Johan Tabora, MCMS '04, High School Physics

Facts:

 Prior to coming to TEP, Johan was a graduate student studying plasma physics. In his 4th year of school, he realized that he did not want to do physics research for a career. "I'd rather interact with people than determine electron temperature profiles." But he still wanted to be in the scientific field in some capacity. Johan's first teaching experience was mentoring a 5th grader for a science fair project. "He wanted to look at how people explore other planets. So we ended up studying Pluto and designing a LEGO rover that would explore it." It was soon that he realized teaching might be the career he was looking for. "I preferred sitting with the student and build LEGO's rather than analyze the data that I collected." A holiday trip to Boston sold him on the idea of going to Harvard.

Johan now teaches at Northside College Prep HS in Chicago. The school implements a Physics First program and Johan teaches physics mostly to freshmen and also teaches an advanced physics class to upper classmen. Johan and his wife, Martha, a math teacher will be having their first baby in the spring of ‘08. Johan is excited at the idea of being a dad, but anxious as well. "I'm not quite sure what'll happen but I'm confident that it'll be the best thing that's ever happened to both of us." Being the professional learner (i.e. student) that he is, Johan is considering going back to school for a doctorate. "I'm interested in science and physics education specifically how students develop mental models of natural phenomena."

Inside Scoop:

“TEP provided me with the foundation for what I'm doing now. There are two things that stick out in my head when I remember my experiences at TEP: meta-cognition and backward planning. I remember being hammered with the idea of backward planning and I wasn't quite sure what it meant at that time. While pursuing National Board Certification, I realized what a novel idea backward planning was. I was able to effectively design inquiry investigations once I knew what skills and processes the students needed to know. The National Board process also forced me to reflect on my practice and improve on it. I could hear Vicki in my head yelling ‘meta-cognition, meta-cognition!’”

“I loved the camaraderie, companionship,and intelligence that our cohort had. I have many fond memories of TEP: the after-methods class excursions to the sciencey-geeky bar by MIT that had a periodic table for a menu, Saturday soccer/football games to appease our Big Ten, Pac 10 football appetites, our science colleague Taus yelling ‘SCIENCE!’, and hanging out on the ‘Hill’outside the Library. The discussions about charter schools, inquiry, and levers of reform with my colleagues provided me with insights that I still reflect on, post HGSE.”

At HGSE, you will learn a lot of ideas that might not make sense initially. Being a novice in the education field, I was overwhelmed with ideas that I understood intellectually but didn't really make sense until I was actually teaching. TEP provides a strong theoretical background and adequate practice (and not just a dabbling of practice). You will be teaching from the get-go at the Cambridge-Harvard Summer Academy and you will be in a classroom for 10 out of the 12 months you are there. You have access to elective courses from all the different schools within Harvard as well as other nearby universities.