Meet Ms. Deal! 

 

My education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Baylor University in Waco, Texas and a Master of Science degree from the Department of Integrative Biology at Oklahoma State University.

​

My teaching philosophy emphasizes the importance of utilizing real-world applications in creating rigorous and meaningful curricula. My experiences as a graduate student studying monarch butterflies have strongly influenced this philosophy and I have worked to implement relevant research topics in my biology class and elective science classes. In the summer of 2019 I attended an Educator Academy in the Amazon offered by the Morpho Institute. We collaborated with science educators and local community members by spending ten days in the Amazon Rainforest located two hours outside of Iquitos, Peru. I collected data on sound in the rainforest for a personal research poster and presented these findings to my students as a real-world example of the research process.

​

I have also instituted the high school science club’s collaboration with international organizations such as the African Painted Dog Trust. We hosted one of their researchers and education specialists as guest speakers in the spring of 2019. Students gained an understanding of the human-animal conflicts and other issues surrounding the preservation of the African painted dog. These connections will allow my students to see themselves as global citizens and motivate them to make a contribution by beginning in their own communities. 
 

​

​

​