Profiles

On the first day of her Fellowship at NOAA in the Office of Education and Sustainable Development (OESD), Joyce jumped right in and became part of the Climate Education Working Group. As a member of this group she has reviewed several programs and selected climate related protocols. Joyce has been encouraged to find projects that will contribute to NOAA's education program. She has seen opportunities for collaboration and is working to connect NOAA with other organizations and agencies and facilitate future partnerships to benefit education. Joyce is coordinating collaboration between NOAA and NASA's Center for Long Distance Learning (Langley) to develop a TV program centering on Earth System's. She is also working to facilitate collaboration between American Geological Institute (AGI) and NOAA such that NOAA can become involved in Earth Science Week and support AGI's secondary inquiry based Earth Science program.

Joyce reviewed the information that NOAA plans to use in climate education and aligned those ideas with the National Standards. She has also been reviewing science inventory for NOAA with the idea of changing some of the content-based material to inquiry based. She has been researching lab activities on climate, looking specifically for activities that can be modified into inquiry-based activities.

At the New England Aquarium, in Boston, Joyce attended a workshop and was trained to do ocean exploration workshops for teachers. She has presented at two ocean exploration workshops in Florida. These workshops introduced experienced and pre-service teachers to an inquiry-based ocean exploration curriculum and gave them the opportunity to conduct inquiry-based activities, analyze and discuss the activity, and finally, examine how their web sites can support this type of program.

Joyce says, "OESD had provided me with a diverse plan of activities in which I am a participating member. My input is always encouraged and I continue to network with the people I meet. Allowing me the freedom to develop or participate in activities of my own choice is also rewarding."

Biography

Joyce Stark, a science teacher from Sunnyside, WA, received her B.S. in Zoology with a minor in Chemistry from Pennsylvania State University. After teaching for one year at Lake Shore Junior High in Pasadena, Maryland, she moved to the state of Washington and has taught in the Sunnyside School District for 27 years.

Most recently, Joyce was Science Department Chair at Sunnyside High School and taught biology, honors biology, chemistry, and research science. She also has experience teaching earth science and physical science. She served as the advisor for the science club and science fair for two schools as well as research advisor for students competing in the science fair, Intel Talent Search, and the Washington Science and Humanities Symposium. She is proud to admit that her high school students have won trips to compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair annually since 1982.

Joyce uses her time away from the science classroom to enhance her technical knowledge in this field. She has done research in numerous fields including entomology, plant pathology, food science, and geology. In particular, her food science work included an investigation of vectors of asparagus viruses. She also researched insect pathology for the USDA, performed oceanography fieldwork during study of hydrothermal vents as a member of REVEL aboard the RSV Atlantis, and did geology fieldwork in Belize and Italy. Her work has been published in education journals and scientific journals such as the Journal of Invertebrate Pathology. All the while, she continues to do graduate work at Washington State University and has found time to give astrobiology presentations in AZ, CA, and Australia.

Joyce has received numerous awards including the Radioshack National Teacher Award (2002), the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Math Teaching (2001), the Intel Excellence in Science Teaching Award (1996), and the Christa McAuliffe Award for Exceptional Leadership, Contribution, and Commitment to Education (1987).