West Hartford resident Jennifer O’Brien, chair of the Science Department at Watkinson School. will join other educators in the Science Friday Educator Collaborator Panel.

Jennifer O’Brien. Submitted photo

Submitted by Jenni French, Watkinson School

Watkinson School Science Department Chair Jennifer O’Brien, PhD (of West Hartford) has been chosen for the 2017 Science Friday Educator Collaborator Program, for which the selection process is highly competitive.

O’Brien will join a distinguished panel of seven creative educators whose purpose is to inspire and excite other educators, while improving public perception of STEM education as a whole.

The Educator Collaborator Program participants partner with Science Friday’s media expertise to create highly-transmissible and highly engaging materials for K-12 STEM educators.  The Educator Collaborator Program participants work with Science Friday staff to create, revise, and refine an original educational resource (lesson plan, activity, strategy, game, experiment, or other learning experience) based on one or more Science Friday multimedia artifacts. Science Friday then shares these exciting ideas and practices with educators across the country and shares the Educator Collaborator Program participants’ enthusiasm and dedication with the general public.

O’Brien has been a member of Watkinson’s faculty since 1998 and is currently department chair. O’Brien has taught Forensics at Watkinson since 2005.  The course is blends forensic science and STEM techniques with a study of criminal justice reform. Currently, for Science Friday, she is  developing a Forensic Science lesson.  

Watkinson School, a co-educational day school for grades 6-PG, was founded in 1881 and is Hartford’s oldest independent school. Watkinson’s next info session for prospective students is April 7 at 9 a.m.