A Rural Iowa Beginning
My first year of teaching was a disaster. My classroom was a loud, not well-managed place where I felt stuck teaching a worksheet driven curriculum. A bright spot that year was a unit on habitats. Each fourth-grade classroom was assigned a different habitat to learn about and prepare an immersive experience to share with others in the building. My room’s habitat? The rainforest!
Finally, a ray of hope entered my dark world. If there was one thing I did well, it was immersive experiences. We read books, watched videos, and took notes. Then we turned our classroom into a wonderous world of leaves and vines. I ran around town collecting empty carpet rolls and cardboard boxes. I spent obscene amounts of my first-year teacher salary on feathers, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners. There wasn’t an empty toilet paper roll in a two-mile radius of the school that escaped my grasp. My students led tours through the room pointing out buttress roots and blue morpho butterflies. They belted out a rainforest song written in music class and created ambiance with rain sticks.
At the time, I was incredibly proud of the classroom habitat we created. Today, I still look back at the photos with a sense of accomplishment. I know that my students had fun creating a lasting memory. But I also know that, ultimately, they learned very little science with my classroom-sized craft project, save for some interesting rainforest facts.
I taught science this way because I didn’t know better. Now I do, and I strive to help my colleagues shift to effective science practices while still engaging students in projects they love – like an immersive rainforest experience, just rehabbed. Keep the immersive wonder but ditch stuffing students full of facts.
I am a former fourth grade teacher turned entrepreneur. For more than two decades, I have worked with experts, authors, and educators to develop award-winning science curriculum and professional development resources for my STEM publishing company, StarrMatica. I conduct professional development for the State of Iowa as a member of the Iowa State Science Leadership Team, teach a variety of online courses, and am a peer reviewer for the National Science Teaching Association’s journal Science and Children.
I wrote and served as principal investigator for five highly competitive Small Business Innovation Research grants focused on elementary science instruction. I have received the Prometheus Award, District Administration’s Top Products Award, and the Iowa Entrepreneur of the Year Award. I present at state and national conferences, including NSTA.
I share ideas and inspiration for elementary educators on StarrMatica’s blog, contribute to From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors blog, and am a member of the STEM Tuesday team. I am a Boyds Mills Foundation Scholarship Recipient and a member of SCBWI.
Meet StarrMatica’s STEAM Dream Team
Brad Sapp, Lead Programmer
Brad Sapp is StarrMatica’s lead programmer and web developer. Backed by degrees in physics and chemistry, Brad expertly guides the development of StarrMatica’s second-generation content. In addition to his role with StarrMatica, Brad is the President and Principal Developer of Rise Above Creative, a web development firm out of Nashville, TN. When he’s not working in the Matrix, Brad loves to hang out with his wife and two boys – swimming in their pool, playing sports, and enjoying the great outdoors.
Tricia Hoover, Lead Content Writer
Tricia Hoover wanted to be a “Star Wars” Jedi when she was growing up.
When that didn’t work out, she became an electrical engineer instead. After fifteen years of designing computer chips, Hoover started writing to creating worlds of her own. In addition to writing StarrMatica content, she is the award-winning author of the young adult books “The Hidden Code” and “Tut: The Story of My Immortal Life.” When she is not writing she spends her time solving Rubik’s cubes, practicing kung fu, and watching Star Trek. She has two dogs and two turtles that will live to be 180 years old.
Polly Peterson, Voice Talent
Polly Peterson’s voice-over work has been key to StarrMatica’s success. With over 38 years of experience as a radio broadcaster and voice-over artist, Polly’s clear vocal presentation allows students to engage with StarrMatica resources in a meaningful way regardless of ability or reading comprehension level. When she’s not busy laying down tracks, Polly loves to cook for her family and friends and get out in nature to kayak on Iowa’s lakes and quarries in the summer. During the colder months, she likes to dabble in water colors and oils to relax.
Karen Breitbach, Physical Science Expert
Karen started her career in the Materials lab at the John Deere Tractor Works in Waterloo, Iowa. Working on her Master’s degree in Chemistry persuaded her to pursue education. She spent the next 20 years teaching high school science, every discipline at one time or another. Mentoring aspiring science teachers from the nearby university was also a rewarding aspect of her teaching career. These days, she finds herself teaching Materials Chemistry (many of her students work for John Deere) and Physical Science for elementary/middle level education majors at the collegiate level, and collaborating with Emily Starr and Tricia Hoover on StarrMatica’s texts. When she’s not teaching, she is lost in a good book or playing in the dirt in her gardens.
Mike Vitalini, Life Science Expert
edMike Vitalini is still figuring out what he wants to be when he grows up. In the meantime, he is a former Professor of Biology and Director of General Education at St Ambrose University where he helps students enjoy the processes of scientific and educational exploration. As a microbiologist, he helps students to ‘see’ the importance of our invisible microbial friends and to make connections among the visible and microbial worlds. For the past several years, Mike has also served as a science content consultant for various projects with the College Board and StarrMatica. If he is not in the lab, classroom, or office, you can find Mike in the woods, hiking and taking pictures of fungi.
Aaron Spurr, Earth and Space Science Expert
Aaron Spurr is an Instructor of Earth Science and Science Education at the University of Northern Iowa. He has 17 years of experience teaching secondary science, and uses that foundation to primarily work with students preparing to be K-12 educators. He has a special interest in the effective integration of technology in teaching. His hobbies include biking, quilting, and tinkering with computers. He also enjoys teaching driver education to aspiring teenage drivers.
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