About the Authors

These authors below have contributed significantly to the creation of these units and activities for all teachers to employ.

Below are introductions and achievements as well as a way to contact them.

Tracy Voreis

Tracy Voreis is a National Board Certified Teacher who has been teaching seventh grade science at Durham School of the Arts (DSA) in Durham, North Carolina since 2000. She is certified to teach middle grades science and language arts. Teaching middle school students at a Breakthrough program called Summerbridge Fort Worth during the summers of 1996-1998 inspired her to become a middle school science teacher. As a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she had the opportunity to attend the North Carolina Outward Bound School, to work at Summerbridge Fort Worth, and to observe in Japanese schools for five weeks as a part of the scholarship’s summer experiences. After graduating from UNC with a B.A. in Education in 1999, she spent one year working with her former summer students at Summerbridge Fort Worth full-time as the Dean of Faculty and Alumni Coordinator. Since beginning her teaching career, she has earned over $18,000 in grants including grants from the Durham Public Education Network, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Toshiba America Foundation, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, and North Carolina’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives. She was selected as DSA’s Teacher of the Year in 2001-2002, and she was named a Kenan Fellow in 2003. She was a co-instructor for a university life science course through UNC for Durham Public School teachers in 2005 as part of a subcontract from the State Department of Education. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband who is a physics teacher at DSA, playing with her golden retriever puppy, mentoring two girls through the Big Sib program, coaching and playing softball, and skiing.

Contact: tvoreis@gmail.com

Jan Schuettpelz

Jan Schuettpelz has been teaching seventh grade science at Durham School of the Arts in Durham, North Carolina since 2002. Prior to that she taught elementary school in Durham and in Milwaukee, WI. She is certified to teach 1st through 8th grades. Her undergraduate degree is in urban elementary education and was earned at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Jan recently earned her master's degree from UNC-Chapel Hill in middle grades science teaching. In 2001 she developed inquiry curriculum kits for fourth grade teachers. At Durham School of the Arts, Jan has coached the Science Olympiad team since 2003, run the Environmental Club since 2002, and taught a Math and Science enrichment class since 2002. Since her time in North Carolina, Jan has earned over $15,000 in grants including Toyota Tapestry for science in literacy, grants from the Durham Public Education Network, and North Carolina's Touchstone Energy Cooperatives. She was selected as DSA's Teacher of the Year in 2003-2004, and was named a Kenan Fellow in 2003. She was a co-instructor for a university life science course through UNC for Durham Public School teachers in 2005 as part of a subcontract from the State Department of Education. In her free time she enjoys rock climbing and swimming with her master's swim team.

Contact: jschuettpelz@me.com

Dr. Pat Shane

Dr. Pat Shane is the Associate Director of the Center for Mathematics and Science Education (CMSE) and a Clinical Associate Professor of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a past president of the National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA) and the North Carolina Science Leadership Association (NCSLA), and she continues to be very active in those organizations as well as the National Science Teachers' Association (NSTA) and North Carolina Science Teachers' Association (NCSTA). She is a GEMS (Great Explorations in Math and Science) site director. In addition to working with Tracy Voreis and Jan Shuettpelz as their Kenan Fellows mentor, she has also worked with them through the Life Science Course of the Middle Grades Math and Science Partnership for Durham Public Schools.

Contact: pshane@unc.edu