Biography
I am a graduate of Mansfield University, Mansfield, PA. I hold a B.S.E. in secondary physics education and an M.S.E. with an emphasis in computers in education. I am permanently certified to teach in New York, and a National Board Certified Teacher® in Adolescence/Young Adulthood Science, in the specialty area of Physics. I am a multiple honoree of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers ®, and provide services to NYSED as an Education Specialist (I write test items for the NYS Regents Physical Setting/Physics Exam and am involved with rating and analysis of state field tests and range finding at the State Education Department). I hosted the NYNet Cable Network Physics Regents Review Live! Show, which is broadcast annually statewide in mid-May to help students across NYS prepare for the Regents Physics Exam.
I am a native of Lawrenceville, PA and a twenty-year teaching veteran, with a wealth of experience to bring to my classroom. I received nuclear reactor operator and electronics technician training in the US Navy, became a commissioned officer in the US Army reserve and served as an M-1 Tank Platoon Leader in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. During my summers, I have served as a Park Ranger in the US Army Corps of Engineers, worked as a lab technician in the High Power Test Lab at Cutler-Hammer in Horseheads, NY, worked at Cornell University in various programs offered by the Center for Nanoscale Systems, and participated as a lab developer for the CNS Institute for Physics Teachers.
School Work
My classroom devours my time each day. It’s what I do. I don’t think I’ve ever taught the same lesson the same way from one year to the next. I devote what little spare time I have to spending time with my family and working at a Taekwondo academy (I am a 3rd-degree black belt). I love to fish for smallmouth bass and go canoeing in the summer. Last year I caught 477 fish. I put them all back, uninjured, so I may perhaps catch them in the future. I take pictures of any that are over a foot long and have amassed quite a collection of “trophies” over the years. I am also a tenor. I love to sing with my church choir at St. Mary Our Mother in Horseheads, NY. I serve as a cantor and occasionally feature as a soloist.
In recent summers I participated in several workshops in physics modeling, sponsored by the AMTA (American Modeling Teachers Association). The approach is similar to what I have done for many years, having students develop models of physical systems first and then help them develop ways of using their models to solve problems and answer questions about these systems. I have gotten a lot of ideas for different labs and questioning techniques from these workshops and have since developed new units for my AP and Regents physics courses centered around these experiences. I am constantly spending time reflecting on my practice, seeking new and more meaningful ways to help students develop deep understandings of their systems. I have recently begun teaching a new STEM course and am in the process of developing curriculum for that course as well, and am looking forward to developing curriculum this summer to add meaningful experiences for my students.