Laura Cummings (WWTF ’09)
BIOGRAPHY
Laura Cummings teaches first-year chemistry and AP Chemistry at Herron and Riverside High Schools in Indianapolis, Indiana and serves as the Science Department Chair. Laura was in the inaugural cohort of Woodrow Wilson Indiana Fellowship program and has just completed her 10th year teaching high school chemistry. Laura serves as an instructional coach, mentoring early career teachers to help them develop strong teaching practices. She emphasizes weaving classroom experiences into real-life applications of chemistry.
SCHOOL PROFILE
- Small to medium sized schools
- Urban
- Charter School
- Enrolled students: Herron 934 students, Riverside 320 students
- Free/Reduced lunch eligible: Herron 36%; Riverside: 64%
- Demographics: Herron: 54% White, 25% Black, 11% Hispanic, 8% Multiracial, 1% Asian; Riverside: 58% Black, 20% White, 13% Hispanic, 6% Multiracial, 1% Asian
SESSION ABSTRACT
Parker Palmer wrote, “Good teachers join self, subject, and students in the fabric of life.” The “fabric of life” necessitates more than just a screen. How can we design E-Learning lessons that have students doing safe three-dimensional, non-screen-based activities that connect what they are learning in chemistry with their worlds at home? Laura will share approaches that were developed this spring in E-Learning that had students off their screens and engaged in the “fabric” of their lives. This includes an acid scavenger hunt, cleaning with acids and bases, baking with acids and bases, and a pressure scavenger hunt.