Inspiring Science Teachers

Title: You Can Get Paid to Make Eyeshadow? A STEM Career Story

Host: Chris Stoker

Guests: Mara Reed, Chief Operating Officer, Artisan Labs; Sonya McGruder, STEM Ecosystem Hub Coordinator, Magic Valley

Mara Reed’s journey from making soap with her mom at age nine to leading technical operations at an Idaho cosmetics manufacturer is a great reminder that STEM careers can grow from unexpected places. In this episode, we explore the science, business, and career opportunities behind some of the products we use every day.

In This Episode:

• Part 1 — The Science of Cosmetics: How chemistry, microbiology, formulation, stability testing, and manufacturing come together to create safe, effective personal care products.
• Part 2 — Mara’s Story: From a small farm and a garage-based family business to discovering cosmetic science as a career.
• Part 3 — STEM Career Connections: The many roles behind cosmetics manufacturing, including chemistry, microbiology, research and development, quality, manufacturing, communications, and business.

Key Takeaways:

• STEM careers can be found in places students may not expect—including cosmetics and personal care products.
• Hands-on experiences such as internships and industry connections can help students see what STEM careers actually look like.
• Connecting students with local businesses can make STEM careers feel much less abstract.
• STEM workplaces require more than technical knowledge; communication, spreadsheets, email, calendars, and other everyday technology skills matter too.
• Mara’s advice to her younger self: “Experiment sooner.”

In this episode Chris shares 4 things he would do if he were jumping back into a classroom to start February. These are ideas that would hopefully help when your class (or you) are starting to drag before spring break.  They are 1) stop explaining so much, 2) simplify and streamline, 3) protect your energy, and 4) double down on what works.

In this episode, Becky and Chris interviewed Carrie and Camp, two educators from the New England Innovation Academy (NEIA) near Boston.  They are doing some great things with students, and we are excited to share the conversation with you.  Even though they teach are a small innovative school, almost all of their ideas could be implemented in any school setting.

Hi and welcome to the Inspiring Science Teachers' Podcast. My name is Chris Stoker and on this show, we love to interview teachers and pick their brains for some of the great lessons and ideas they've developed for teaching science.

For this episode, Becky and I interviewed Lingpei Zou, a middle school teacher in Rigby Idaho. Lingpei has an interesting story of coming to this country from China. She now teaches in a dual emersion program and gets to teach robotics on Fridays. Lingpei shares was got her excited from attending the NSTA national conference a few months ago in Philadelphia. Here are some great quotes from the keynotes: "embrace your 1% uniqueness" and "Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge." She shared many things that resonated with her from the sessions and the vendor exhibits. But for me the biggest thing was she got us excited about continuing to learn as adults and to take every opportunity to attend a local conference. Let's jump into it.

I was recently looking over some curriculum we had written for a middle school science about waves, and I wondered why this standard was so different from how we have traditional taught the subject.  It seemed to focus on a different part - more on how the waves interact with and move through a material. Then it dawned on me, this standard is really about material science.

For this episode, Becky and I chat with two experts in this area, Becky Heckman, a teacher leader and materials science camp trainer from Ohio and Dr Mike Hurley, a professor in the Micron School of Material Science & Engineering at Boise State University.  We discuss what material science is all about, why it's important in our modern world, and what careers opportunities it prepares students to tackle. We also discuss an awesome camp teachers can attend to receive valuable training on how to integrate more hands-on investigations into your science classrooms.

For this episode, Becky and I interviewed Jaime Clark, an 8th grade earth science teacher in American Falls.

Jaime shared an engaging activity with rocks and minerals, what intrigues her about metamorphic rock, and a great science fair event she runs each year that involves the elementary, the high school and the community.

Jaimie also talked about how much better she has become at training students to work in groups and being vulnerable with kids about what you don't know as the teacher. 

This is good stuff, so let's get to it.

For this episode, Becky and I interviewed ReBekha Lulu a former elementary teacher and now the STEM Hub Coordinator for Southwest Idaho. ReBekha shared a great lesson involving 3D printing, a new Student Leadership program in STEM for 6-12 graders, and upcoming STEM convenings throughout the state.

There are two things that ReBekha said that I really loved. The first came as she was giving us her definition of STEM--she said it's all the skills we want our students to do in Life.  I really like how she famed that. And the second came  when I asked her how a teacher can get started with doing more STEM--she said to start with a lesson that really lights you up already, and work to add something STEM related that makes it even better. I love it when teachers give us a small nugget of advice that makes it easier to get started. And I think you're going to love a lot more of what she had to say, so let's jump in. 

For this episode, Becky and I interviewed Gina Kwid, a 2nd grade teacher and a STEM enthusiast!  Gina shared a great milkweed experiment she did with her kids, talked about the importance of networking, and summarized that STEM skills are really about being a thinker.

This year Gina was recognized as state finalist for the national Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Congratulations Gina!! Of these finalists, our state superintendent of public instruction Debbie Critchfield said, “This award highlights Idaho educators who have gone above and beyond in opening doors in STEM for our youngest learners. These remarkable instructors have created a space for students to explore STEM topics with comfort and curiosity."

I love that last phrase-explore STEM topics with comfort and curiosity-and feel like that is a great description of Gina's style with her students.  Let's jump in.

This episode marks the podcast's two years anniversary and I'm very happy with how things have gone.  My goal was, and still is, to simply share the good stuff from those who are in the trenches, you all who are continually learning and improving your craft every day in classrooms.  I wanted to showcase regular teachers who are doing inspiring things and that would hopefully encourage and inspire us all to keep up the good and challenging work we do every day in our profession.

For this episode, my colleague Becky and I interviewed Dr Cecila Gillam, a high school science teacher from New Orleans, LA. We had a great conversation as she shared a favorite lesson about the water crisis and students building prototypes of devices to create clean drinking water, the importance of hands-on science, the need to diversify our portfolio of ed tech tools, and removing barriers for getting more underrepresented students into STEM courses. Cecelia is what I would consider an amitious teacher, but is also keenly focused on building relationships and empowering students. Let's jump in.

For this episode, Becky and I interviewed Tanya Elmer, a high school chemistry teacher and the president of the Idaho Science Teaching Association. She shared about her "Famous Chocolate Lab"  which is an engaging activity that helps students better understand intermolecular forces.  She also talked about what she's learned about leadership and the importance of getting involved.  My favorite part though was when she shared a poignant teacher memory about a difficult student named Justin.  Years later, he came back to visit her and when she heard his story, she turned to her student teacher and said, "We don't do this because we love Chemistry, we do this because of kids like Justin".  It's a great reminder for us all and I know you'll want to hear it, so let's jump in.

For this episode, Becky and I interviewed Andrea Baerwald, the Science Coordinator for the Idaho Department of Education. We had some great conversations about professional development, getting involved with state-led committees and using the state science coaches.  She also shared a favorite lesson called "Outrageous Organisms" that grew from a fun and engaging activity to became more of an anchor phenomenon that was re-visited multiple times throughout the year. And that came about because of a great collaborative relationship with her teaching partner. Andrea's insights and optimism are refreshing and left me feeling motivated to a better job communicating to teachers the great things that are happening in our state.

For the kickoff to season 3, I interviewed 4 teachers (Jacob, Allyson, Jeff, and Britton) at the annual STEM conference held this year in Coeur d'Alene Idaho. We chatted about what they felt inspired to do from the conference and/or what inspires them in general. They shared some great takeaways and insights. And I think you'll find this particularly interesting: two of them are team teachers and married! Also as a first on the show, we'll be playing some student clips, which I'm excited for you to hear.

For this episode, Becky and I interviewed Daisey Horner, a high school science teacher from Idaho Fine Arts Academy in Meridian.  One of the things that she shared was of her challenges in seeing students struggle with confidence and how she has tried to help.  In preparation for this interview, she asked her students what they thought about the culture in her class and one of them said, "We Trust You".  I can't stop thinking about how significant that is. They trust her because she has built relationships with them.  She goes to their performances; she DJ's their dances. She knows them and they know her.  That takes an investment. And when you invest in students, in the long run, it always pays off.

For this episode, Becky and I interviewed Karen Miller, an 8th grade physical science teacher at Eagle Middle School in the Boise area. Karen is retiring after this year and since she's from our home district we have worked with her many times and had a fantastic conversation about what's she's learned over her 33 year career. One of her tips for us was to get kids to ask their own questions as often as possible, because (and I loved this line): Questions get kids to reconnect with their curiosity! The conversation was filled with good stuff like that and it really made me reflect: What do I want my former students to remember from my classes?  Karen had a great answer, so let's get to it.

For this episode, I interviewed Natalie Moerer, a 1st grade teacher at Hansen Elementary in southern Idaho. Natalie has lived and taught abroad and so has a unique perspective on the importance of supporting multilingual Learners.  She also is firm believer in strong classroom management skills and building a class culture where students try to better themselves and cheer each other on, rather than compete against each other! And it was clear, throughout the whole conversation that Natalie works at building relationships with students, that she enjoys it, and that she is skilled at finding where they are and helping them move to where they need to be.

For this episode, Becky and I interviewed Tama Naden, a kindergarten teacher at Orofino Elementary School in North Central Idaho. Tama is a 30 yr veteran and she some shared some really great thoughts with us.  Here were some of my favorite lines: "Hope starts in schools"; "Teachers love to learn"; "Our profession demands collaboration"; "It's not best for kids when they feel rushed or stressed"; "I can't do anything without the team and that means community members as well"; "I did not need to be the disseminator of all knowledge"; "Never give up on a student"; and "The thing that means the most is when my students as adults come up to me and say that I made an impact on their life".

For this episode, I interviewed Liesel Christensen, a teacher at Pocatello High School. Liesel shared how she is focusing on shifting her labs from a traditional format to more of a true investigation where they get to use their agency to dig into the content. It was clear that she wants her students to experience the wonder of science. As a good example of this, as she spoke about why she likes dissections, she said, "seeing the complexity of life, allows me to value it more." Liesel thoughts were encouraging and focused on the good teachers already do and the power of making small changes. Finally, Liesel shared a personal experience of going through cancer treatment and how learning about the medicine itself and how it targets the cancer cells has been fascinating, but being able to share that with students to better help them understand why they are learning these biological concepts, has been very impactful for her and for them. Her students have responded in beautiful ways. I felt so inspired after our converstation and hope that you will be as well.

For this episode, Becky and I interviewed Emily Sahra, a teacher at Post Falls high school in Northern Idaho.  Emily shared the power of using phenomena in your classroom and then illustrated it by sharing one of her lessons that involves swans washing up dead each year on Lake Coeur d'Alene. It sucked us right in!  Overall, Emily thoughts were practical and yet insightful and centered around helping students find and follow their own passions. Last month she received the Dr. Becca Wills Outstanding Educator Award in Idaho. You're going to enjoy her suggestions, so let's jump in.

For this episode, I interview Jess Young, a middle science teacher in the Vallivue School District.  Jess has 25 years of teaching experience, is passionate about science and helping 6th graders transition to middle school, and she raved about a recent externship that she says has been next -level PD for her.  Last month she received the Dr Becca Wills Outsanding Educator Award in Idaho. I think you're going to find her passion contagious! Let's get to it.

For this episode, Becky and I, interview Ashley Schaffner, the STEM ecosystem hub coordinator for the south central and eastern part of the Idaho (ISEE STEM). She'll explain more of that later as well as give us a broader understanding of the definition of STEM. Ashely has a great passion for getting kids thinking and solving real world problems. In particular, we loved her lesson on "Coding Each Other"! This is good stuff.

This episode is a series of short interviews with teachers at the 2023 Idaho STEM conference. They were asked one question: what do you do at the beginning of the year to develop a positive classroom culture?  Their answers were interesting. Although those interviewed taught various grades from elementary to high school, certain themes emerged: connecting with others, feeling safe, and learning to trust; having shared experiences with each other in science; and sending a clear message that it is OK to fail. 

For this episode, I got to sit down with Dr. Melyssa Ferro, a middle school science teacher. Melyssa shares a great learning experience involving water testing at a local lake. She also discusses the teachers that inspired her along the way and how she hopes to provide both windows and mirrors for her own students. I loved her two pieces of advice for teachers: 1)Connect with other educators and borrow their ideas and 2)Fail Forward. Don’t be afraid to model being in the learning pit yourself. As we cruise into the final month of school, I hope this episode helps you remember what a difference you can make in the lives of students and also inspires you to try something new. And as always thanks for joining us.

Micah shares a great learning experience involving students doing field work with scientists, the importance of being a role model in schools, and the need to find balance in our lives as educators.  He also shares his thoughts on assessing students in ways that align with the real practices of scientists.

Chris is an elementary principal and former science supervisor.  He is currently a district director for NSTA.  He shares a lesson involving a rock from Antartica, a reading a passage about properties, and calling the most important person in the world (his mom!). He discusses the importance of teachers being willing to try new things and helping students learn to have civil conversations about science issues.  He also tells us about one of his proudest moments of having a former student collaborate with current students about local entomology research.

For this episode, we get to hear from Betty Prall, a 4th grade teacher and the elementary science coordinator for her district. Betty shares a great activity that invloves M&M's and candy corn, a strategy called thinking maps, and she discusses the importance of teaching vocabulary. I also loved her story of a teacher that made a big difference for her and made her think about a career in teaching. I think you'll love it too. So, once again welcome and thanks for joining us.

Ben shares a fun activity called the periodic table spelling bee, advice about making your classroom more energetic, and the importance of inspiring kids to keep learning.  He also discusses his very cool PEZ dispenser collection.