free flight credit to fly to Alaska to visit our youngest son who works as a bear technician at Denali National Park. While in Fairbanks, I reconnected with educators and scientists that I respect so much for their dedication to science education, and the impact that they’ve made on teachers and students. I met with a teacher that flies into remote villages in the bush to work with teachers and students, a professor/scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the IARC education outreach director (International Arctic Research Center and Center for Global Climate Change & Arctic System Research), and the education director at ARCUS (Arctic Research Consortium for the United States).

My husband, Bob, also my partner-in-learning, will be joining me in Washington, D.C. We are excited about this next venture in life. I’m looking forward to my fellowship to continue networking and integrating what is needed to broaden and increase participation to a wider range of communities of K-12 practitioners by working to diffuse research and innovative learning to address gender-based differences and career choices in STEM education. D.C---Here we come!