Gary Abud
Email: gary@abud.me |
Gary Abud, Jr. is an Instructional Coach with the Grosse Pointe Public Schools. In addition to his duties coaching K-12 classrooms, Gary has worked with the SAGA Educators to lead professional development workshops for thousands of Michigan educators since 2010. He has presented at numerous conferences, universities, and educational events, including the Governor’s Education Summit. Gary regularly works with schools around the state of Michigan to provide expertise in the areas of instruction, assessment, and educational technology. He has been honored for his accomplishments by the Department of Education and the White House, and Gary Abud, Jr. is the 2014 Michigan Teacher of the Year."
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Megan Bartley
Email: bartleyme@glenlake.k12.mi.us |
Megan Bartley is a Michigan native with 20 years of teaching experience, specializing in Chemistry and Physics. She has taught middle school and high school and brings with her a deep knowledge of the sciences. She earned her undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University, where she majored in Biology and Education and also has minors in General Science and Art. Megan has a passion for creating engaging experiences for children which build a solid foundation of content knowledge while practicing the skills that construct creative and critical minds. She is married, with two children and who all love outdoor activities and the arts.
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Bryan Battaglia
BRYAN.BATTAGLIA@uticak12.org |
Jeffrey L. Finnan, Ph.D. Certified
JeffFinnan@aol.com |
Having worked the corporate life as a Ph.D. research chemist and manager for 20 years, Jeff Finnan has been second-career chemistry teacher for the past nine years, first in Southfield and now at Ann Arbor's Skyline high school. Jeff attended several "teaser" modeling workshop Saturdays the 2013-14 academic year and fell in love with the approach. Enamored so much with modeling, he paid his own way and drove 700 miles to Columbia, MO to attend the three-week workshop there. He still thinks about many of his "wow" moments during workshop, the first of which was using a puff as count of gas particles. Jeff has facilitated the training of a few of his fellow teachers at Skyline on the modeling approach this just finished year.
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Seth Furlow
Email: sfurlow@novischools.net |
Seth has been teaching in Novi, Mi since 2004, most recently teaching IB Biology and general chemistry. He spent one year teaching chemistry in Livonia prior to coming to Novi. Seth earned a Bachelors degree in microbiology from Miami University, in Ohio. After spending two years as a research assistant in the departments of genetics and rheumatology at Children's Hospital Medical Center In Cincinnati, Seth attended the University of Michigan's Master of Arts with Certification program where he earned a MEd and secondary teaching license.
Seth has been facilitating modeling instruction workshops since 2014. He has attended workshops on both modeling in biology as well as chemistry. He is a member of the American Modeling Teachers Association and has been using the modeling in chemistry program in his general chemistry classes at Novi High School. Other interests include standards-based grading, and he is an active participant in several district-level projects on social justice issues. |
Tammy Gwara
Email: tlgwara78@gmail.com |
Michelle Okroy
Email: mlokroy@gmail.com |
Michelle Okroy has been teaching at Warren Woods Tower High School in Warren, Michigan for eight years. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Michigan State University and her Master of Education - Principalship degree from Saginaw Valley State University. Michelle has experience using Modeling Instruction in both her physics and chemistry classes and she currently teaches chemistry, Advanced Placement Chemistry, physics, and advanced physics at Tower. When she is not teaching, Michelle enjoys volunteering at a local animal rescue and plays an array of sports.
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Shannon McLaughlin
Email: smclaughlin@norwalk.k12.ia.us |
Shannon McLaughlin has been involved with the Modeling Instruction program since 1999 and has recently finished running Modeling Workshops at the regent’s universities in Iowa. He has completed four Modeling Instruction workshops and has been actively promoting Modeling Instruction since his first workshop. Shannon currently teach physics and physical science at Norwalk high school and instructs a secondary science methods course for Simpson College.
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Don Pata
Email: Don.Pata@gpschools.org |
Don Pata has been teaching physics at Grosse Pointe North high school for 18 years; for 17 of those years he has been practicing the modeling method. Don attended his first modeling workshop in the summer of 2000 and trained at ASU 3 out of the 4 subsequent years. In 2010 Don, along with his teaching partner Laura Ritter, began the current iteration of the Michigan Modeling experience and has been facilitating modeling workshops for the last 6 years.
Before starting his career at Grosse Pointe North, Don was a Peace Corps volunteer teaching Science and Mathematics in Ghana, West Africa. In 2011 Don won the Presidential Award for Science and Mathematics Teaching given by the NSF and the White House. In addition to his teaching responsibilities Don routinely presents at local, state and national conferences. |
Laura Ritter
Email: LRitter2@troy.k12.mi.us |
Laura Sloma
Email: laura.sloma@kentwoodps.org |
Laura started using modeling pedagogy in 1997 and has used modeling as her primary pedagogy ever since. She teaches regular, accelerated, and AP physics. She has taught physics 24 years, 14 in Ohio and the last 10 at East Kentwood High School near Grand Rapids. She co-facilitated modeling workshops at the University of Akron and Bowling Green State University and does adjunct work in physics at GVSU and GRCC.
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Levi Torrison
Email: levi.torrison@estrellamountain.edu |