About Ms. Smith

I have been teaching in Union City for the past eight years. I have taught Biology, Honors Biology, Advanced Topics in Biology, and Scientific Research. 

 

2015 Exemplary Secondary Educator

Bachelor of Science - Environmental Science, minors in Professional Youth Work & Environmental Policy

Master of Education - Biology Teacher Education

Certification - New Jersey Teacher of Biological Science, Highly Qualified

 

 I have a passion for science and I want to share that passion with my students.  I see a teacher's position as a facilitator, who guides students to develop their own knowledge. By creating a classroom culture that is based on mutual respect and high expectations, students can learn to push themselves while developing analytical and higher order thinking skills. Students need to learn large concepts, as well as technical details. By finding the connections between the two, they can get a grasp of the roles science plays in their daily lives, as well as how it shapes society.

 

I believe in learning science by doing science. Students in my classroom will work often with a partner or in groups of 3-4 to solve problems, investigate scenarios, conduct experiments, and perform research to learn more about a topic. Having a technical vocabulary is important to explaining scientific concepts, so there is also a focus on learning root words, prefixes and suffixes that are commonly found in the language of biology. Students will learn how to use their vocabulary to write scientific explanations for phenomenon, and model different concepts that they learn about.