Collection Connections: Museum Based Teacher Professional Development (CLF Webinar)

Museum Educator Series Season 4, Webinar 3 with The Field Museum Learning Center 

Museums have the ability to provide uniquely authentic professional learning experiences for educators, and collections are at the core of what makes teaching and learning in museum settings distinctly tangible. This session will consider the benefits of object-based learning in pre-K-12 settings and explore the varied ways in which Field Museum professional development programs help teachers recognize the relevance of museum collections in teaching and learning and encourage educators to use collections as compelling tools in their instructional practice.

The Field Museum Learning Center engages over 600,000 learners of all ages in dynamic programs at the Museum, in classrooms, and online each year. The School Learning Experiences team serves a large and crucial segment of that audience – Pre-K-12 students and educators. While the spectrum of educator professional development programs they offer varies greatly in content and methodology, each program is firmly rooted in the foundation of the Museum – its extraordinary collections.

As the School Learning Experiences Coordinator, Kyla Cook engages in a broad variety of work related to teaching and learning at The Field Museum. Kyla develops learning experiences and resources for students, plans and facilitates professional development for educators, and plays a role in sustaining ongoing education-focused partnerships with peer institutions and schools. Prior to joining The Field in 2013, Kyla was a teacher for Baltimore City Public Schools, and she holds a B.S. in Chemistry from UC Berkeley and a M.A. in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University.

Jenny Flowers, a native of St. Louis, began her career in science education at the St. Louis Science Center working with the teen participants of the Youth Exploring Science (YES) Program. Jenny moved to Chicago in 2006 to join the Community Initiatives department at the Museum of Science and Industry, where she developed inquiry-based science curriculum and facilitated professional development for educators. Jenny is currently the School Partnerships Administrator at The Field Museum and supports the development and implementation of initiatives like the Early Elementary Science Partnership (E2SP). Jenny holds a Bachelor’s degree in History and American Culture Studies and a Master’s Degree in Education. In addition to a passion for education, Jenny also adores her daughter Mira and St. Louis Cardinals baseball.

As the Social Studies Instructional Design Specialist, Naomi Herman-Aplet is charged with designing and launching educational resources and professional development exploring human civilizations and social sciences at The Field. Before coming to The Field, Naomi worked as a teacher and instructional coach in Chicago and Northwest Indiana. While teaching, Naomi became passionate about social studies education, and particularly with empowering students to engage with primary documents and artifacts, and to learn authentic social sciences practices. Naomi earned a M.S. in Information at the University of Michigan, where she also earned a certificate of Museum Studies. She earned her teaching credential and an M.A. in Teaching from Dominican University, and her B.A. in History at UC Berkeley.

Wendy Quinlan, currently the N. W. Harris Learning Collection Administrator at The Field
Museum, has worked in a variety of capacities throughout her 10 years in the education field. In this role she oversees the operations of the largest and most well established lending library of museum artifacts and specimens, and also provides teacher professional development focusing on teaching and learning with collections. Wendy received her B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She received her Teaching of English as a Second Language approval and M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from National-Louis University. Wendy has taught English as a Second Language in elementary and middle school, as well as ELA, Math, Social Studies and Science. She is a former Student Experiences Coordinator at the Chicago Children’s Museum.

As the School Learning Experiences Manager, Heidi Rouleau spearheads the team responsible for designing, facilitating, and evaluating diverse learning experiences for pre-K-12 school-based audiences. Heidi brings prior experience teaching diverse learners in both informal learning environments and traditional classroom settings to this role. Heidi holds a B.A. in History and Theatre from Millikin University and a M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning – Secondary Education from DePaul University. Her primary area of interest is multi-interventional museum-school partnerships aimed at impacting teaching and learning in pre-K-12 settings.