To commemorate her contributions, Ms. Gillman received the Young Teachers Incentive Award in 1989 from the Professional Children’s School. She was also selected for Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities in 1980. Recently, she was presented with the Urhy Thompson Award and Teacher of the Year Award from The Calhoun School in 2017, which she considers one of the highlights of her career. In her own academic pursuits, Ms. Gillman graduated from Felician College, now Felician University, summa cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts in 1980 and a Master of Arts in education from the New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development in 1982. How have you navigated disruptions in your industry to remain a top professional? I believe the best way to avoid difficulties is by staying updated on the latest developments in my field, which includes having a scholarship to attend The Modern Classroom Project. This program emphasized a new way of teaching. I also enjoy reading journals on educational topics and attending conferences where I can interact with other teachers and learn from them. During the pandemic, I was teaching online and had to use three different platforms: Seesaw, Google Classroom and Canvas. With the disruptions in science classes, I tried to make everything as hands-on as possible so we could safely do our labs together at home. What are two key behaviors/personality traits that allow you to be effective in your role? I am bubbly and enthusiastic — I always come into school with a positive frame of mind. I love to emphasize the positive, so I start each class by talking about the positive actions I saw occurring in previous classes. What is the most important issue/challenge you are dealing with in your industry? I am seeing fellow educators in other states being stifled on what they can teach due to politics. I don’t have this problem teaching in New York at all; I have the freedom to teach topics such as hurricane relief and environmental racism. I feel badly for other teachers because they’re not allowed to teach the way they feel is important and they can’t cover topics that are vital for the survival of our planet. As science teachers, we want our students to become knowledgeable science citizens and better stewards of our environment. How do you feel your industry has changed/evolved? In some ways, I feel education has become more child-centered. It’s much more hands-on, and I’m no longer just teaching for a test — my curriculum is more project-driven. I find if you are teaching for a test, the students are going to memorize the material for the test and forget about it 10 minutes later. If they are working on projects that cover a specific concept and they have to present it to their fellow classmates, they really have to take ownership of the material. This enables them to understand and retain the information much better. Fifth Edition Marquis Who’s Who INSIGHT 15 INSIGHT MARQUIS WHO′S WHO FIFTH EDITION
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