About Ms. Gorman
“I am a teacher!” From the basement of my childhood home with a blackboard on the wall, when I used to instruct imaginary students, to teaching acting in Philadelphia, to being a nationally certified riding instructor, to designing a “Train the Trainers” course for the then-largest brigade in the US Army, teaching has dominated my life!
In 2008, I entered the public school system through the alternate route program. I am in my 16th year as a seventh-grade science teacher at Memorial. The curriculum includes physical science and geoscience, though my students say I teach “Sloscimatics.” This is a term they created many years ago after a two-week unit on how to read “non-fiction” science articles to explain I don’t teach them just “science”. Sloscimatics combines social studies, language arts, science, and mathematics into one word and teaching philosophy!
In addition to being active within the Medford Township Public Schools District, I’m involved with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) curriculum development at the national level. As a Teacher Forum and Working Group member of the 100Kin10 STEM initiative, I meet with stakeholders from across the US to discuss the present and future STEM landscape within our national education system. I also work closely with NASA and NOAA, bringing satellites and remote sensing education to the K12 classroom. I am creating middle school satellite lessons with the Institute for Earth Observations, Palmyra, NJ.
In keeping with my belief that “Science should drive Science Education,” I’m an active member of the American Meteorological Society (AMS). AMS is one of the largest scientific organizations in the world. In 2014, I received the AMS Distinguished K12 Educator award. I’ve been the Chair of the Board on Outreach and Pre-college Education and am currently the Chair of the Board on Outreach and Informal Education. I mentor K12 teachers within the organization and regularly present at the annual meeting. In January 2020, three Memorial students joined me in Boston to present research they had conducted during the 2018-2019 school year. It was the first time middle school students presented at an AMS annual meeting.
To date, my highest-profile accomplishment was being the 2015 recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching for New Jersey. This is the highest award a United States science or math teacher can receive. However, I can honestly say my most satisfying and meaningful achievements over the past fifteen years have been garnered while teaching my wonderful KiddieWidgets at Memorial.
