About
This blog is intended for the elementary teacher who is interested in increasing their science content knowledge, “doing science”, and making science fun for their students.
The blog author is Dr Judith McDonald, a twenty year teacher now teaching pre-service teachers at Belmont Abbey College, in Belmont NC, a suburb of Charlotte. Local elementary school teachers know her for her creative Professional Development workshops at the University Of North Carolina at Charlotte, and her time with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Dr. McDonald served as a science curricula coordinator with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools for 2 years, and has taught science in public and private schools for 27 years. A passion for great teaching led her to pursue her PhD from the University of NC at Greensboro, and this blog in some ways serves as an extension of her Science Methods class at Belmont Abbey. Content knowledge makes a confident teacher, and confident passionate teachers can become great teachers.
Dr. McDonald in her own voice.
I have taught students formally and informally from ages two all the way to an adult seeking a bachelor’s degree at age 60. I enjoy exploring outdoors, especially with children. My young neighborhood friends frequently come to me to have discussions about wildlife they have found. If you love teaching science, “teachable moments” occur daily, whether it is identifying the snake a mother brings by the house or helping a 7 year old with the turtle he or she has caught, science is all around us, and children are natural scientists. I have been associated with education all my professional life, my CV is below.
Discover how much fun science can be to teach and learn. Engage in this learning forum and please leave your thoughts.
Philosophy
Science is best learned by discovery. I have always taught by inquiry, even when I did not fully understand the concept as a young educator. I am also a believer in “science for all,” not just for the elite or smartest students. Just for a moment imagine a scientist in your mind. Okay…. be honest, did you think of an older white male with glasses and crazy hair. Many people think this way of scientists. Still in our society today we do not think of women or minorities in science. This led me to develop my “Girls Leading Girls in Science” program, a cooperative effort at my college between low-income fifth grade girls and female college students who are majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors. We are now entering our 3rd year.
At Belmont Abbey, we get many adult learners, often 2nd career teachers. I will never forget teaching a group of adult learners in my Introduction to Earth Science class. One class we created a cloud and tried to explain why this happened. Another class we used fruit to represent the planets in our solar system. The students had to figure out which fruit represented which planet and then place in order from the sun to the outer planets. After that we created a scale that demonstrated how far each planet was from the sun. At the end of the semester a female student came up to me and hugged me, crying saying that she never had been successful in science before and I helped her be successful. She earned a B in the class and told me she would teach science when she became an elementary teacher in a discovery way so that her students could enjoy science like she had.
I continually learn about science and how to teach science by attending conferences and workshops. and will update from there from time to time. I hope you’ll join me on my journey of science exploration and my quest to teach great science teachers.
Special Thanks to the People Who Have Directly Influenced my Philosophy of Education:
Dr. Catherine Matthews – University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Dr. Heidi Carlone – University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Dr. Warren DiBiase University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Dr. Barb Levin – University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Dr. Gerald Ponder – North Carolina State University
Judith Richards McDonald
Belmont Abbey College
Belmont, North Carolina
Goal:
To implement change by working with policy for teaching, mentoring, and preparing teachers for the classroom using the rapidly changing world of technology using innovative ideas and strategies.
Education:
Ph.D.University of North Carolina, Greensboro 2008
Curriculum and Instruction
Science
Dissertation: A Case Study of Second-Career Alternatively Certified Science
Teachers: What Research and Educational Experiences and
Understanding of Nature of Science Do They Bring to
Classroom Practices? (Dec. 2007)
M.Ed University of North Carolina, Charlotte 1999
Curriculum and Instruction
Science (Middle Grades)
BS University of West Virginia 1979
Secondary Education
General science/biology
Educational Experience:
Belmont Abbey College –Full-time faculty teaching education classes and serving on
committees including teacher cadet coordinator for Gaston County
(Fall 2007 – present)
Winston-Salem State University –Teach undergraduate and graduate science
methods classes (Spring 2007)
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Center for Mathematics, Science and
Technology Education– Curriculum writing and training (Summer 2006 – present)
Charlotte Secondary Schools –Curriculum writing for charter school
math/science (May 2007)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools– Supervised middle school science on curriculum and instruction, worked with teachers through professional development (largest school district in NC). Assisted in design with NC Standard Course of Study NCLB exams (July 2004 – July 2006)
Covenant Day School– Taught, earth science (7th grade), life science (6th grade), biology
(9th grade) and computer technology, certified GLOBE teacher and laptop anytime
learning teacher, coordinated science for K – 9, track coach, girls running club, Super
Science Day Coordinator for several years and Science Olympiad
coach (1995-1999 and 2001-2004)
Weddington Middle School – Taught 8th grade science (2000-2001)
University of North Carolina, Charlotte– Assisted with lateral entry teacher
observations (Fall 1999)
Charlotte Christian School– Taught life science (7th grade) and earth
science (8th grade) to middle school students (1993 – 1995)
Mustard Seed School, Hoboken, NJ– Taught math/science block 5th – 8th grade and
physical education inner city students (1991 – 1993)
Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, MD– Taught algebra and science to
middle and high school students (1980 – 1983)
Londoun County Public Schools, Sterling, VA– Taught middle school science (1979 – 1980)
Current Research:
Presently working on a study of inquiry with pre-service teachers – completion Fall 2009
Licensure and Certifications:
North Carolina Class A license in Elementary Education K – 5 concentration in science
North Carolina Class A license in Biological Sciences grades 9 – 12 valid through 2009
North Carolina Class G license in Middle Grades science valid through 2009
New Jersey permanent license: general science 5 – 12 and biology
CDL – Commercial Drivers License for North Carolina
GLOBE teacher – (1997 – present)
Professional Organizations:
Forming a group of Science Educators for Uniform Teaching – (Presently)
National Science Teachers Association NSTA – active member for several years
National Middle School Association NMSA – active member for several years
North Carolina Science Teachers Association – active member for several years
Southwest Alliance of Science Educators – active presenting member
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development – active member
Charlotte Area Science Network – CASN
Technology Knowledge:
Blog author www.teachingelementaryscience.com – Offering lessons, instructional strategies
and discussions of current issues in elementary science (August 2008 – present)
Actively use e-journaling during teaching
Web based professional development mentoring content courses for 5 – 8th grade teachers
Taught 6 – 9th grade computer using Microsoft Programs including Excel, Word,
PowerPoint, Access and FrontPage.
Implemented laptop anytime learning with all biology students at CDS (1999)
Comprehensive knowledge of the Internet and many interactive websites for science
teachers.
Written Work and Honors:
Article in North Carolina Middle School Association – Effective Warm- ups in Middle
School Science Classrooms (November 2008)
Contributing Author for SRA Science Books (January 2008)
Selected for Chancellor’s List for 2005 – 2006
Recipient of small grant from National Gardening Association for Alternative School
Wrote and submitted grant to NC DPI for MSP Grant for professional development for
middle school science teachers for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (February
2005 and 2004)
Paper presented at National Geography Association, New Orleans on Weather and It’s
Effects on Aggression. (April 2000)
Presentations:
National Science Teachers Association Presentation – Electricity for Elementary
Classrooms (October 2008)
North Carolina Science Teachers Association – Soil for Primary Grades (March 2008)
Expanding Your Horizons – Girls in Science Presentations (March 2006 and 2008)
GIS Day – Prepared teachers and students to present (November 2006)
Southwest Alliance Science Conference at Charlotte (November 2006)
NCSTA Presentation at Greensboro (November 2006)
STEM ACT Conference – Alternative Certification Teachers (May 5 – 7, 2006)
North Carolina State University – Expanding Your Horizons Workshop (March 7, 2006)
Southwest Alliance Meeting – Science presentations (September 2005 & November 2006)
Classroom Management- How Do I Manage a Lab in Middle
School Science? (February, 2005)
Train new middle school science teachers – Organization and teaching Inquiry in the
Classroom (Summer 2004)
Organize and Train Middle School Science Teachers through Alliance Meetings (2004 –
present)
Secondary Alliance Meeting – What the issues in classroom management and where do I
begin? (Spring, 2005)
Inquiry – What is it and why use it? Presented to all middle school academic facilitators
in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (Fall 2004)
Recycling of Paper presentation at Greater Charlotte Association of Christian School to
science teachers – (March 2004)
Experience and Special Training:
Mentoring on-line to teachers (July 2008)
City Green (May 2006)
HOUSSE Evaluation Trained (February, 2006)
GPS/GIS Training (September 2005)
Summer workshop for teachers at magnet elementary school on inquiry activities
(Rockingham County, August, 2005)
Implementation and training of textbook adoption for the largest school system
in North Carolina (Summer, 2005)
Board of Directors for Connecting Families – a non-profit organization to benefit low
income families in the greater Charlotte area
Peer Reviewer for scholarly journal, Secondary Science and Math on Urban Science
Education (February 2005)
Writer for North Carolina Department of Instruction – writing questions for the new state
Science eighth grade test (November, 2004 – present)
Science Expert for North Carolina Department of Instruction for eighth grade science test for
students with IEP’s (November 2005)
North Carolina Association for Biomedical Research – certified in Science Literacy at
East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine (November 4, 2004)
Regional Science Fair Judge (Several years) – UNC Charlotte
AIM, Assessing Instructional Materials, Training – National Science Foundation funded
process to scientifically evaluate textbooks, based on learning research –
Charlotte, NC (Summer 2004)
Lead teacher in 7th grade and mentor teacher at Covenant Day School (2002 – 2004)
Science Olympiad Coach – took middle school teams to state level competition several
years (1997 – 2003)
Community Involvement:
Regional Science Fair Judge (2005 – present)
Regional Science Olympiad Judge (2005 – present)
Family Promise Mission – Coordinating homeless families educational needs (2006 –
present)
Mission Trips to urban cities to work and live in community for one week (2003 –
present)
Metro Prom Coordinator – volunteer to coordinate prom for Charlotte-Mecklenburg
special needs school (2001 – present)
Room at the Inn – volunteer to help with the homeless (2000 – present)
Youth Group Involvement with high and middle school students at Matthews United
Methodist Church (1983 – present)