Pioneer High School science teacher Kirsten Workman was born in Massachusetts and moved to Michigan in the first grade. She is the oldest of five siblings. Her father is an engineer and her mother was a dietician who started a second career as a preschool teacher. She says her parents were great role models for what it means to be a lifelong learner.
Workman’s interest in science in particular came from a fascination with being outside in nature, her experience in 4-H (goats & horses) as a kid, the National Geographic Kids magazine she was eager to get each month, and some pretty awesome teachers who encouraged her interests. Workman completed her undergraduate degree in biology and health at Central Michigan University, a master’s in teaching at Marygrove University, and additional master’s work in science education and curriculum design at the University of Michigan.
Pioneer Principal Desmond Smith enthusiastically recommended Workman for this honor.
“Ms. Workman is one of the most amazing teachers at Pioneer,” says Smith. “We have a wide range of students and personalities, and she is one of the teachers we know that will reach every student. It is important that every student knows they are seen and heard and Ms. Workman does it on a regular basis. We love her at Pioneer.”
Describe your career path to your career today as a Pioneer High School science teacher:
Although I still use the phrase, “I’m still not sure what I’m going to be when I grow up” I’d say my career path has been interesting and fulfilling. My first job out of college was at the Jackson County Health Department where I worked as a health educator in schools for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Intervention program and also with steel workers in the Workplace and Community Health program. I taught science classes on the weekends at the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum, which led to my next career move as the lead for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Hands On Biology program. This project took me into all of the Willow Run and Ypsilanti elementary schools, as well as many of our Ann Arbor Elementary schools.
I had the fun of setting up a science lab in each school for six weeks and worked with both students and teachers to support science teaching and learning. Each program culminated in a family biology night where students showed off a project, exhibit, or hands-on activity with their families. My interactions with the Ann Arbor community and the science coordinators at the time connected me with Mitchell Elementary School where I worked as an onsite math & science coordinator for a two-year project with Shelly Bruder. These experiences ultimately led to my career in teaching. I taught middle school science and health at Slauson Middle School for 23 years and I’ve spent the last three years teaching biology at Pioneer High School.
What is your favorite classroom experiment or demonstration?
I am fortunate to teach a subject that lends itself so well to innate human curiosity. Hands-on science and nature are natural hooks for learning. Getting my students outside to explore the woods, ponds, prairies, adopting trees, and so on is my passion. There are so many ways to engage with science: labs and data collection, reading, interactive group activities, computer simulations, growing plants. The list is endless. Science is all around us, which makes it relatable to all learning styles.
How have you incorporated technology into your science curriculum?
Technology has evolved a lot in my 26 years of teaching in Ann Arbor! We make use of our student Chromebook access to conduct research, collect, analyze, and graph data, present experiment findings to our classmates, and participate in simulations and online labs.
What scientific breakthrough or discovery from the past decade do you find most exciting to teach?
In the span of my teaching career (2003 ish), the Human Genome Project ‘unveiled’ the landmarks or the human genetic code. The information we know about genetics continues to expand to the point where the average human has just enough knowledge about genetics to make them want to know more. Kids love to know about DNA use in crime solving, how traits are passed from parents to offspring, and what’s the probability of (fill in the blank) being passed on from their parents to them and to their children. We host a Biotech Week at Pioneer each year that brings in professors and students from the University of Michigan to engage with all of our freshmen biology classes. Our kids get to use fancy pipettes, run a gel, talk about genetic markers, and solve a genetic question. It’s just another way to engage kids in doing, rather than just learning about, science.
How do you encourage students who struggle with science to stay engaged?
Students who struggle with any subject need the support and encouragement to realize they can do hard things. Just because a particular subject or lesson doesn’t come easily the first time, doesn’t mean they can’t ‘get it.’ Two things that are essential in my practice are building relationships with students and letting them see me as a learner, too. I have a sign in my room reminding my kids that smart is something you get, not something you are. If I can build a connection with a student, they will learn. If they see me as a ‘lead learner’ with some resources, they may feel less intimidated to take risks in their own learning.
What advice would you give to students considering a career in STEM fields?
STEM careers are valued and varied. There is a fit for everyone. Pioneer has so many opportunities for kids to connect with careers in the STEM fields. Our clubs alone include robotics, genetics, plants, birds, computers, science olympiad, math, health sciences, environment/green club, etc. I’d say try everything and find your fit!
How do you balance teaching the required curriculum while still making time for hands-on experiments?
Our curriculum has plenty of opportunities for hands-on learning. They are not exclusive from one another. As long as we address our standards, our focus should be on teaching the student. If it takes a few more days to wrap up a lab, so be it.
What would surprise people to know about the work of a teacher?
I’m not sure this is a surprise, but teaching is a much longer day than the typical school day. It’s also a much longer year than September to June. People outside our profession got a glimpse of our value when kids were home during Covid. We had to make a monumental shift in a very short period of time.
What do you like about working at AAPS, and at Pioneer in particular?
There are so many things I love about working in AAPS. I love the diversity Ann Arbor has to offer in its student population and its local resources. We are a much stronger school district because of this. Pioneer does a great job of celebrating this through clubs, culture days, Black History Month performances—this year was especially awesome—and through the daily connections we have with one another. I also appreciate the support my colleagues continue to give me as a relative ‘newbie’ to the Pioneer science department.
Another thing that puts a smile on my face every day—aside from my awesome students—is the love that oozes out of the PA when Mr. Smith tells our kids to be bold, be brave, be loyal, love one another and be a Pioneer. (He switches it up a bit each day). He reminds students every day they are loved. Maybe I’m just getting old and sentimental, but how great is that?
Most importantly, I love my students and their families. My move from Slauson to Pioneer was seamless because I ‘kept my kids.’ I’m still under the same roof as the students and families I’ve come to know over the last few decades. And yes, I recently had my first student of a student!
Favorite book, movie, TV show, podcast:
I love to read, although I’ve done more listening to books as I drive recently. I got hooked on WWII books years ago with “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah. Some of my other favorites are “Where the Crawdads Sing”, “The Help”, and “Remarkably Bright Creatures.” I can’t pick just one. I listen to the Crime Junkies podcast weekly. I feel like I may have been a good investigator.
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