Professional Development: Leading Experts

Jean Pennycook
Active Chemistry
Pilot and Field Test Coordinator

Jean Pennycook has been a science teacher for 18 years with Fresno Unified both at the middle and high school level. In that time she has served to promote science education and excellence at all levels encouraging students to continue on with science in their higher education. In 1992 Jean took a two-year leave of absence from Fresno to teach at the American International School in Florence, Italy. Here, she and her family immersed themselves in Italian and European culture and Jean honed her skills in teaching students from a diverse cultural background.

Her current assignment as secondary science specialist for Fresno Unified School District has given her the opportunity to work with teachers promoting excellence in the teaching profession as she supports standards based instruction and authentic assessment. She has planned and executed both summer institute classes for teachers, workshops for high school tutors, and field trips for both students and teachers, Although not working at a school site, Jean cannot keep away from the classroom. She teaches two summer camps for girls in science and math at California State University, Fresno, instilling in middle school girls a love for science as she encourages them to pursue science, math and engineering courses.

In 1999 Jean was selected by the National Science Foundation to join a team from New Mexico Institute of Technology and Mines doing research on Mt. Erebus, the only active volcano in Antarctica. Besides being an active part of the research, Jean's job was to connect what the scientists were doing over the Internet to classrooms across the country.

Currently, Jean wears three hats: First as Active Chemistry Pilot and Field Test Coordinator for It's About Time she works with teachers in the field who are piloting the 14 new program chapters. Second as staff developer for her district planning and facilitating weekend and summer science workshops, and third as The Polar Education Coordinator in Antarctica three months out of the year, where she runs the Polar Internship Program and teaches science classes for college credit to members of the McMurdo Research Station community.