My entire life I wanted to explore the ocean and the environment.  I have always had a great appreciation for the processes that are not completely understood and the unknowns that have yet to be discovered in the environment. At the beginning of my professional career in research, I worked as a naturalist on a whale watch boat and as a laboratory technician working on environmental cleanup projects such as water and land pollution. Then I moved into my dream job of being a research chemist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in marine & geochemistry where I was able to be in the foundation of the research community and learn from many amazing scientists & researchers who devoted their lives to exploring the mysteries of the environment as well as protecting the animals and organisms living in it.  For me, working as a student mentor with graduate and postgraduate students, made this experience one I will always cherish.  As a teacher, I want my students to be excited about what they are learning, and with my background in research, I will work extra hard to make sure that if there is an aspect of a topic that a student is interested in, I will make every effort to alter my lessons to include those topics.
     While I was working on my degree in molecular biology and biochemistry, I worked at a local hospital as an aid in the radiology department. This included pulling medical reports and handing x-ray images for the radiologist to view. In addition, I also worked in the admitting office and the emergency room registration department. This was an amazing four years, that provided me with valuable knowledge and experience into the complexities of the human body. 

1 - 2 hours per week outside of class
Homework
Frequency: included
Feedback: included
Details: Each week a question will be posted to the discussion board that students will be asked to answer. The students will also be provided with articles and worksheets pertaining to the subject matter as well as additional assignments in CK-12. Students will also be provided with worksheets pertaining to each system of the body. The assignments do not have a time limit, so students can complete their assignments at their own pace.
This class is designed to best suit each student individually, therefore, if a student would like more reading materials, then I can provide that. Families can also use all of the recordings, discussions, the project, and reading materials the way that they see works best for their student(s). 
Assessment
Frequency: included
Details: Each week, the students will be required to complete the weekly discussion question in addition to answering the questions in the articles posted with the lessons. Students may also complete the questions in the nearpod lessons while they are watching the recording for the week.  This will help to them to reinforce the concepts presented in the lessons.  In addition, students will also be provided a login to Ck-12, where they can access supplemental materials such as readings, videos, and interactives. Quizzes in Ck-12 are offered as a way to gauge student understanding of the optional lessons given in Ck-12. 
Assessments can be provided at the end of the class, but the teacher will provide feedback on assignments weekly.  If a family requires an assessment sooner, that can be provided as well. 
Grading
Frequency: included
Details: Grades and/or progress reports can be given if requested by the learner or parent. 

There are no pre-requisities for this course.

Khan Academy, National Science Foundation