Juli Ward: The Road Less Traveled
We spotlilght Chabot Elementary science teacher Juli Ward. You’ll be inspired by her unconventional path to teaching science and her commitment to young learners. Juli teaches her students that everyone can do science, something that she has learned through own life experiences. Her passion for explaining the world around her inspires both students and staff at Chabot!
April 13, 2020
We are honored to recognize Juli Ward, a Science Specialist from Chabot Elementary, as a CRS Science Super Star!
Juli has been a long-time CRS honoree, and for good reason. She is passionate about using science to encompass her students’ thinking and incoprorating all around learning into her lessons. She loves observing students making connections from lessons into the “real-world,” whether it be fifth graders evaluating the amount of sugar in school snack servings, first graders racing home to compare transparent, transluscent, and opaque objects in their home, or kindergardeners asking their peers “What’s your evidence?” both in- and out- of the classroom.
“Anytime a student can interact with a phenomena directly, it is a powerful way to engage in learning. Having the space to co-construct knowledge and address misconceptions in real-time benefits all learners and teachers.”
As a Science Specialist, she is always looking for ways to promote science learning to other teachers, as well as her students. About CRS, she says, “I love getting the newsletters, showcasing the events in the local area, PD opportunities, and the wealth of activities that are at my fingertips. Although I haven’t had BASIS in my space, I often request the lessons so I can do it on my own.”
Read our full-feature spotlight on Juli Ward from February 2018 below:
Juli Ward is an accidental scientist, an educator who works to instill in her young students the belief that they too are scientists who have important ideas and observations to share.
Each year, for the past 10 years on the first day of class, Juli Ward asks her students at Chabot Elementary in Oakland to picture a scientist. Most students picture someone like Bill Nye or Einstein, a white male in a lab coat. She then asks the students to draw a picture of themselves as scientists, replacing the old image of a scientist with the new one. She wants her learners to know that they are scientists, a narrative Juli had to teach herself as well.
Juli didn’t major in science, or even intend to become a science teacher. Her pathway into science is so unusual that she didn’t even know that she would be teaching science when she was first hired.
Born and raised in Evanston, Illinois, Juli moved to California in her twenties, taking a job as a waitress while trying to figure out what job she wanted to do. She got connected with the Jewish Community Center and realized that she enjoyed working with kids, starting her on her path to teaching. Her first teaching role at Maxwell Park as a sub made her realize she wanted to commit to the teaching profession.
When Juli was hired to help with 4th and 5th graders at Chabot Elementary, she didn’t know exactly what her role would be. At that time, Juli notes, “science wasn’t happening across all grades and levels” and she soon found an essential role for herself at school as a science specialist. She began to implement hands-on science, bringing in everything from scientific modeling to building a lunar garden. With Juli’s support, science started to flourish at Chabot Elementary.
In Juli’s classroom, students work on all sorts of hands-on activities, including lots of engineering projects which, she explains, ““support kids’ natural curiosity.” Juli helps her students explore through NGSS crosscutting concepts such as patterns, cause and effect, and structure and function.
“You want to be interactive” explains Juli, and allow students to “learn from mistakes.” This philosophy of learning makes for a classroom where students are encouraged to try, and to be ok with failure—a hallmark of the scientific process.
In addition to teaching science in her own classroom, Juli shows other teachers how to incorporate science into other subjects. Her message to her fellow teachers: “Don’t be afraid to teach science, the biggest problem is feeling like you don’t know enough to teach science concepts, but you really do!” This philosophy of empowerment has created a positive staff culture at Chabot around science. Juli also enjoys sharing teaching strategies and methods with teachers across Oakland in her role as a Lead Science Teacher.
Juli frequently uses CRS resources and encourages teachers at Chabot Elementary to take the Science Super Star Challenge. She says that there are “huge constraints at school because of a math and ELA focus,” but loves that the Science Super Star Challenge helps teachers to make the connections across disciplines. Chabot teachers have started to dig into the Next Generation Science Standards, weaving disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices to help students build a cohesive understanding of science. With Juli’s support, Chabot Elementary has been awarded the Science Super Star Whole School prize in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017!
Juli’s motivation for teaching comes from her own childhood wish to make science accessible. As a young student, Juli was “never really encouraged as a student” and felt her teachers “didn’t believe in her.” Juli wants her students to feel cared for and empowered to believe that they can accomplish whatever they set their minds to. This feeling helps Juli connect with students on an individual level, even though she only sees them for one block of time per week.
To further connect with her students, Juli also formed a Lab Assistant Program, where students in upper grades help prepare science activities for the younger students. This program is one more way Juli has helped develop a culture of science among Chabot staff and school community. In the Lab Assistant program, Juli also focuses on professional skills with her students, having them participate in mock interviews and giving presentations of their science findings.
When she’s not teaching or preparing activities for her students, Juli enjoys watching documentaries and informational television. Some of her favorite programs include NOVA, BCC Science Specials, Mars, and The Second Earth. She also loves vacationing to the Wyoming wilderness, her “happy place” where she spent time in her youth. When she can’t get away for a long trip, she enjoys outdoor spaces around the Bay Area. Like her journey to teaching, Juli’s road less traveled is both refreshing and inspiring. We are lucky to have science advocates like Juli working in our local schools!