Zoe Vukovic brings a background of work as a Pathology and Histology Assistant to her classroom at Silver Lake Regional High School in Kingston, MA. “I have seen and worked with all of the parts of the human body,” she says. Vukovic teaches Biology, Honors Biology, and Intro to Biotechnology for Grades 10, 11, and 12. As an educator for over 15 years, she has also taught Intro to Physics (Honors and College Prep Levels) and Biology (Honors and College Prep).
Teaching in a public high school that serves three surrounding towns, Vukovic works with a diverse population of students who have gone to Harvard and other Ivy League schools, as well as students who had a difficult time graduating. Vukovic understands the importance of building a rapport with all of her students. “Each student is a different individual; therefore, I best connect to the students by getting to know them and their interests and hobbies,” she says.
Vukovic learned about ExploreLearning Gizmos a couple of years ago through a presentation when a particular aspect of the program caught her attention. “The ability to do virtual labs is something that really drew me to try Gizmos,” she notes. She discovered that Gizmos are easy to implement as well.
“Gizmos give the students another platform to explore, and the learning is directed by them,” says Vukovic. “They get to experiment with the virtual lab by moving things around and being able to see what happens. This is something that can only be accomplished by doing a virtual simulation, and it has been very useful and, in my opinion, successful for student learning.”
Vukovic typically uses Gizmos as class assignments. Sometimes the students work in groups or stations. The five questions on the bottom of each Gizmo are sometimes done as homework assignments, but most of them are accomplished during her class periods.
What’s her favorite Gizmo? “I would say that my favorite is Fingerprinting, which was also great for an introduction to Gel Electrophoresis in the Intro to Biotech class. The students' favorite Gizmo would be Chicken Genetics.” She adds, “The Digestive System is a great Gizmo where the students get to experiment with moving the organs and seeing what happens to food absorption.”
Vukovic sums it up like this, “Gizmos are a good visual way to teach topics that may be harder to visualize.” Just another way that she connects with all of her students!
Zoe Vukovic is currently a teacher in the Science Department at Silver Lake Regional High School in Kingston, MA. Before she started teaching, Vukovic worked as a Pathology and Histology Assistant, mainly assisting in gross pathology. Through that work experience, she has seen and worked with all parts of the human body! Vukovic has been an educator for over 15 years.