Bertha Vazquez

Bertha Vazquez is director of education for the Center for Inquiry, director of the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES), a program of the Center for Inquiry[1] and a project of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science,[2] and a middle school science teacher at the George Washington Carver Middle School in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools.[3][4][1] She also manages the educational aspects of Science Saves and Young Skeptics, two other CFI programs.

Bertha Vazquez
Vazquez in October 2018
Occupation(s)Director, Center for Inquiry
Known forTeacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES)
AwardsNational Association of Biology Teachers Evolution Education Award
Academic background
EducationB.A. in biology
Master's degree in science education
Alma materUniversity of Miami
Florida International University

Vazquez was appointed a Committee for Skeptical Inquiry fellow in 2020,[5] and received the 2023 Friend of Darwin award from the National Center for Science Education (NCSE).[6]

Early life and education

At age 18, Vazquez read The Selfish Gene and became a self-described fan of Richard Dawkins.[7] She went on to obtain an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Miami and a master's in science education from Florida International University.[8]

Career

In 1989, served as an exhibit guide at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Coconut Grove, Florida. That same year, she began her teaching career in Albi, France.

In 1990, Vazquez began teaching in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. She has taught sixth grade integrated science, seventh grade integrated science, Earth and space science, physical science, and biology. She has also taught French in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Vazquez's main teaching interest has been in environmental education,[9] and she encouraged her fellow teachers even in non-scientific subjects to incorporate climate change education in their curricula.[10] Her efforts were recognized with the Charles C. Bartlett Award from the National Environmental Education Foundation in 2009.[11]

Vazquez feels passionate about middle-school students learning about climate change especially as she teaches in Florida where they are "seeing the dramatic impacts of a warming planet". She devotes two weeks a year to climate change, assigning her students to not only learn about it, but to seek out and understand why some people don't believe it is caused by humans.[12]

She also worked for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) from 2001 to 2009 as a Certification Council Member, Scoring Director, Science Portfolio Trainer, faculty member for the Development of National Mentoring Standards, Renewal Document Development team member, and portfolio development team member.

TIES
Bertha Vazquez and Richard Dawkins at CSICon, October 2016
Bertha Vazquez and Bill Nye at CSICon, October 2018

In 2013, she met Dawkins at the University of Miami and discussed evolution education with him. This and her belief that teachers learn the most from each other inspired her to conduct workshops on evolution for her fellow teachers.

Dawkins followed up with a visit to Vazquez's school in 2014 to speak to teachers from the Miami-Dade County school district. This encounter along with the encouragement of Dawkins and Robyn Blumner led to the beginnings, in 2015, of the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science. Vazquez sees TIES as not only about evolution education but also about empowering teachers to be leaders in their educational communities.[13][9] Since its inception, TIES has presented over 300 teacher professional development workshops in all 50 states.

Publications
  • The book, On Teaching Evolution, was published in December 2021. Written by members of the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science who have tackled the topic of evolution in their classroom for decades, On Teaching Evolution offers practical advice and sample lesson plans for fellow science teachers.
  • In June 2022, Bertha Vazquez translated the book, Breve Historia de 4 Mil Millones de Años: Entendiendo a Darwin, by Maria Jinich.
  • Vazquez, Bertha & Landorf, Hilary & Simons-Lane, L. (2016). Next Door to Old Smokey: Engaging in Scientific Measurements and Public Action. Middle Level Learning. January/February 2016. 12–16.[14]
  • Vazquez, Bertha (2017) Helping Teachers Teach Evolution in the United States, Skeptical Inquirer Volume 41.3, May/June 2016[15]
  • Vazquez, Bertha (17 July 2017). "A state-by-state comparison of middle school science standards on evolution in the United States" Evolution: Education and Outreach. 10 (5)[16]

References
  1. "Programs". Center for Inquiry. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  2. "Bertha Vazquez". Center for Inquiry. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  3. "School Staff". G.W. Carver Middle School. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  4. "How to Teach Climate Change Without Terrifying Your Students". WLRN. 10 July 2016. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  5. "Ten new Fellows elected to Committee for Skeptical Inquiry". Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. 24 November 2020. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  6. "Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet awards for 2023". NCSE.ngo. National Center for Science Education. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  7. Myers, Melissa. "Evolution Is for Everyone with Bertha Vazquez". YouTube. Center for Inquiry. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  8. "Author: Bertha Vazquez". Skeptical Inquirer. Center for Inquiry. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  9. Cara Santa Maria (2 July 2018). "Bertha Vazquez". Talk Nerdy (Podcast). Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  10. Schwartz, John (11 February 2016). "Science Teachers' Grasp of Climate Change Is Found Lacking". New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  11. "Richard C. Bartlett Environmental Education Award". OSTA. Oklahoma Science Teachers Association. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  12. Choi-Schagrin, Winston (1 November 2022). "Many States Omit Climate Education. These Teachers Are Trying to Slip It In". New York Times. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  13. James Underdown (24 January 2019). "The Battle For Young Minds – Bertha Vazquez On Teaching Evolution In Schools". Point of Inquiry (Podcast). Center for Inquiry. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  14. "Middle Level Learning January/February 2016 | Social Studies". www.socialstudies.org. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  15. Kreidler, Marc (2017-05-01). "Helping Teachers Teach Evolution in the United States | Skeptical Inquirer". Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  16. Vazquez, Bertha (2017-07-17). "A state-by-state comparison of middle school science standards on evolution in the United States". Evolution: Education and Outreach. 10 (1): 5. doi:10.1186/s12052-017-0066-2. ISSN 1936-6434.
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