2021 National Board of Directors Election Candidate for Vice President
Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz
Senior Fellow, American Modeling Teachers Association
colleen@modelinginstruction.org
Education
- BS, Loyola Marymount University, 1973, Pre-medicine
- Teacher Certification, Minot State College, 1978
- MNS, Arizona State University 2004, Physics
- PhD, Arizona State University, 2007, Physics Education Research
Professional Experience
- Teaching: Minot HS, 1978-79; Bridgeport Elementary School 1980-81; St. Philomene School, 1986-88, Loretto HS, 1989-2001; Jess Schwartz Jewish Community HS, 2001-2004); Arizona State University 2004-2014 (assistant professor of science ed 2008-2011), American Modeling Teachers Association, 2011-present; 13th Avenue School 2019-present
- Research, development and administration: Loretto HS, 1989-2001; Jess Schwartz Jewish Community HS, 2001-2004; American Modeling Teachers Association, 2011-present
Recognitions
- California Governor’s Fellow
- AT&T Teachers and Technology Institute
- Sigma Xi Outstanding Science Teacher Award
- Outstanding Catholic School Educator Award
- Tandy Outstanding Teacher Award (twice)
- Intel Innovations in Teaching Finalist
- Alternate Selectee, Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow
- NASA Educator Astronaut Finalist
Memberships
- American Association of Physics Teachers
- American Modeling Teachers Association (AMTA)
- Association for Science Teacher Education, Global Hands-On Universe
- Gee Whiz Astronomy
- National Science Teachers Association
AAPT Activities
- Past Committee Chair, Professional Concerns
- coPI, NSF STEM+C grant, Computational Modeling Physics First with Bootstrap
- coPI, NSF Conference grant: Integrating Computational Thinking with K-12 STEM Education
- K-12 Strategy Task ForceSecretary of the Section Representatives, 2021-present
Statement
I ‘get’ what it is to be a physics teacher. In addition to leading Modeling Workshops, teaching university physics and teacher education courses, I spent decades teaching middle and high school science and mathematics in rural, suburban and urban schools in red, purple and blue states. In 1989, I “took the cure” (as one professor put it) and turned to physics. I was fortunate to do this in an era of generous NSF funding of truly outstanding professional development for physics teachers. I have diligently “back-filled” my preparation in physics ever since. I ‘get’ what it takes to run a professional organization. In 2011, I took on AMTA as ‘volunteer’ Executive Officer (they could not afford to pay me at the time) and helped the Modeling teacher community grow itself from a group of 199 teachers with less than $5000 in the bank to a fiscally sustainable organization with a membership of over 2400. Finally, despite my privileged status (e.g., white, educated, straight, native English speaker) as an out-of-field woman in physics teaching, I ‘get’ what it is to feel like an ‘outsider.’ I have no special credentials in the areas of equity and inclusion but I continue to educate myself about these critically important elements of community in general, and teaching and learning in particular. If elected I will put my skills and experiences to work for you to help make AAPT the leading voice and driving force in physics education in the 21st century.