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May 2017 updates for Dr. French

Published: May 12, 2017

Dr. French has a new job -- Assistant Professor of STEM Education at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA.  

She writes:

As a former physics and engineering teacher, I sought research opportunities for my students.  Teaching at a rural high school left me with limited access to scientific journals and lab supplies.  To provide better research experiences for my students, I sought collaborations with professors across the nation.  While these experiences were fantastic, my students and I primarily collected and analyzed data.  I wanted to jump into a research project that went from start to finish, with all of the iterations in between.  NITARP afforded me that opportunity.  As a partial result of NITARP, I left my high school teaching job to pursue a doctorate in curriculum and instruction.  My research focused on getting authentic science and STEM experiences into the K12 classroom.  In addition to the science education focus, I also took 29 graduate hours in astronomy.  I am now an Assistant Professor of STEM Education at Wilkes University where I teach K12 preservice teachers from all disciplines, as well as teach specialized courses in science education.  Incorporating authentic experiences throughout all disciplines is a hallmark of my classes.  Additionally, I also provide professional development opportunities for inservice teachers on how to use astronomy as a vehicle to teach STEM and how to incorporate authentic scientific inquiry in the K12 classroom.  Participating in NITARP really solidified my philosophy of K12 teaching.  As many previous NITARP-ers have expressed, this was a life-changing PD. 

The application period is now closed for NITARP 2025. We will release our selection for the 2025 class at the 2025 January AAS.