Boulder Language Technologies

In order to develop an intelligent tutoring system to improve science learning, it is necessary to collect and annotate a significant amount of data during dialogs between human tutors and students. BLT hired an expert team of project tutors to collect the audio and video data  necessary to develop an initial tutoring system that can be tested and refined in Wizard of Oz (WoZ)  experiments.  Each project tutor is either a former science teacher or a science graduate student at the University of Colorado specializing in science education.  All tutors are trained in the FOSS modules and the Questioning the Author (QtA) approach to individualized tutoring.  The tutors used these techniques to develop and refine tutor dialogs and implement them into the data collection process.   

Brief bios of the project tutors are listed below.

  I am a math and science teacher currently taking time off to raise my two young children, Julia and Benjamin.  I have lived in Colorado since starting college at the University of Colorado in 1992.  I have an undergraduate degree in Biology and Masters in Instruction and Curriculum in Secondary Science.  Tutoring for BLT has been very rewarding because it has enabled me to stay connected to the classroom and science education.  I love interacting with the students as they deepen their understanding of science.  In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, running, reading, and spending time with my family.  

 

Cindy has spent her entire career working as a science educator.  From developing a public hand’s on science center in Panama and teaching middle/high school science, to researching, writing and facilitating the development of a k-5 elementary science curriculum, her passion is to use the amazing qualities of understanding the natural and physical worlds, as a catalyst to get kids to love not only science, but to help them become fully engaged in the process of learning and critical thinking.   I guess you would say she likes to help people become empowered in their own learning.  Currently she works as an educational consultant and is excited to be part of the research and tutor team that will create a virtual science tutor.  In her free time she loves to travel, take long walks, sing, do art and make tasty food!  Recently she created carmalized onion and beet pizzas!  

Jeannine is a project tutor and core team member for BLT. She has a background in multiple areas of science and education and when she is not studying FOSS materials or talking with elementary school students she can be found at the University of Colorado, Boulder where she is an Instructor.

In her down time, Jeannine likes to run, play games from her granny closet and hang out at Fort Cody.

Suzan graduated from the University of California, San Diego in Communications and also Psychology.  She took graduate classes in sensation and perception and won SCURI grants for original research with EEGs.  She was the principal researcher in the cognitive psychology lab of Norman Anderson.  She also wrote a Master's Thesis on Hwabyung, working with Naropa University.

Most of her professional life she has been a writer. She has won SPJA awards and has nearly a hundred articles to her credit that have appeared in newspapers, magazines and reports.  She has also worked in Public Relations and Marketing.

She has worked in and around school districts in three states. She taught art history at the elementary level, taught business at the college level, wrote a science-based curriculum for an international program and was a TAG Advisor with the Boulder Valley School District.

Heidi Henkel came to us with over 10 years teaching experience as both a successful classroom teacher and science tutor.  Her professional experiences span 5 different states including Washington, North Carolina, Alabama, Maryland, and Colorado due to her husband’s career in the army.  While in AL, she initiated a school wide online grading program, continuously integrated various forms of technology into the classroom, and earned the highest teaching marks among her peers at one of the largest schools in the south.  Throughout her teaching career, she also coached both the boys and girls varsity tennis teams, earning Coach of the Year titles and developing an academic accountability program for athletes. 
 

Heidi is a Colorado native who initially attended Baylor University, but completed her Biological Sciences degree at Colorado State University.  Her diverse teaching background lends itself to furthering our research program and she is very excited about joining the team of fellow tutors!  In her spare time, in addition to spending time with her family, she enjoys skiing, biking, and tennis.  She also volunteers often with various church programs, including a camp for impoverished children and initiating an outreach to families of veterans, helping them cope with the effects of war.

I am a retired BVSD teacher, having taught 6th, 4th and 3rd grades at Eisenhower Elementary School in Boulder. I also taught in the areas of math and science in Aurora, Colorado and in the Bronx, New York. My undergraduate degree is in Elementary Education, and I have a masters degree in remedial reading.

Since retiring, I have been able to spend more time with my family, my parents in particular. I am also enjoying working on my needlework projects, and my husband and I love to travel. 

Tutoring for BLT has allowed me to continue to fulfill my passion for working with elementary aged children in the areas of science and math.

I am a retired BVSD teacher, having taught  3^rd, 6^th, and 4^th grades at Eisenhower Elementary for 29 years. I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology from C.U. I’m enjoying my time as a tutor for BLT because I’ve always loved working with children and it enables me to indulge my passion for improving elementary school science education. 

Since retiring I have had more time to work on improving my skills as a guitarist and to pursue my enjoyment of drawing by creating a line of humorous greeting cards. I enjoy cooking, fly fishing, backcountry skiing, backpacking, hiking, traveling, reading, and volunteering in my daughter’s 4^th grade classroom.