Christine has worked in the science classroom for nearly 10 years and says her passion for science instruction drives her professional life. One of the areas of work that she is very proud of is her experience with Carnegie Institution of Washington, where she was a mentor to teachers on how to integrate science into their instruction. She has also worked with the Discovery Children’s Museum of Washington, conducting expeditions in the field as part of the Baywatch Program where she took fourth graders to the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. She has also worked with Astronomy with a Stick to share real-time data.
Leading Teacher Professional Development opportunities in science are another passion of Christine’s. She works with the Department of Defense Education Association (DODEA) teachers in Europe to promote outstanding science instruction.
Christine says that in her role as a teacher, she has found JASON programs to be some of the best science teaching to be found. She notes that the combination of solid research, inquiry based experimentation, and real-world field experiences open the world of science to thousands of students.
On this note she loves working with students and she has found working with JASON Student Argonauts to be an outstanding experience.
In her own words:
On her Monster Storms experience:How can you spend a week with three incredible students and the world’s top experts in hurricane research? Become a Teacher Argonaut for the JASON Project, that’s how! I’ve learned more about hurricanes in the last four days than in all my years of schooling, even as a science teacher. The most thrilling part for me has been watching how well the students and scientists work together.
Meteorology and human impact
The future of meteorology will be heavy laden with technology but will always need that human aspect. That human passion for their fields of study is what drives our host researchers to explore new ground and make new discoveries. That’s great science.
Working with Shirley Murillo
We worked with Shirley Murillo, hurricane wind researcher. She was down-to-earth and really gave the students a good picture of what it’s like to be a woman in the field of science. She shared her enthusiasm with all of us, and I was so excited by her enthusiasm for her profession that I wanted to go back to college and become a meteorologist! I know the students felt the same way.
Learning with NOAA
All three NOAA host researchers were fantastic teachers and I learned so much from watching them engage and actively guide the Argos through the intricacies of hurricane research. As a teacher it was so great to observe those real connections to science and science instruction. I can’t wait to take back all of the research I learned about and the experiences I’ve had with JASON and NOAA to my students.