Kirstin Milks (WWTF ’09)
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Kirstin Milks teaches and learns from her AP Biology and Earth/space science students at Bloomington High School South in Bloomington, Indiana, where she is entering her eleventh year of teaching. Kirstin holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Stanford University and a master’s from the Stanford Teacher Education Program, where she was a 2009 Leonore Annenberg Teaching Fellow. She is also a National Board-Certified Teacher and a Senior Fellow at the Knowles Teacher Initiative. Kirstin wants to help K-12 teachers share power and agency with their students to work towards justice.
SCHOOL PROFILE
- Large school
- Suburban/rural
- Traditional Public school
- Enrolled students: 1,700
- Free/Reduced lunch eligible: 26%
- Demographics: 80% White, 6% Multiracial, 5% Hispanic, 5% Asian 4% Black, ~<1% Other (American Indian & Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
SESSION ABSTRACT
How can we help young people apply their school-based STEM learning experiences to their own surroundings, personal experiences, communities, and futures? How can we share power and agency with our students, especially when we might not all be in the same room? Kirstin will model pieces of a year-long, standards-aligned assignment in which students investigated their local environment to build insight, connection, and resilience. Come ready to talk and think together in a justice-oriented and joyful context!