Educator Portfolio

About Me

Hello, my name is Gianna Colson and I am currently an assistant principal at Harmony Science Academy - Bryan, before which I was a K-12 STEM engagement program specialist with the Nuclear Power Institute (NPI), a division of the Nuclear Engineering and Science Center (NESC) at the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES). I have 17 years worth of experience in teaching, developing curriculum, providing professional development, and coordinating science and STEM classes, after-school programs, special events, and conferences. Before moving to College Station, I was an instructional coach with Harmony Public Schools - North Houston where I partnered with teachers to improve classroom culture and increase the rigor and quality of academic discussions through effective questioning, using different partnering, grouping, and whole-group structures, and a clear criteria for success. Student engagement amongst teachers I partnered with increased by 55%. I also collaborated with teachers to incorporate new and varied instructional strategies, as well as fine-tuning stations to increase academic achievement by a minimum of 10% points in English language learners and a minimum of 40% overall. Prior to Harmony, I was a 5th and 6th grade science and STEM teacher for 12 years at La Feria ISD, where I wrote curricula and coordinated several academic and community outreach programs. At both Harmony and La Feria, I provided professional development such as how to make the most out of science and coding curriculum resources, creating science TEKS aligned lessons, visual tools and literacy, integrating technology in the classroom, differentiating instruction, and strategies and tools to increase student engagement. I aim to reach more students and to help them explore and fall in love with science, technology, engineering, and computer programming through a variety of hands-on activities, mentoring, college and industry visits, and internships. My ultimate goal is to increase the number of young Latinas' interest and motivation in pursuing S.T.E.M.-related careers.