John Gensic, a Notre Dame extended Research Community (NDeRC) K-12 Lead Teacher, has been named a 2011-12 Jacobs Educator by the Indiana University School of Education. As a Jacobs Educator, Gensic will receive a $1,000 equipment budget for materials to assist him with implementing technology-enhanced activities in the classroom, and a $1,500 stipend at the end of his tenure as a Jacobs Educator. He will share his expertise in the use of technology to support teaching and learning with School of Education faculty and staff who sometimes visit the classroom.
Gensic, who teaches biology at New Prairie High School, has attended NDeRC events for four years and participated directly for two. He has worked in the programs Enviro, Geno and BioEYES Projects, participated in the Michiana Our Place collaboration with the Hoosier Environmental Council and worked on research activities with NDeRC Fellows Aprell Carr and Carrie Rodak. NDeRC is an NSF-sponsored GK-12 project. “It enables me as a science educator to stay in touch with what actual scientists do, so when I teach science I can create experiences that are similar to what actual scientists go through,” he says.
Read his blog and other members of the NDeRC community including K-12 educators, Notre Dame graduate fellows and faculty.