Rachel Iufer
I am a science educator living in San Francisco, California. I'm passionate about providing the highest quality education for my students and building scientific communities in the school. I use a constructivist, inquiry-based approach with problem and project-based learning as well as whole-class inquiry and alternative assessments. I am a National Society of High School Scholars Educator of Distinction. Please feel free to contact me for more information, or to start a conversation about education.
PortfolioPortfolio
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Blood Typing
I made this video with the help of Duarte and use it as an introduction to blood typing activities that we do in class.
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Flipping My Classroom
This video describes the reason for and benefit of the flipped classroom. It was originally made by me for the Apple Distinguished Educator program.
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Teacher’s Pet
Teacher's Pet is a YouTube channel that I've created that contains polished, engaging videos about science. I use them with my flipped classroom, but they are available to the world for free to remix, use and even redistribute.
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Alien Cells Lesson
I created this lesson to make organelles exciting and engaging while also checking for depth of understanding. Students analyze alien cells, draw analogies to their Earth counterparts and postulate their organelle functions in a lab report.
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Genetic Counselor Lesson
A role-play scenario as a geneticist and genetic counselor exploring different diseases and their inheritance patterns. Students test out a career while practicing the basics of genetics. Mock medical test results and some medical texts are provided. Links to more reference materials provided.
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Technology Takes Role in Chico Schools
An article in the Chico Enterprise Record about technology in education featuring Ray Barber and myself.
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Teaching Website
mrsiufer.com currently hosts materials and videos from my time teaching at Saint Lawrence Academy.
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The Space Between
To address a common misconception that between molecules there is “air” or between the nucleus and electrons of an atom there is “air” students create an infographic about the space between after seeing demonstrations and having a discussion.
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USF Digital Media and Learning
This is a portfolio of the key projects from each of the ten classes I took at the University of San Francisco for the Digital Media and Learning Program.
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DILA: Sharing is Caring
My winning video submission for the Digital Innovation in Learning Award.
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Career
Graduated with an overall GPA of 3.62 while working a part-time job, getting married and beginning pre-requisites for teacher certification.
Attended a two week intensive course on the science of humans where science teachers learned about body systems, embryonic development and best practices in teaching.
Rick Smith is a leader in effective classroom management techniques and procedure implementation.
Worked with master teachers at Pleasant Valley High School in Chico, CA and taught biology, honors biology and physical science. Tutored struggling freshman at lunch once a week.
Developed and implemented novel, engaging curriculum for biology, chemistry, physics, physical science, 7th and 8th grade science. Fostered positive rapport with students while maintaining a high standards curriculum. Designed engaging inquiry labs and activities that made the content more accessible for low performing students and English learners.
Clear credential obtained.
Collaborated with teachers and staff to create a new school, curriculum (biology, chemistry, integrated science and anatomy/physiology), culture and reputation for a brand new high school charter focused on the arts and sciences in a high-poverty district. “Flipped classroom” by creating own online screencast lessons that students watch at home, and created and implemented lessons, labs and activities that deepen student learning and understanding while in the classroom, including whole-class inquiry assessments and role-play science scenarios. Teamed up with medical illustrators, science professionals and designers to create relevant, engaging, student-centered inquiry lessons that caused deep and reflective student learning. Served on multiple committees (financial sustainability, advisory, facilities, etc) to make pivotal decisions for the school (non-paid). Mentored approximately 30 students from sophomore year through senior year through a 4-day-per- week advisory period and personally handed them their high school diploma at the graduation ceremony. Club advisor for the CSI (Christians Serving Inspire) club for three years and Secret Science Society for 1 year.
A workshop with Dylan Wiliam on effective formative assessment and the latest studies on education.
Over 10 science workshops attended, including how to create screencasts. This led to flipping my classroom the following week.
For excellent service at Inspire School of Arts and Sciences.
Consulted the Duarte speaking team on education and helped modify their content for an audience of educators. Attended 3 ADE workshops.
Created inquiry science lessons that integrate technology. Studied different pedagogies and educational psychology to further understand the art and science of teaching. Worked with middle school students on lessons that seamlessly integrate technology to enhance learning. Worked with a small team to create professional development workshops and host a PD conference at USF. Analyzed the quality of education technologies for implementation into the classroom. Studied inequities in education focusing on the digital divide.
Mentored and collaborated with the two other teachers in the science department to create a cohesive program with high expectations for student learning and achievement. Created a YouTube channel (Teacher’s Pet) full of short, polished science videos about biology and chemistry that are part of a bank of open educational resources for teachers to modify and reuse in any way they want. Mentored 13 freshman boys three days a week and moderated the Eco Club.
Sharing is Caring and Winner’s Choice: Teacher from EdSurge and Digital Promise for work with educators and the Teacher’s Pet channel.