Jessica Fries-Gaither, an elementary school science teacher from Columbus, Ohio, is serving as an Albert Einstein distinguished educator fellow at the Library this year.
Tell us about your background.
I’ve been a science educator for the past 25 years. During that time, I’ve taught in several states (Tennessee, Alaska and Ohio); in public, private and independent schools; across different grades (first through eighth); and at the graduate level.
I also spent a few years out of the classroom, serving as project manager on National Science Foundation-funded grants dedicated to helping elementary and middle school teachers improve their science teaching and integrate literacy into their classes.
Most recently, I was the Science Department chair and Lower School science specialist at Columbus School for Girls in Columbus, Ohio.
Outside of teaching, I’m also an author. I’ve published three books for science teachers and four science-themed children’s books, and I have many more manuscripts in various stages of the writing and publishing process.
Of course, my time at the Library has greatly increased my list of possible projects!
What inspired you to come to the Library as an Einstein fellow?
I spent a lot of time visiting my public library and reading books as a child, so I suppose there’s always been a natural connection there.
But my real inspiration came from attending the Library’s Teaching with Primary Sources summer workshop in July 2023. Between the thoughtful facilitators (Cheryl Lederle, Michael Apfeldorf and Celia Roskin), the intriguing primary sources and the rich conversations among my cohort members, I was hooked.
I went back to my hotel that first evening and told my husband, “I found my people!”
I knew that the Library hosted Einstein fellows, and so I began the application process shortly after returning home to Columbus. I’m thankful that Lee Ann Potter of the Professional Learning and Outreach Office and Monica Smith of the Informal Learning Office agreed that this would be a great fit for me.
What resources at the Library have captivated you so far?
There have been so many that it’s hard to know where to begin.
Maria Merian’s gorgeously illustrated 1705 book on the insects of Suriname has been one of my favorites. I’ve worked on a fascinating project with Cindy Connelly Ryan and others in the Preservation Research and Testing Division (PRTD) about it.
And I’ve taught students about Marie Tharp mapping the ocean floor. So, seeing the Heezen-Tharp world ocean floor map in the Geography and Map Division was incredible.
But I’ve also really loved discovering lesser-known documents and individuals. Josh Levy of the Manuscript Division shared a mock picture book that astronomer Vera Rubin created in the hopes of selling (but never did). And, together, we combed through the papers of Mira Lloyd Dock, an important Progressive Era forester I had never heard of until my time at the Library.
As an author, I really enjoyed meeting with Jackie Coleburn of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division and seeing creative and innovative historical children’s books.
Ultimately, though, while the collections in the Library are fascinating, the truly remarkable resources are the people who have generously shared their time and expertise to make this fellowship experience so rich.
How will your Library residency affect your approach to education?
My time at the Library has strengthened my research skills and reminded me just how joyful the research process can be.
Too often, research is presented to students as a prescriptive and mundane task, leading kids to check off the boxes instead of pursuing a question with curiosity and determination. I’d like to think about (and try out) different approaches to helping kids build the skills they need to be successful researchers while also preserving the wonder and satisfaction that comes from a completed project.
What would you like science educators to know about the Library?
Above all, I’d like my fellow science educators to have a sense of the breadth and depth of the relevant resources in the Library’s collections and understand how collection items can complement and enhance the great work they are already doing. I’ve tried to write blog posts in a way that connect the Library’s sources to the framework that science teachers use in their classrooms, and my upcoming presentations at the National Science Teaching Association will share the same message.
Through my work with PRTD, I’ve also learned so much about the ways in which scientific techniques and analysis contribute to cultural heritage science. This was entirely new for me, and I know that educators and their students would benefit from learning about these applications and careers.
Who knew X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, one of the techniques PRTD uses to analyze materials, would be a useful tool at a library?
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