2023 National Board of Directors Election Candidate for Vice President
Nina Morley Daye (she, her, hers)
Current Position
1503 Carolina Loop Road
Hillsborough, NC 27278
ninadaye@gmail.com
Education
Master's Degree in Science Education (science concentration in physics)
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC December 1997
Bachelors of Science Degree in Biology
Appalachian State University, Boone, NC May 1979
biology major, mathematics and secondary education minor cum laude
Professional Experience
● Founder of a company to support families with science education, 2 DayesScience, www.2Dayesscience.com (Fall 2019-present)
● Science Teacher, Orange High School (1981- 2016) (Spring 2019 interim position) Hillsborough, NC
(AP physics, honors physics, physics, AP Environmental Science, ninth grade earth science, forensics, tenth grade biology-intermediate and accelerated, ninth grade physical science-seminar, general and intermediate, upper class physical science)
● Science teacher, Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill (Fall 2016-Spring 2018) Durham NC Honors Physics Teacher, College Prep Physics Teacher, Environmental Science Teacher, Ecology Teacher
● Science Teacher, Tryon High School (1979-1981) Tryon, NC general physical science, general tenth grade biology, consumer mathematics, algebra I
Honors and Recognitions
● Distinguished Alumni of the Appalachian State University Honors College (2022)
● Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service to AAPT (2021)
● Presidential Award of Excellence in Secondary Science in North Carolina (1997)
● National Board Certified teacher (AYA Science (Physics) 2006, 2016)
● Rural Trust Global Teacher Fellowship (2012)
● Orange High School Teacher of the Year (2011)
● NC District 5 Science Teacher of the Year for NCSTA (2008)
● Tandy Technology Teacher Award (1999)
● High School Teacher Honoree for North Carolina APS Centennial (1999)
● PTRA (Physics Teaching Resource Agent) since 1986
● Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Program for Physics Teachers (1988)
● Duke-Durham Fellow (1989-1997)
Memberships
AAPT, NSTA, North Carolina Section of AAPT, NCSTA, NCRSP
AAPT Activities
● Instructional Media Committee (member 1991-1995 and chair 1996-1998; friend of committee)
● Exam Review Committee (1999)
● Teaching Physics in Pre-High School (member 2012-2015, 2019-2022); vice chair (2020-2021) chair (2013-2014; 2021-2022)
● Educational Technology Committee (member 2015-2018; friend of the committee)
● AIP Science Communication Award, Writing for Children Committee (2012-2018; chair 2014-2018)
● Nominee from American Association of Physics teachers to be a member of the APS focus group for education (2013)
● PTRA (Physics Teaching Resource Agent) since 1986 including ten years of leading week-long workshops on NC and SC
Other Professional Activities
I have served as a leader of various initiatives to improve science education for all students. During my career, I have been part of several teams working with NC-DPI to revise and reform physics and physical science education standards, curriculum materials and course of study (1999-2000) (1997-1998). I was part of the NC Governors’ Teacher Network program (2014-2015). I have led PLCs and Eisenhower-funded local projects on using authentic assessments to evaluate students' learning. I have participated in various efforts to reform and revise physics education including Project PhysLAB, the NC-VISION program, LABNET, the Physics Cinema Classics project, the VMI physics workshops and the Modeling Physics curriculum reform group. I was a Virtual Mentor and Coach (Return on Investment Project and other projects) for the Center of Teaching Quality (2008 to 2011) and served as a liaison between FIRST Robotics North Carolina and the Executive Board of the North Carolina Science Teachers’ Association (2015-2019)
I am the founder and lead mentor for FIRST Robotics Competition Team 587, the Hedgehogs. I guide the student leadership team members and oversee a team budget that is over $100,00 per year. This team of forty-five high school students build a working 120-pound robot each year with the help of fourteen adult mentors. (1999 to present) We do STEAM outreach through the year in our community and across North Carolina.
Candidate Statement
This is a crucial time in our world. I believe that it is essential for the members of the public to have the ability to gather data, analyze and evaluate trends in that data and to make informed decisions based on scientific facts when approaching the issues we currently face. We as members of AAPT can lead the way in this effort. We can continue to provide opportunities for citizen scientists to build our databases of information and to welcome new collaborative work across various scientific organizations.
AAPT needs to continue to build on our foundation of strong professional development for anyone who is working in physics education. We must as an organization reach out in new and creative ways to support the implementation of the concepts and processes found in the NGSS standards even in those areas where they are not formally adopted. We are uniquely positioned as a professional organization to reach out to pre-high school teachers and high school teachers who are afraid of physics and provide opportunities for them to discover what we know: that physics is all around them and that everyone has the ability to understand physics.. We can provide virtual professional development seminars and workshops at a low cost to teachers focusing on specific concepts as we link these concepts to children’s literature and other scientific fields of study. We can do this without diminishing our current professional development opportunities such as our conferences, coffee hours and publications. I fully support the continued integration of ComPADRE collection into AAPT. We need to explore innovative ways to build our presence on social media and our search engine optimization for AJP, TPT, and other key AAPT resources. I can help our organization continue the transition as we meet these new opportunities to reach out to educators working at a variety of levels.
We need to find creative ways to reach out especially to those people who are early in their careers as teachers to build communities of collaboration and support. Many younger teachers today primarily find resources, materials and lesson plans using the internet. AAPT needs to take advantage of this trend by making sure they find our materials. More importantly, we need to provide opportunities for people to develop long term relationships and communities of learning. It is these relationships, the collaboration and support among our AAPT members that keep so many of us as active members in this community. Relationship building and encouraging others are two of my strengths as a leader.
Our world needs the contributions of each person in order to create a vibrant, encouraging society of people who are actively working together to make the world a better place. Even as I am still building my skills and understanding about how to enable every person to be empowered to sit at a common table and to be heard and accepted; I am excited that our organization is intentionally working to create these welcoming inclusive spaces. I am fully committed to the diversity, equity and inclusion mission of AAPT.
I continue to look for ways to share my love of science and especially physics with teachers, students and the public. We need to communicate that physics is not just for certain people, but that everyone can experience the joy of understanding how our universe works.
I have served in a variety of leadership positions in AAPT over the years. I am committed to continue to work hard to build this organization. AAPT has been a key part of my professional life in physics education since 1982. The people I have met through AAPT and the PTRA (Physics Teaching Resource Program) are family to me. I love helping others grow personally and professionally. I will bring my skills as an encourager, collaborator and community builder to this job. There will always be an area of tension between keeping our traditions and working in areas of innovation; I believe I can help guide us as we move forward together.
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