Fellow Profiles

Biography

Ruth McDonald is a middle school science teacher in the Lincoln County Schools in Newport, Oregon. Ruth McDonald has been teaching as a special education teacher, elementary teacher, and now middle school science teacher for 28 years, the last 17 in the Lincoln County School District. She is a leader in incorporating technology into her classrooms. All the way back in 1980, she sought out training and wrote grants to bring Apple IIE computers to her students. For many years thereafter, she was the school's grant writer and technology coordinator, even serving as a district-wide Technology Mentor Teacher, providing staff development and training in integrating technology and instruction. More recently, Mrs. McDonald has brought both Palm handhelds and Apple Macbooks into her classroom. She was the first teacher in Oregon to participate in The Jason Project, an integrated, online science curriculum and just this year led her school to be selected to receive training and materials for the NASA-sponsored Project 3D-View.

Mrs. McDonald hopes to bring her years of experience to the NSF and to bring back this new experience to share with her students. "I believe strongly that it is my responsibility as an educator to stay current and relevant and to inspire students to love science, math and technology," she said. "I feel that working as a fellow would allow me to broaden my perspective and contribute my experience to others." Over the years, Ruth has secured countless grants for her school district and received several awards for her teaching abilities. She holds a Bachelor's in Psychology from UCLA and a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction from Portland State University.