Building Leadership

Building Leadership Through the Fellowship Year

Change comes from connecting learning to daily practice, which was possible through the six fellowship days spread across the school year. Each session allows for teachers to reflect on current successes and challenges in their implementation of change in their classrooms. It allows teachers to bring specific examples of student work, assessments, and lessons and examine them with thinking partners and coaches.

Through this work, teachers gain insight into their own teaching, provide feedback for other teachers, and gain valuable ideas for other inquiry strategies. This work is the pathway to creating strong science-focused teacher leaders. The Fellowship Year solidifies the learning of the ISI. Finally, this extended time together builds a stronger community of fellows and commitment to the dedicated science work across the state.

Teachers as Leaders as a Result of the Science ISI/Fellowship Year:

Teachers-consultants who participated in the first science-dedicated summer institute and fellowship year have gone public with their teaching and demonstrated leadership in the following ways:

  • Designing inquiry units archived by the Idaho SDE accessible by teachers across the state (20)
  • Presenting inquiry units at the Night of Inquiry at the Discovery Center of Idaho (20)
  • Presenting during Year 2 of the science institute and fellowship year (9)
  • Leading summer professional development statewide focused on the new state science standards (5)
  • Leading STEM professional development for colleagues (4)
  • Participating in the National Science Foundation Stormwater Management Research Team (3)
  • Leading the second science-dedicated summer institute and fellowship year (2)
  • Leading an Integrating Science and Literacy week-long Summer Institute (2)

Meet our Science Teacher-Leaders

Rob Bowman has taught for 18 years in public education. He currently holds a ME in Education and Technology from Lesley University. He taught Integrated Science and Biology at the high school level in California for the first three years of his career. He currently is part of the the faculty of Les Bois Junior High School where he teaches Accelerated Biology and Life Science. He is coauthor of the current Boise Schools Life Science 7 curriculum aligned with the NGSS. He has presented professionally at ISTA conferences and has a strong interest in implementing standards based grading through the NGSS curricula. He believes in the redemption of science practice over the emphasis of strict content standards. Rob is part of the BSWP team that leads professional development workshops around the state on how to implement the new Idaho Science Standards.

Adam Burwell has been teaching in Meridian, Idaho for 8 years and currently teaches 3rd grade at Barbara Morgan STEM Academy. He has discovered a passion for integrated learning and teaching engineering at the elementary level through BMSA’s project-based approach to all curricula. In 2015 he participated in the Intersections Fellowship, a partnership between the Boise State Writing Project and the Discovery Center of Idaho to examine the intersections between science and literacy, and between formal and informal learning spaces. Recently, he began focusing on how to bridge the gaps between the formal and everyday science, and between his classroom and the families of his students.

Tiffiny Coffey has taught in private and public education settings for 13 years. She holds a Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an English as a Second Language emphasis and a Certificate in Upper Montessori Instruction for students from 9 to 12 years old. She currently teaches grades 4-6 at Liberty Elementary in the Boise School District’s public Montessori program. Tiffiny has a passion for teaching science and helping children learn by observing what is around them. She uses her love of story and storytelling to engage students in science concepts and build understanding of complex topics. Tiffiny is part of the BSWP team that leads professional development workshops around the state on how to implement the new Idaho Science Standards.

"This work of exploring the standards helped me identify and understand the areas of my practice that were already supporting the shift to having students 'doing' science and also highlighted the areas that still needed to be shifted. In struggling through the process of allowing my students to be scientists, and changing the way I crafted lessons, I discovered first hand how messy and beautiful and powerful this process of shifting my practice could be. Even though I am still learning and shifting myself, I can be a resource for others as they go through the process of helping their students become scientists."

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Ben Miller has been teaching for ten years in Idaho. He has a Masters in Educational Leadership and holds the position as Instructional Lead for Liberty Elementary in Boise, Idaho where he teaches 4th grade. Providing meaningful and purposeful professional development to fellow educators is a passion of his. He works to promote quality education with an inquiry approach.

Wendy Snyder teaches elementary students in Meridian, ID at Barbara Morgan STEM Academy. Wendy's focus in her practice includes a wide variety of Project Based Learning and inquiry approaches to teaching. She strives to provide meaningful learning opportunities for our students that include real world scenarios and application. Wendy is part of the BSWP team that leads professional development workshops around the state on how to implement the new Idaho Science Standards.

"Participating in the Science ISI/fellowship helped me to prepare to present to others on various topics. It helped me to think about what it means to present and to be a coach to others. It has helped me to think about the moves I want to make as a teacher and as a coach. Being able to present to my fellows and receive constructive feedback has been an important step in getting me out of my comfort zone and realizing the need for more professional development for teachers and by teachers."

Sarah Speck is a high school chemistry teacher who is currently in her 6th year of teaching at Capital High School in Boise, ID. Within the Chemistry classroom, student-driven learning and inquiry has been her primary focus. She is currently interested and seeking ways to get real world chemistry into the classroom.

Sara Tolman is a fifth year middle school life science teacher from Kimberly, Idaho. In addition to her classroom teaching, Sara is the STEM coordinator for the Kimberley School District and the coach for her school's Science Olympiad Team. Sara strives to have her class active and involved in learning and participating in the local community. It is through community relationships with the BLM, USDA Research Center, the City of Twin Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant, and the College of Southern Idaho, that she has been able to give her students the opportunity to do field work as real scientists and open the door to explore future careers in the STEM field.

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Alison Ward is a high school science educator with 15 years experience in multiple science areas. An artist and community organizer, Ali has also been the lead teacher of Boise High's Downtown Teaching Farm and instrumental in Boise High's Summits, a student-to-student Project Based Learning conference centered around past themes of Food, Wellness, and Sustainability. She is also the school club adviser for the International Climate Team. Ali is part of the BSWP team that leads professional development workshops around the state on how to implement the new Idaho State Science Standards.