Educator Award: Becky Shapiro Collins, K-6 Science teacher and STEM Coordinator
虽然贝基·夏皮罗并不总是认为自己会成为一名科学老师,但也许她应该成为一名科学老师. From an early age, she was leading friends on nature walks through the woods, camping with the Girl Scouts and leading younger scouts, and working as a nature counselor at summer camps. She had an early childhood interest in marine biology, which led to her working as a scuba dive instructor in the Caribbean during college. 2011年,当她开车穿过树林去参加WDS的面试时,她看到了学校在水上的位置, 她知道这将是她教学的地方,并将她对自然和海洋的热爱融入到她的课程中. On any given day, you might find her elbow-deep in her intertidal fish tank, strumming her ukulele and singing about the water cycle, 或者让她的六年级学生根据海滩上的螃蟹数量调查推断出入侵螃蟹数量的数据. As the first designated Elementary Science teacher at WDS, she has spent the last 13 years developing and refining an expansive, standards-based, experiential learning curriculum for students in grades K-6. She was instrumental in the construction of the WDS garden ten years ago, and prior to WDS’s partnership with Grow Torah last year, single handedly managed and coordinated its use. Always looking to help the WDS team, she has also filled in as the 7th and 8th grade science teacher on four separate occasions.
In 2014, WDS was issued a grant to develop a STEAM curriculum. Becky在那个夏天参加了各种培训课程,然后回来建立WDS创客空间, equipped with 3D printers, a laser cutter, Arduino kits and more. For the past eight years, in addition to incorporating technology into the science curriculum, 她帮助6-8年级开设工程选修课,并与小学老师协调将STEAM项目纳入课堂. Under her direction, each grade from ganon-8th grade has participated in at least one large-scale, project-based STEAM unit per year. As part of WDS’s partnership with CIJE (the Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education), Becky has also received continuous professional development in Science and STEM education, including a week-long training in Israel.
Becky is a graduate of Scarsdale High School, the University of Delaware (BA), and Manhattanville College (MPS). She currently lives in Pelham with her family: husband Eric Collins, sons Henry (6), Charlie (4), and daughter Maggie (6 months). 她的父母仍然住在她长大的斯卡斯代尔,她的母亲玛西是她最大的啦啦队长,也是关键的儿童保育支持. 她的儿子们在WDS的Ganon上学(查理目前在Ganon Zahav),能看到他们在这样一个温暖的环境中学习和成长,是她职业生涯的一大亮点, welcoming, and beautiful place.