Elementary school teacher Heather Anderson has a reputation as a frontrunner in STEM education. Photo Credit: Iowa STEM Advisory Council.
Here is one educator who has earned a name for herself as a frontrunner in STEM education: Heather Anderson, an elementary school teacher from Waukee, Iowa.
Heather teaches second grade at Grant Eagan Elementary in Waukee, where she has worked since 2014. In her classroom, Heather has created a Makerspace area, and in this space she encourages students to bring parts or materials to class to examine how things are made. She has also organized a bristle-bot honeybee construction unit, which has become a favorite learning activity among her students.
For her efforts to further STEM education, Heather has received a whopping total of 28 different STEM-related grants. She has also garnered no less than four awards through the STEM Scale-Up Program. She was selected the first elementary teacher to participate in the Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program in 2017. In addition, she has participated in the National Summer Institute in Japan and the NEAF Global Learning Fellowship in Peru. And, as if all this were not enough, she sits on the Des Moines Public School Board.
For her work in STEM education, Heather has earned many accolades. She was the recipient of the 2015 NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence on a national level. That same year, she was named the recipient of a California Casualty Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2014, she earned an Outstanding Volunteer Award from the Iowa Urban Tree Council. In 2013, she was awarded an
Heather earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Upper Iowa University in 1997. She was also certified by the Iowa Montessori Training Center in 2006.
Nice going, Heather!
