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About Me

me and R2D2

I have been teaching students to learn how to problem-solve for over 20 years through courses in mathematics, physics, and computer science.  I am passionate about teaching people to learn to code, utilizing technology, design thinking, and STEM/STEAM.  I am a strong advocate for interdisciplinary learning and team teaching. I encourage students to take risks in their learning and celebrate their failures along the way to gaining real skills and knowledge.  I have been working with teachers to infuse technology into their classrooms as well, teaching various workshops.

I am active with Makerspaces and Digital Fabrication.  I believe all educators and students are makers! They learn by creating and doing.  Every class can incorporate Makerspace into the curriculum.  I have consulted with various schools on building their MakerSpaces and incorporating design thinking.   In 2020, I was recognized by NCWIT NJ with the Aspirations in Computing Education award. 

Outside of school, I enjoy spending time in the garden with my daughter and cooking up a storm in the kitchen.  My current projects in the kitchen are learning how to make bread and making pasta from scratch. 

This site was created for a graduate class. Yes, after 20 years I am getting my Master of Education! It will continue to evolve as I reflect on the classes and my continued learning of Instructional Media.  I hope you enjoy learning with me. 

My previous blog is located here.

Follow me on Twitter: @MsATesta. Instagram:  @techgoddess07 


Popular posts from this blog

Inquiry based Research Update: DATA DATA DATA

 It's been two weeks since I posted about learning about action research.  I have decided on a question based upon not being in a classroom currently and reflecting upon weaknesses of my teaching CS.  I felt I would love to learn more about teaching cybersecurity.  I don't have enough knowledge to do this well, and I always fumble.  I also think that students need to understand the fields that can be involved in cybersecurity and that it is not just about hacking.   When I have students complete GoCyberStart, I know I am no help.  I have even struggled to complete them.  I need to get better at this, now is the time.   My research question is: How do I design an inquiry-based unit on cybersecurity for students to understand the impacts on their lives? This will provide me with a chance to determine what is essential for students to know about cybersecurity, learn more about cybersecurity, and an opportunity for action research as a ...
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Inquiry Based Research

  My next set of classes has started.  We are reading The Reflective Educator’s Guide to Classroom Research in one class, and Chapter 1 mentions starting an inquiry journal.  The book is about doing inquiry-based research or active research in your classroom.  It discusses the importance of intentionally writing down the observations of the class (Dana and Yendol-Hoppey, 2020).  This makes sense, given that you have a lab, research, engineering notebook that needs to be done if you are doing scientific research.  These are taken seriously as the documentation.  I think teachers should be doing this as well.  I thought this would be a great place to my inquiry journal and record my thoughts.  My hope of learning about inquiry-based research is to do more research in my classroom.  I want to use data in my classroom to drive my teaching methodologies and maybe publish (One of these days, I will write about how much I fear writing)....
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Inquiry Based Learning Final Thoughts

As I end the inquiry-based learning course, I am amazed at how my inquiry understanding has deepened.  Even after 20 years of teaching using questioning and having students provide evidence of their learning, I still have evolved my experience. Inquiry-based learning is a way to have students explore how to learn.  When teachers use inquiry in their classrooms, students learn critical thinking.  Students are gaining experience to provide justification and evidence for their understanding.  They are spending time on the higher-level thinking skills of Bloom’s taxonomy.  Students need to evaluate information and synthesize old and new knowledge.  They have a teacher as a mentor, guide, and facilitator, not just as the person who has all the control.  This is crucial for students to become well-rounded individuals. My biggest takeaway is that students gain more control of the classroom.  Students having control does not mean it is a constant party, a...
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