Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1190776
" I N T H R E E W O R D S or less, what must organisms do to survive?" Students call out answers, such as eat- ing, breathing and reproducing. "Organisms must ev olve, adapt and function," states biology teacher Becky McKinney. The same could be said of science at San Pasqual High School: It has evolved, adapted to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and functions well, thanks to the leadership and hard work of this Escondido Secondary Teachers Association member and her team. The AP biology and physics teacher, curriculum creator, and professional development coach helped to radically change science on campus. She earned two awards from Escondido Secondary School District — a Lighthouse Award for innovation in 2018 and Teacher of the Year in 2019. She was also named 2018 Outstanding Engineering Educator by the International Council on Systems Engineering for incorporating engineer- ing principles into lessons. McKinney also mentors new teachers and supports veteran teachers — and was the school's Dancing With the Teachers champion for a fundraiser. She's not your typical educator. She wears combat boots and says "y'all" and "howdy." She flies around the classroom offering real-world examples of science and rarely uses a textbook. An admin- i st ra t o r o n c e o b s e r v e d h e r f re n e t i c "I want science to inspire my students to look at the world with wonder, and I'll do whatever it takes — stand on a table and dance, tell a silly joke or create a funny meme." DANCING WITH NGSS Becky McKinney builds relationships — students learn science along the way Escondido Secondary Teachers Association teaching style and asked later, "Are you always like this?" "I said , ' Yep, that 's me,'" McKinney recalls. "I want science to inspire my stu- dents to look at the world with wonder, and I'll do whatever it takes. If I have to stand on a table and dance, tell a silly joke or create a funny meme, I'll do that. I'm not afraid to be me." Colleagues say McKinney has trans- formed science by empowering students t o t a ke a pro b l e m - s o lv i n g a ppro a c h that's exciting and fun, via questioning and collaborating. Fo r e x a m p l e , d u r i n g a l e s s o n o n homeostasis, students put thermome- ters in water beakers, and were told to keep the temperature and Stories by Sherry Posnick-Goodwin Photos by Kim Sanford and Scott Buschman McKINNEY continued on page 20 Photos by Scott Buschman 19 D E C E M B E R 2 019 / J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 Innovation