Donna James
This is my fifth year to teach 3rd grade at Garfield Elementary in the Rogers School District in Northwest Arkansas. Prior to this, I was a 3rd grade teacher in the Nettleton School District in Northeast Arkansas. This is my 29th year to teach. I received my BSE in elementary/special education in 1979 from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and later finished my MSE in Counseling in 1996. I have always shown interest in match and sciences. Because of this interest, I became a K-4 Math and Science Instructor and taught teachers this curriculum across northeast Arkansas. I became trained as an Aerospace Educator and used this training to instruct local teachers as well through in-service. I continue to include both of these experiences in my curriculum as an elementary teacher because they help provide my students with many hands-on experiences and promote interest in the science and math fields. I also completed a three-year commitment, Understanding Physics, through Arkansas State University, which was part of a Delta program to enhance the teaching of science. In the Nettleton district, I served as chairman on the science committee to align curriculum, as well as served as the judge for many local and regional science fairs. In the Rogers District, I served on the committee to align our curriculum for both math and science. I applied to become a MESSENGER Educator Fellow in order to broaden and expand my teaching in space science. MESSENGER has turned out to be much more than I had anticipated! I have already had opportunities to share with over 100 teachers a wealth of information using innovative activities and investigations geared toward space science. Again, I have incorporated many of these into my teaching of math and science in my current third grade class. My students love it and have expressed such a heightened interest in the inner workings of their world! More “whys and hows” have come from my incorporation of MESSENGER strategies than I could ever have imagined! It is wonderful! “Inquiring minds want to know!”
Contact Info:
Bella Vista, AR