Destiny Evans

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Houston Teacher Ready for New Science Curriculum, Thanks to Summer Research Experience

Houston area ninth-grade teacher Destiny Evans is bringing world-class scientific research experience back to school with her this fall. Evans, a seven-year teaching veteran who is serving her first year as a science specialist for Houston’s ninth-grade centers, spent her second consecutive summer conducting research at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tenn., through the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Academies Creating Teacher Scientists (ACTS) program.

Evans faces exciting challenges this year as she acclimates to her new role in the ninth-grade centers and works alongside teachers to implement conceptual physics for the first time in the school district. Along with her new responsibilities, Evans will be managing the inquiry-based curriculum of the district’s new physics courses, which will have students learning by in-class experiments as they try to answer tough questions concerning the laws of physics.

This trial-and-error, learn-as-you-go structure is something Evans has experience with thanks to ACTS. She has spent the last two summers taking this same approach in her research at ORNL. Working in the lab’s Chemical Sciences Division, Evans’ inquiry-based research had her synthesizing nanoparticles and learning how to manipulate the size, structure, and shape of the microscopic particles.

“I have always enjoyed scientific research,” says Evans. “I participated in a tremendous amount of research throughout college, but upon entering the classroom it seemed that the focus became the pedagogy and not the science. As a science teacher, ACTS is an opportunity to fulfill the research need in my life.”

And filling the research need in her life has allowed Evans to fill the needs of her students. Noting that her experience with ACTS has allowed her to feel more comfortable working on inquiry-based assignments in her classes, Evans has been able to better encourage and guide her students with science projects, some of which have gone on to compete in regional science fairs. Beyond building her research resume, ACTS, which is administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) for DOE, has allowed Evans to apply for and obtain mini-grants for classroom supplies and professional development while collaborating with like-minded teachers.

“Teaching is the most difficult responsibility, and yet the most rewarding,” says Evans. “And it’s so similar to research in that both involve delayed gratification. In life, we’re constantly seeking answers and that is what research is all about. We seek answers to questions and conduct research to answer the new questions that arise.”