Science News Learning Ambassadors
The Science News Learning Ambassadors are educators from across the country who inspire their middle and high school science students with Science News journalism using current, real-world research examples. They are Science News Learning expert teachers who share their love of teaching science literacy during professional learning opportunities for other program educators in their communities and across the U.S.
Ambassadors partner with program staff throughout the year to provide insightful feedback about the resources and classroom integration techniques.
The 2022-2023 Science News Learning Ambassadors collaborated as a cohort during the 2022 High School Research Teachers Conference to set their individual outreach goals and present their use of Science News Learning resources in their own classrooms. Check out each Ambassador’s journey and favorite resources below!
Bernice Cabiling
Bernice is an educator at Grants High School in Grants, New Mexico. She integrates Science News Learning content into lessons, experiments, and research to provide students with engaging and informative learning experiences. As an ambassador, Bernice collaborated with other educators to organize field trips, quiz bowls, science fairs, and community service projects that incorporated Science News Learning resources to enhance these activities. Throughout the school year, Bernice has enjoyed sharing her knowledge and passion for science education with other educators.
“These resources provide real-world examples and practical examples of the theories and concepts that we discuss in class, which helps my students understand the relevance and importance of what they’re learning.”
Bernice’s favorite Science News Learning resources:
Katy Gazda
Katy is a former educator at Skyline High School in Mesa, Arizona. As an ambassador, she presented how to integrate Science News Learning resources into curricula at district, site science, and STEM meetings during the Fall semester. Throughout the year, Katy provided useful feedback about the accessibility and usability of Learning materials for both science classrooms and research settings.
“Science News not only excites students about current science but gets students so inspired that they search out the primary sources or are motivated to do research of their own.”
Katy’s favorite Science News Learning resources:
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- Lesson Plan: Cats and Punnett squares
- Article: Explainer: How CRISPR works
Angela Groves
Angela is an educator at WP McLean Middle School in Fort Worth, Texas. Science News Learning helps Angela enhance her curriculum by providing authentic research articles that bridge the gaps in language and inspire future action in her and her students. As an ambassador, she presented on Science News Learning and her article summary sheet at the Space Exploration Educators Conference in Houston. She also presented to her District Science Cohort, and introduced Science News to a class of pre-service teachers at Oklahoma University.
“I have a heart for literacy in science. I feel the lack of interacting with science literacy leaves students feeling and believing science is hard or they can’t ‘do science’.”
Angela’s favorite Science News Learning resources:
Kehkashan Khan
Kehkashan is an educator at Benito Juarez Community Academy in Chicago, Illinois. Kehkashan enjoys interacting with educators to share her enthusiasm for science journalism to enrich science curricula. As an ambassador, she promoted Science News Learning resources to her professional learning community for Chicago Public Schools, introduced international educators to Science News Learning resources, and donated copies of Science News to a mobile library dedicated to providing science education to economically disadvantaged communities.
“Science News Learning gives my students the opportunity to learn about current advances in science and improve their reading, writing and processing skills through the well planned activities and worksheets presented in these publications.”
Kehkashan’s favorite Science News Learning resources:
- Lesson Plan: Research in Brief
- Article: The metric system is growing. Here’s what you need to know
Susana Oliu
Susana is an educator at Pasadena High School in Pasadena, California. As an ambassador, she presented at several conferences across California where she met other science teachers and collaborated with them in an effort to find solutions to address the gaps in STEM education for underrepresented students. At her district’s continuation school, Susana shared resources from Science News Learning to inspire her students to accomplish their goals and become aware of career opportunities in STEM.
“I enjoy sharing Science News articles with students. I open class discussions with Science News articles so I can lead and engage students in discussions that pertain to current events. It is a wonderful way to enjoy interacting with students. It gives them the opportunity to investigate and question the world around them.”
Susana’s favorite Science News Learning resources:
Andre Pineda
Andre is an educator at Alchesay High School in Whiteriver, Arizona. Andre helps make science more accessible to a broader audience by sharing scientific knowledge and promoting scientific literacy with experts, educators, and professionals in the field. As an ambassador, Andre created articles, videos, and podcasts to inspire and educate students and the general public about science. Andre continues to collaborate with schools to promote the use of Science News as an educational resource and the Science News Learning lesson plans to enhance curricula.
“Science News magazines help spark my students’ curiosity and interest in science by exposing them to different cutting-edge research, experiments and discoveries. I use these articles to facilitate classroom discussions and help students develop their critical thinking skills.”
Andre’s favorite Science News Learning resources:
