Featured Teacher
May Featured Teacher
Name: Barb Gosney
Role: STEM K-6 Specialist Teacher
School: Fireside Elementary School with the Paradise Valley Unified School District
City, State: Phoenix, Arizona
Number years teaching: Total 21 years − 3-1/2 years in STEM education
LEGO® Education solutions using:
- LEGO Education WeDo
- Simple and Motorized Mechanisms
Why did you choose LEGO Education?
As I began to investigate STEM education for the new innovative Fireside Elementary School STEM K-6 Specials program, I noticed a common trend – LEGO! I delved into the LEGO curriculum and found the wonderful and invigorating Simple Machines and Mechanisms and the WeDo Robotics program. I knew I had found a perfect match for my STEM K-6 Specials program. I also discovered the LEGO Bricks in Space collaboration with NASA/International Space Station astronauts.
What learning targets are you teaching with LEGO Education solutions?
My learning targets are to address all areas of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) with alignment to the new Next Generation Science/Engineering Standards as well as the new Common Core Standards. The hands-on, inquiry-based lessons offered by the LEGO Education curriculum readily validates and excites the students for their future in STEM-career-related fields.
Have you experienced an a-ha moment with a child when using LEGO Education solutions?
With one simple lesson, I was given that “aha” moment along with the students. I gave a lesson frame to kindergarteners to build with 20 random bricks in a baggie. The instructions were to JUST build what they wanted. No instructions, no limits! Every child’s creation was unique, and every child’s model was different. Their descriptions were wonderful and innovative. Students shared their creation in a gallery walk. They had engineered their creation. Eureka! LEGO Education offers a whole realm of models, creations, and lets students expand beyond even my imagination.
Why did you go into education?
I went into education to make a difference in a student’s life. As I have said on the last day of every school year, “You might be leaving this classroom, but you will never leave my heart.” I teach because I care. I want my students to succeed in everything they do. STEM education is today and for the future of our world. I want my students to dare big dreams!
What’s your greatest teaching accomplishment?
My teaching accomplishment is twofold: First – to have my daughter follow in my footsteps as a teacher; second – to have students leave my room with a passion for STEM that I try to instill in them for the future. The continued passion in science, technology, engineering, and math for my students will fuel the fire of today’s knowledge and translate it into tomorrow’s world. I want them to always have “a smile on their face and a song in their heart!” I hope my passion for STEM catches on to my students’ lives.
What teacher inspired you to follow your dreams?
My middle school teacher, Mrs. Barb Harken, who inspired me to write and dared to let me dream and encourage me in my venture as a teacher. Her humor and her teaching still touch me today! I know she has touched other students’ lives like mine. I hope I can be just as successful as Mrs. Harken.
April Featured Teacher
Name: Mark Patrick
Role: Coordinator of Instructional Technology and FIRST® Robotics Coach, T-BOTS FRC 3350
School: Texarkana Independent School District
City, State: Texarkana, Texas
Number years teaching: 7
LEGO® Education solution using:
- Elementary schools – LEGO Education WeDo
- Elementary schools, Texas Middle School, and Texas High School – LEGO MINDSTORMS® Education NXT
- Texas Middle School – LEGO MINDSTORMS Education NXT with TETRIX®
- Texas Middle School – ROBOTC®
- Texas Middle School and Texas High School – LabVIEW™
Why did you choose LEGO Education?
LEGO Education products, such as MINDSTORMS kits, are scalable both horizontally and vertically. Even if you can’t afford a kit for each pair of students in a classroom, you can start with a few kits one year and add a few kits each year until you have the classroom set that you wanted. We found that the MINDSTORMS kits were also vertically scalable because we could use the same kits in our elementary, middle school, and high school classrooms with activities and learning objectives that were perfectly suited for each age group. Once we found out that many universities use LEGO MINDSTORMS kits in their engineering courses, it made our decision easy and obvious. With excellent competitive robotics programs such as FIRST utilizing LEGO Education products, we have been able to make a seamless integration of LEGO Education products for a variety of applications.
What learning targets are you teaching with LEGO Education solutions?
We have mostly used LEGO Education products to enhance our engineering offerings as a part of our Texarkana ISD STEM Program and Academies. Utilizing LEGO products such as MINDSTORMS kits, we are able to use the engineering process to provide an application for science, technology, and math concepts. Engineering is the scope through which our students see applications for science, technology, and math, and the LEGO Education solutions allow us to turn those often theoretical concepts into hands-on, real-world learning applications.
Have you experienced an a-ha moment with a child when using LEGO Education solutions?
When working with our high school FIRST Robotics team, the T-BOTS (FRC 3350), our students often struggle to learn to program with LabVIEW, industry standard programming software used for the FRC competition. Once we purchased the LabVIEW for MINDSTORMS software, our high school students made the realization that LabVIEW was just another way to program and was not much more difficult than the NXT G software that they had always used with the LEGO MINDSTORMS kits. When they had to learn LabVIEW in a complex, component-level environment like FRC, there were so many unknown variables that they felt overwhelmed. Since they were already very familiar with LEGO MINDSTORMS kits, they were able to focus only on learning the LabVIEW programming. The learning barriers were immediately removed, and our students began talking about how easy LabVIEW is to use. By learning LabVIEW programming in a safe and comfortable environment, utilizing MINDSTORMS kits, the “impossible” became “easy.”
Why did you go into education?
When I was going through school, I had many great teachers and some teachers that needed help. When I graduated with my bachelor’s degree, I had trouble turning my back on education. I had seen so many areas of need throughout my educational journey that I felt like I had to try to make things better for future students. I didn't know how I was going to do it, but I knew that I needed to try. After spending years in the classroom, years at the campus support level, and years at the district support level, I feel like I have helped, but I constantly see more opportunities for improvement and new ways to help our students. Although there is no such thing as “perfection” in the world of education, it is that strive for perfection that keeps me refueled and passionate about helping our students every day.
What’s your greatest teaching accomplishment?
For all educators, the goal is the same, but for high school educators, the focus is even clearer: happy and successful lives for our students. For some students, you are their last opportunity to find a career path. For some students, you are either their bridge to college or to a life of apathy. The stakes are high, but the payoff can be life fulfilling. The student that no one thinks will make it in college but you teach them to keep trying harder; the students that get a full-ride scholarship to study their life’s passion; the students that will not work in a team but you teach them to respect and appreciate their peers’ contributions − these are among the greatest teaching accomplishments that you could hope to have.
What teacher inspired you to follow your dreams?
I had so many inspirational teachers throughout the years that all contributed to me following my dreams. My elementary gifted and talented teacher, Barbara Davis, taught me that if I can dream it, I can achieve it. My high school band director, Arnie Lawson, taught me that it takes passion and hard work to achieve anything worth achieving. My high school history teacher, Chuck Zach, taught me perspective on my dreams and passions. There were dreams and passions that came before me and dreams and passions that will come after me; I am just the bridge that connects my generation. There are so many teachers that inspired me, but there was one teacher that truly empowered me. Charla Harris, my high school broadcast journalism teacher, didn't just inspire me to follow my dreams, she gave me the resources necessary, and she had the courage to allow me to pursue them under her guide. It takes a courageous teacher and calculated risk taker to allow a high school student to build his own student-led broadcast program . . . while they are still in high school. Ms. Harris believed in me and empowered me to follow my dreams no matter how bold and audacious they were. She stood beside me, behind me, or in front of me, depending on the challenge presented that day. Ms. Harris not only inspired me to follow my dreams, but she also empowered me to actually do it, and she backed me up along the way.
March Featured Teacher
Name: Diana Leonforte
Role: Special Education Teacher
School: Public School 188
City, State: Brooklyn, New York
Number years teaching: 5
LEGO® Education solution using: LEGO Education StoryStarter
Why did you choose LEGO Education?
Last year, my principal had approached me about a new, hands-on learning tool called LEGO StoryStarter. Being a special education teacher, I always look for ways to get my students to become engaged in writing, which is usually a difficult task for my students. When I started to use this program with my students, I was amazed at how wonderful this program worked. The hands-on activities enabled my students to become engaged, create, build, and produce wonderful writing. I saw an increase in participation and self-confidence in their writing skills as well as their listening, speaking, and collaboration skills.
What learning targets are you teaching with LEGO Education solutions?
I find that LEGO Education StoryStarter targets a wide range of standards for my students. I see an increase in collaboration and comprehension, understanding of vocabulary acquisition, and production of their writing. Students also learn how to incorporate technology into their writing.
Have you experienced an a-ha moment with a child when using LEGO Education solutions?
I receive constant a-ha moments from my students using LEGO Education solutions. Working with students with many different needs, including ELL students, I find that I am so proud of what they can create and imagine. It is incredible to see how much these students have grown using LEGO Education. Students who can barely write are creating such amazing stories aligned with common core standards. I am truly lucky to have been selected to incorporate this program into my classroom.
Why did you go into education?
I love to be constantly engaged and challenged every day in creative ways. I feel as though I am a lifelong learner and I continue to grow and evolve. I also love to inspire students and mold their impressionable minds.
What’s your greatest teaching accomplishment?
My greatest teaching accomplishment so far is winning a LEGO showcase grant for my school. The showcase will be coming up in a few months, and I am really anticipating its turnout and how the students and community will respond to how we incorporate LEGO Education programs in daily reading and writing activities. .
What teacher inspired you to follow your dreams?
I had the Dean of Education as a college professor for one of my courses, and he inspired me to truly understand that no matter what kind of disability a student may have, each child can learn and you are there to make that difference.
February Featured Teacher
Name: Mike Dobbyn
Role: 7-8 STEM Teacher
School: Kosciuszko Middle School
City, State: Hamtramck, Michigan
Number years teaching: 17
LEGO® Education solution using: Simple & Motorized Mechanisms with the Pneumatics Add-on and the Renewable Energy Add-on, the LEGO MINDSTORMS® Education RCX platform and the LEGO MINDSTORMS Education NXT platform with the Green City Challenge.
Why did you choose LEGO Education?
Ever since I was a child, I have loved LEGO. Fourteen years ago, I was asked if I would be interested in coaching a FIRST® LEGO League Robotics Team. When I found out that they would be using these new LEGO MINDSTORMS kits, I jumped at the opportunity. The after-school LEGO robotics program became so popular that after about six years, my principal asked if there was any way we could start a LEGO robotics class, and now we offer five sections of STEM each semester. That’s all that I currently teach now, and needless to say, I’m loving it.
What learning targets are you teaching with LEGO Education solutions?
I find that the Simple & Motorized Mechanisms sets work well as an introduction to LEGO and use them to teach the basics of simple machine concepts such as gear ratios, mechanical advantage, and so forth. Next, we use the pneumatics add-on to teach basic principles of hydraulics and pneumatics. Then, we use the MINDSTORMS kits to teach about design, engineering, and programming principles.
Have you experienced an a-ha moment with a child when using LEGO Education solutions?
I am very fortunate in that I get to experience these types of moments very often. Because of the fact that at our school STEM is an exploratory class, I get students from all populations of the school, including students who receive special education services as well as the ELL (English Language Learners) students. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a child who can barely speak English and who usually struggles in many of the core subject areas, just beaming because with the LEGO kits, they can easily understand the picture directions provided, and finally they are able to share the same successes as the other students. Or, the student who usually cannot sit still for longer than five minutes, staying engaged for the entire period because now he’s getting to work in a hands-on environment. It’s just very rewarding to see all students being able to succeed.
Why did you go into education?
I have to give credit to my sixth-grade teacher, Mr. Larry Salomone, who always managed to make learning fun. He just seemed like a type of guy who really loved his job and had so much fun working with young people that I thought perhaps teaching would be something that I could have fun doing as well.
What’s your greatest teaching accomplishment?
Last year we applied for the Project Blueprint Showcase Grant and were chosen to host a Showcase event. We had such a great turnout, and seeing the kids showing off their LEGO creations and the pride they had in sharing them with the visitors was a real joy. It was so wonderful to see parents and other members of the community finally realize what I’ve known for years – that LEGO elements are so much more than just a really cool toy, they are also really great learning tools.
What teacher inspired you to follow your dreams?
As I mentioned earlier, it was Mr. Salomone who made me realize that being a teacher could really be a fun way to make a living and, at the same time, help make an impact on people’s lives.
January Featured Teacher
Name: Peggy L. Perkins
Role: Gifted/Talented Teacher
School: Mina Elementary and Bluebonnet Elementary
City, State: Bastrop, Texas
Number years teaching: 26
LEGO® Education solution using: LEGO® Education StoryStarter, WeDo, BuildToExpress, Simple Machines
Why did you choose LEGO Education?
What better way to build curiosity and spark imagination than through the use of something that most kids love! Bringing LEGOs into schools for an educational purpose is ideal! I always believe “hands-on” learning is the best way to engage and motivate kids. Our district’s technology specialist, Jennifer Flood, helped get me started when she wrote a district grant for LEGO Education products.
What learning targets are you teaching with LEGO Education solutions?
I use LEGO Education solutions to give my students opportunities to think critically and problem solve. StoryStarter is an innovative manipulative that stimulates students’ creative juices when telling a story through their build. When we use the WeDo sets, often the kids are changing up the builds or creating an original build based on the lessons we are studying. It is also a strong STEM curriculum connection that relates to real-world situations.
Have you experienced an a-ha moment with a child when using LEGO Education solutions?
In one of the first-grade classes, there is one student in particular who would not open up at all. Then he “built” a story with StoryStarter and couldn’t wait to share. StoryStarter and BuildToExpress sets have since inspired other kids who would not write or talk about experiences or lessons. Suddenly, they become willing to share.
Why did you go into education?
Helping others find their potential is a natural high for me. I totally enjoy seeing that sparkle in someone’s eye when they have learned something new or made a discovery and want to know more. My desire is to assist others in acquiring a love for learning and then being able to apply that knowledge to fulfill their lives and the lives of others.
What’s your greatest teaching accomplishment?
Maybe the greatest teaching accomplishment came when I had a group of low-performing students with low self-esteem; all completed a science project in the classroom for our school’s science fair. Students who thought they couldn’t be successful became stars as they received 1st- and 2nd-place ribbons. I will never forget how excited they were to receive their awards. I felt this was a turning point in their lives.
What teacher inspired you to follow your dreams?
There is no one particular teacher that really stands out in my life. But there are many people who I have met along the way that have encouraged me. Probably one of my greatest inspirations is my oldest daughter. She made me realize no matter what the age or time in your life, it is never too late to pursue your dreams and continue to be a lifelong learner.
