Initial Publication Date: August 21, 2014

2014 Outstanding Earth Science Teacher Award Winners

Jump to: Section Winners | State Winners

Outstanding Earth Science Teacher (OEST) awards are given for "exceptional contributions to the stimulation of interest in the Earth Sciences at the pre-college level." Any teacher or other K-12 educator who covers a significant amount of earth science content with their students is eligible. Ten national finalists are selected, one from each NAGT regional section. Some sections also recognize state winners. Individuals may submit an application themselves or nominate a colleague for the award.

SECTION WINNERS

Central Section

Since 2004, Ella Bowling has been shaping the lives of young scientists as a science educator in Kentucky's public schools. She graduated with a BA in Middle Grades Science and Social Studies Education in 2003 from Morehead State University, in 2005 with a MA in Instrucational Leadership from Eastern Kentucky University, and in 2011 with a Rank 1 (30 hours beyond MA) from Morehead State University in Director of Pupil Personnel and Supervisor of Instruction certification. She has won numerous awards and accolades for her efforts in the classroom including the 2012 KY Middle School Science Teacher of the Year, 2013 Butler-Cooley National Excellence in Teaching Award, 2013 PASCO STEM Educator Award from the NSTA, 2013 University of Kentucky Teachers That Make a Difference Award, 2014 National Association of Biology Teachers Environment/Ecology Teaching Award, and the 2014 Kentucky Education Association/NEA Excellence in Teaching Award. Ella has written numerous successful grants to futher the teaching of Earth Science in her school including grants from Centiva Corporation and the Natioanl Education Association Foundation. In addition to duties as a classroom teacher, Ella also sponsors the school science club leading trips to the Great Smoky Mountains, Carter Caves, and Sea World/Disney World in Orlando, FL as well as adventures in canoeing on the Licking River, fossil hunting in the expansive road cuts in the region that are rich in Ordovician fossils, and geocaching in local nature preserves. In addition to this, her passion for geology has often led her on various adventures adding to her personal rock and fossil collection that is a remarkable asset to her classroom teaching! In her spare time, Ella enjoys working on the family farm with her husband and son where they raise beef cattle. She also is an avid explorer of the great outdoors enjoying time hiking, camping, hunting and fishing. Her passion for bowhunting turned into a skill to utilized at school where she now coaches the high school and middle school archery teams.

Southeastern Section

Lisha Hylton has taught 3rd Grade at Pelion Elementary School in Pelion, South Carolina for sixteen years. Her passion is environmental science and she has found a variety of ways to use that focus as a framework for developing integrated lessons that address academic standards for all subject areas. At the request of district administrators, she created the 'Integration Station' that provided examples of interdisciplinary lessons for other teachers to emulate. As part of that initiative, Ms. Hylton wrote a book about a fictitious hurricane, "Erica Jane", and had her students act out the story as part of a readers' theater activity. Afterwards, her students learned to track real hurricanes on a NOAA Hurricane Tracking Grid. Ms. Hylton has a phenomenal ability to design her lessons to accommodate individual student needs, an especially important skill with heterogeneously grouped classes. Her success rate with struggling students and those with behavioral issues is excellent; all of her students are deeply engaged in learning and willing to accept the academic challenges she presents to each of them. Ms. Hylton makes learning fun. But even more important than academics, she teaches children morals and ethics that will make them productive citizens in the future.
Ms. Hylton has made a special effort to improve her own knowledge of environmental science. She is currently enrolled in a masters program in Environmental Policy and Management at American Public University and participated as a team member in the 'Rising Tide' project at the University of South Carolina, led by Dr. Douglas Williams. The focus of the project was paleotempestology, and Ms. Hylton created a series of lesson plans and laboratory investigations for her students, as well as creating a powerpoint presentation that won first place in the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources competition. She also was a national winner of the NOAA sponsored "Teacher at Sea" program. She has won several other state teaching awards and still finds time to volunteer in several community organizations.

Eastern Section

Ask Vicky Gorman to describe herself in five words or less, and she will say, "I am a teacher!" Upon further review, anyone would agree! From the basement of her childhood home with a blackboard on the wall, when she used to instruct imaginary students, to teaching acting in Philadelphia, to being a nationally certified riding instructor, to designing a "Train the Trainers" course for the then largest brigade in the US Army, teaching has dominated Vicky's life.

In her latest endeavors, she has been at Memorial Middle School, Medford, NJ, for seven years, teaching both 7th grade science and Memorial's Citizen Science Education Program (CSEP). CSEP is the 2012 brainchild of Vicky and two of her students, and the result of entering and winning the $5000 Beneficial Bank School Challenge. The program has five facets, the most important of which is for middle school students to teach community members about various aspects of science. CSEP's motto is "Students Making a Difference, Improving Scientific Literacy Around the Globe."

Vicky is an alumnus fellow of the NSTA New Science Teacher Academy, and the NJSTA's Maitland Simmons Scholarship Program. In 2013, she was named the AMS Distinguished K12 Educator. In addition, Vicky is proud to be a NOAA Climate Steward candidate, and a NASA GPM Master Teacher. She is GLOBE certified, and in March 2014 was the program's featured educator. As an Earth Systems STEM Master Teacher, Vicky has traveled to Washington, D.C. to brief at the NSF and Wilson Center. She's also been an AMS and NSTA presenter. During summer 2014, Vicky will join 19 other educators at the NWS Training Center in Kansas City, MO, for two weeks during the AMS Project Atmosphere. After Kansas City, Vicky will travel to Madison, WI, to attend the Annual Satellite Educators Association Conference.

New England Section

Rita Chang

Pacific Northwest Section

Dale Lehman has been teaching geoscience since 1988. Dale received his Bachelor's degree in geology and physical geography from Eastern Washington University in 1983. At Eastern, he did undergraduate research with Mike Folsom on the effects on St. Helen's ash on Palouse soils. After receiving his Bachelor's degree, Dale worked as an assistant in the department of physical geography, managing the campus weather station, teaching classes, and working in the cartography lab. Dale has always had a passion for the landscape of the channeled scabland. He worked under Dale Stradling and Mike Folsom researching floodwater depths in the Spokane region and produced a display on the regional extent of the Missoula Floods for the Spokane Science Center. His interest in the glacial outburst floods in Washington continues to be the focus of his teaching work.
After leaving Eastern, Dale started Geographics, a geologic mapping company in Spokane and worked for two years as a geologic cartographer for St. Joe Minerals in Spokane Valley.
In 1985, Dale accepted a secondary level teaching position at Tahoma High School in Maple Valley, WA. At Tahoma, Dale has taught Earth science, Honors Earth science, and Earth and Space sciences 101 through the University of Washington's college in the high school program. Dale's passion for the landscape of the Columbia Plateau continues today. He has led 26 groups of students on field studies of the Columbia River Basalt Group and geomorphology of the Columbia Plateau.
Since 2006, Dale has been working on ways to integrate high performance computing and computational modeling into his geosciences courses. He has worked for the past three years to promote teaching concepts from Systems Dynamics in science courses at Tahoma.
Dale is a member of the Ice Age Floods Institute, the GSA, and the Northwest Geological Society.

Texas Section

In 1998 Lawrence Witt graduated from the University of Houston, Downtown with his Bachelor Degrees in Biological and Physical sciences while working a full time job and two part-time jobs, one of which was substitute teaching. He then began his teaching career in Aldine ISD at Shotwell Middle School. During his three year tenure at Shotwell he was honored with the position of Department Chair and was an active leader in the process for becoming an International Baccalaureate campus. To further his teaching career he moved to Cypress Fairbanks ISD to open the newest middle school campus, George Hopper Middle. The experience of opening a campus was quite a learning process. In his fourth year at Hopper he was asked to take the position of the Science CCIS (Content Curriculum Instructional Specialist) and lead the Science Department for the next four years. During this time he continued his personal education and earned his MBA from Texas A&M Commerce. Currently he is working on his Educational Administration degree. 

During his 10 years of service to education he has been honored with the Wal-Mart Distribution Center Teacher of the Year award in 2007. For three consecutive years he was nominated by his peers for the Spotlight Teacher Award for Hopper Middle School. 

He believes that in order to fully appreciate your students you must interact with them outside of the classroom. In order to accomplish this, he has coached several academic organizations. Working with the Academic Decathlon, Science Olympiad, Science Bowl, Mars Rover, and Code Clubs has offered many opportunities to work with his students in many great venues.

STATE WINNERS

Alabama

Wendy Bramlett has a BS Degree in Accounting and a MA Degree in Secondary Education, Comprehensive Science, both from the University of Alabama.

She has 20 years of science teaching experience in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, teaching in a high school setting for 8 years and then remaining 12 years in middle school.

- Previous Teaching Honors include: 
- $500 grant from Jacksonville State Aerospace Educators
- $500 grant for Microscopic Biology and Chemistry Project
- $1000 grant from One Class At A Time
- $2000 grant from NASA Summer of Opportunity
- $1000 grant from Donor's Org
- Outstanding Teachers of America
- Local Jacksonville State Hall Of Fame Nominee
- Local Teacher of the Year Nominee
- ASTA Outstanding Middle School Teacher of the Year

Extracurricular activities: 
Robotics coach for Tuscaloosa Magnet Middle School
7th Grade Class Sponsor
Science Department Head

Professional Associations:
Alabama Science in Motion Program
Tuscaloosa Magnet Middle PTSA
National Education Association
Alabama Education Association
Alabama Science Teachers Association
National Science Teachers Association
National Association of Biology Teachers
National Marine Educator's Association
Alabama Math and Science Technology Initiative

Her teaching philosophy is that in order for students to "learn" science, they have to "do" science. Her goal is to spark curiosity and wonder in students, by showing them how science affects every aspect of their lives. Her approach to teaching is to utilize a hands-on learning approach that focuses on lab activities and essential questioning, both teaching techniques students enjoy engaging in. She believes this approach to teaching fosters a deeper understanding and a more meaningful experience for learners. By showing students the relevance of science, we make them more globally aware, which helps them to appreciate the world we live in and be good stewards of its resources.

Alaska

Darren Kellerby hails from Grand Junction, CO where he attended Colorado Mesa University. After a stint in Chicago, the only natural course of action was to move to the bush of Alaska. He spent two years coaching and teaching in the Yupik village of Napakiak before moving to Anchorage to teach 6th-9th grade science at Highland Tech Charter School in 2009. In 2011, he finished his MS in Science Education from the fantastic MSSE program at Montana State University. 

Mr. Kellerby orchestrates Highland Tech's mastery learning and project-based model by having students solve local and world issues through inquiry and experimentation. Previous problems that students have addressed include erosion control along the Kuskokwim River, stabilizing houses on melting permafrost, and liquefaction in Anchorage. Above all else, Darren wants his students to be challenged, learn how to work as a team, and understand their personal process of learning with fun and interesting problems. Highland Tech's unique program has also allowed him to teach various classes such as backpacking, Jurassic Park, fishing, Rube Goldberg, and stand-up comedy. After school Mr. Kellerby can usually be found coaching the Lego robotics team, organizing the annual variety show, or coaching Native Youth Olympics.

Georgia

Donna Governor is currently teaching Earth Systems and Environmental Science at North Forsyth High School in Cumming, GA. Her teaching experience spans 30 years in grades K to 12, including 10 years teaching Earth Systems in middle school prior to moving to high school in 2012. She holds a PhD in science education from the University of Georgia and is the 2007 Presidential Awardee for Excellence in Science Teaching from Georgia. She is currently serving as the President of the Georgia Science Teachers Association and the District V Director for the National Science Teachers Association. 

Active learning is important in her classroom and her students are engaged in hands-on learning experiences on a daily basis. Concepts are integrated to help students make connections. Students in her class participate in project based investigations and utilize real-time data in authentic learning experiences. Over the past decade dozens of her students have conducted environmental and other research projects that lead to multiple prizes at the state level science fair. Additionally she has organized her students to lead Family Science Night events since 2007, in which they take on the role of teacher. These events include dozens of student-led activities that draw hundreds of participants each year.

Illinois

In Keni Rienk's 5 years of teaching science at Woodstock North High School in Woodstock, IL, she feels as though her greatest gift to her students has been an awakening to their connection to Earth. In teaching environmental and earth science, she instills an understanding of the mechanisms, processes and fragility of our planet. As the co-advisor of the Green Garden Club, she also utilizes her school's sustainable, organic garden as both a place of science and personal connection. Historically her students have come into her classes with a giant question mark on their future, and by the end of the year she is writing letters of recommendations for them for their admittance into programs such as Sustainability, Environmental Geology, Hydrology and Sustainable Energy Engineering, to name a few.
Her life experiences prior to teaching are vast, and include time as a park ranger and an international flight attendant. A few years ago she was awarded a fellowship for the New Science Teacher Academy, sponsored by the National Science Teacher's Association. She has also been a Faculty Advisor to George Mason University's summer program, the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment, for the past three years.

Indiana

Martha Hoyt Goings, LPG, a thirteen-year teacher at Huntington North High School, Huntington, Indiana, teaches Geology, Astronomy, AP Environmental Science, and Meteorology as dual credit courses in collaboration with Indiana University Purdue University at Fort Wayne (IPFW).

Martha graduated with a BS in Geology from IPFW and an MS in Secondary Science Education from IPFW. Past employment as a Environmental Consultant/Senior Project Geologist/Senior Project Manager help her bring real-life science into the classroom.

In the summer of 2012, Martha studied dinosaur trackways, associated organisms, and sedimentology in an IPFW/National Geographic sponsored research project in the Paluxy River outside Glen Rose, Texas. She is continuing this on-going project by generating curriculum for United States and international students. 

Martha has presented at the HASTI convention in Indiana, in her school district, and for other organizations. She continues to attend HASTI, NSTA, and other science/education meetings to gain ideas.

Martha is an active participant on numerous policy, curriculum, and technology committees in her school, district and at the state level. She is a member of many state and national education and science organizations. Her students gain a realistic and diverse learning experience, as she encourages them to incorporate science into their daily lives.

New Jersey

Mr. James Miller has been a science educator for 14 years. He earned a BS in Geology with a concentration in environmental geology from Bucknell University in 1995 and a MS in Geoscience Education from Mississippi State University in 2008. He spent one year as a field geologist with a mineral exploration company and 5 years as an environmental geologist before making the switch to teaching in 2000. He taught general science at the 5th and 6th grade level for three years before moving the high school level where he now teaches earth science and environmental science. James develops authentic lessons that provide opportunities to develop a deep understanding through use of real data, open-ended inquiry, and problem-based learning. He also provides opportunity for success by accommodating students' wide range of abilities through cooperative grouping and differentiated instruction. A few examples of inquiry-based, data-driven lessons have included construction of solar-powered race cars, a geologic history of New Jersey inquiry project, a town-wide soil quality mapping project, and long-term forest and surface water quality monitoring projects. Mr. Miller is proud to be on this list of esteemed New Jersey earth science teachers that are recipients of this award.

New York

Mark Percy is the Planetarium Director for Williamsville Central Schools. He began his teaching career in 1992 and taught Chemistry for 9 years. Astronomy and Earth Science were always a hobby and fascinating pastime for him, but he did not anticipate the path down which life has taken him. It was actually Mark's work with the stage crew and technical theater that led to his transition into the planetarium. When the opportunity to combine his love of astronomy and technology with his daily job presented itself, he jumped at the chance. Mark has been working diligently to develop new, meaningful, and stimulating lessons and innovative demonstrations for the astronomy lab ever since!
The planetarium hosts over 20,000 students annually. From Pre-K to adult classes, Mark has developed lessons, demonstrations, and shows for many curricular areas. At the heart of his work, he teaches middle and high-school science students in the planetarium; together they conduct lab exercises that accurately depict night sky phenomena. Additionally, he has established an active public outreach program, partners with local astronomy clubs, and collaborates with planetarium educators across the world. Mark is an active member of several professional organizations such as the Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society and the Great Lakes Planetarium Association. 
The Williamsville Planetarium has undergone major renovations and revolutions in technology during Mark's 13 years as Director. He believes that the planetarium's unique ability to accurately display the night sky is still the most valuable part of this regional asset. However, new technology has transformed the facility in to a 3-D universe simulator. Lessons now include archaeoastronomy, planetary geology, language and art connections and, most importantly, science from many disciplines. The excitement and wonder on the faces of his visitors makes the hard work and long hours worthwhile.
Outside of school, Mark enjoys spending time with his wonderful wife and children, motorcycling, camping, working as a sound engineer for various local bands, and swimming.

North Carolina

Mark Townley is a 16 year Earth and Advanced Placement Environmental Science teacher at Holly Springs High School in Holly Springs, NC. He has a BA in Geology and General Science 300 licensure from North Carolina State University. Most of his career has been spent developing curriculum and creating community partnerships that bring personal and relevant experiential learning to his students. He has created lesson plans through the EarthView program, North Carolina Department of the Environment and Natural Resources, the North Carolina Division of Air Quality, and the Kenan Fellows program. Mark was a Teacher Ambassador at the Institute for Emerging Issues Forum on training and retaining world-class teachers, and was the teacher representative and panelist speaker at the North Carolina Science Summit on bringing STEM industry to North Carolina. He is a strong advocate for the whole-school approach to teaching that involves taking advantage of the expertise found throughout the school, community, and state to provide a more global and lasting impression.
His honors include the 2009-10 HSHS Teacher of the Year and finalist for the 2009-10 Wake County Teacher of the year, 2011-12 N.C. Science Teacher Association District 3 Outstanding Science Teacher Award, 2012-13 Kenan Fellow, 2013 Finalist N.C. Science Math and Technology Center Outstanding Educator Award 9-16, and current finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching.

Ohio

Paul Genzman has just completed his 20th year of teaching, 16 of which have been in the community of South Bass Island in the Western Basin of Lake Erie. He has a Bachelors Degree in Comprehensive Science Education from Bowling Green State University and a Masters of Science in Natural Resources from The Ohio State University. His approach to teaching is based on the belief that all students are natural scientists and the right program can instill a sense of wonder in the world that will result in lifelong learners. This past school year saw the beginning of "The Island Cave Project" which embodies this philosophy. For years he has taken students caving as part of an "Earth Processes" lesson; this year's class took the experience to another level. His class was able to combine LiDAR data and global positioning with local historical articles to find many more caves. Once found, they collected data inside the caves using basic measurement skills and trigonometry. This data was then entered into a CAD program to design 3-dimensional maps of these caves. During this process, the class discovered many glass and porcelain artifacts dating as far back as the middle of the 19th century.

Oregon

Laura Orr lives and works in the small rural town of Ukiah, Oregon teaching all science classes for the middle and high school students. Laura became the science teacher in Ukiah eleven years ago and still enjoys being able to share her love of science with others. In her classroom students at all levels are given access and guidance in scientific research, are encouraged to apply what is taught to their world.
In addition Laura is actively involved in programs and groups working to innovate and create science curriculum, activities, and student driven research. She has works with several NASA missions, is a member of several regional and national cohorts for heliophysics science education, a NITARP educator, regional board member of the Oregon Science Teacher Association, and partners with local scientists for both short and long term research projects both in and out of the classroom.
Outside of work Laura loves to spend my time with her husband and two young children. She enjoys spending time outdoors, camping, skiing, horseback riding, and rafting. She is an active member of the community helping to organize the annual Easter Egg Hunt, winter snow sports program, 4-H Club activities, and many others.

Pennsylvania

Michael Baer has his B.S. in Education from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. He has been teaching Earth and Space Science for 15 years in the Elizabeth Forward School District, in Elizabeth, PA. Mike is an animated and engaging teacher, using a variety of techniques, from peer groups, independent study, and projects with lots of models, manipulatives, and real world examples of his content. He focuses many lessons on local geology and landmarks that the students are more familiar with, making the lessons not only more relevant to them, but more enjoyable as well. Mike's school has a one to one program in which all of the students have their own ipad for their use both in and out of school. He has found and utilized interesting ways to allow the use of that technology in the student's hands. They also have a SMALLAB (Situated Multimedia Arts Learning Lab) in which the students are able to turn learning into a game. Mike involves the students in vermiculture, vegetable garden seed starting, and keeps a small salad garden in the classroom growing spinach and a lettuce mix for the students to try. Mike says his strengths are an understanding of the content, being able to deliver that content on a level appropriate for the age, maintaining an engaging rapport with the students, creating a friendly classroom environment, and managing involvement in both the community he teaches in, and the community he lives in. In that community his interaction goes beyond the classroom teaching to serving as a Middle School Boys Soccer Assistant coach for 11 years, Chess club co-sponsor for 2 years, donating time helping the local high school with the construction of sets for their musical and working with the local community garden.

South Carolina

Lisha Hylton has taught 3rd Grade at Pelion Elementary School in Pelion, South Carolina for sixteen years. Her passion is environmental science and she has found a variety of ways to use that focus as a framework for developing integrated lessons that address academic standards for all subject areas. At the request of district administrators, she created the 'Integration Station' that provided examples of interdisciplinary lessons for other teachers to emulate. As part of that initiative, Ms. Hylton wrote a book about a fictitious hurricane, "Erica Jane", and had her students act out the story as part of a readers' theater activity. Afterwards, her students learned to track real hurricanes on a NOAA Hurricane Tracking Grid. Ms. Hylton has a phenomenal ability to design her lessons to accommodate individual student needs, an especially important skill with heterogeneously grouped classes. Her success rate with struggling students and those with behavioral issues is excellent; all of her students are deeply engaged in learning and willing to accept the academic challenges she presents to each of them. Ms. Hylton makes learning fun. But even more important than academics, she teaches children morals and ethics that will make them productive citizens in the future.
Ms. Hylton has made a special effort to improve her own knowledge of environmental science. She is currently enrolled in a masters program in Environmental Policy and Management at American Public University and participated as a team member in the 'Rising Tide' project at the University of South Carolina, led by Dr. Douglas Williams. The focus of the project was paleotempestology, and Ms. Hylton created a series of lesson plans and laboratory investigations for her students, as well as creating a powerpoint presentation that won first place in the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources competition. She also was a national winner of the NOAA sponsored "Teacher at Sea" program. She has won several other state teaching awards and still finds time to volunteer in several community organizations.

Washington

Randy Taylor has had the privilege of being a teacher and coach for over 34 years, in the public school system, and one year at the college level, as a graduate student. In those years of education, he's been honored by being nominated teacher/coach of the year at Lyle High School, C.A.S.E. (California Association of Safety Education) District Board Director, W.T.S.E.A. (Washington Traffic Safety Education Association) Regional Director, and L.S.T.P.D. (Laboratory Science Teacher Professional Development) through Pacific Northwest National Laboratories. He has also worked with Mentor Scientists in his field, to better understand the world around us.
He firmly believes that education needs to be stimulating to a kid's mind, where learning comes from the enjoyment of the subject matter taught. He believes that teachers are the actors to have the creativity to open student's minds and ideas. In learning Earth Science, using Inquiry Based techniques (hands on learning) is one of the best ways to reinforce a student's accumulation of knowledge. He never stops a student from experimenting and expanding their minds.

Wisconsin

Beth Spear has taught science at Central High School, Salem, WI for 10 years. Prior to teaching, she worked as an environmental consultant. She earned a bachelor's degree in Geology from University of Wisconsin Parkside, Kenosha, WI., and a master's degree in Hydrogeology and Water Resources from Iowa State University, Ames, IA. Her teaching certification was completed at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM) Milwaukee Area Collaborative Science and Technology Education Program. 

Beth believes it is important to keep her knowledge of science topics and practices up to date so that her lessons are relevant and meaningful. She has been involved in programs that allowed her to bring unique experiences back to her students. Some of these great programs that encourage and foster inquiry and innovation in the classroom include: Research Experience for Teachers (RET) at UWM , National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Teacher at Sea volunteer, Global Environmental Teaching South Africa - University of Wisconsin Steven's Point, National Radio Astronomy Observatory Pulsar Workshop in Green Bank, WV, Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico, Synchrotron Radiation Center in Stoughton, WI., San Diego Zoo Conservation Research Workshop Beth's participation in these programs have provided the inspiration to create interesting, relevant, inquiry-based activities for her students.