Meet the 2018-19 Cohort


Anne Marie Martin

  • Subject: Math
  • School: Muchin College Prep
  • State: IL

Why did you want to be a Fellow or what is the best part of being a Fellow?

I believe in the importance of data analysis in all classrooms, and I want to learn more about using TUVA across my campus.

Why do you think data literacy is important?

When students increase their literacy in data analysis, they are able to more deeply analyze and solve real world problems. This is a skill that will prepare them to be leaders in the 21st century.

Athena Barrios

  • Subject: Digital Learning for secondary level programs
  • School: Monterey Bay Aqurium Education Division
  • State: CA

Why did you want to be a Fellow or what is the best part of being a Fellow?

I wanted to be a Tuva Fellow because I had already been working on integrating Tuva into my class on a small scale. It has been a goal of mine to work on a larger scale and get teachers more comfortable using Tuva, since the student pick up the skills pretty quickly.

Why do you think data literacy is important?

Data literacy is threaded all throughout NGSS; it's what pulls the skills together when it comes to analyzing, understanding, communicating/arguing from evidence. Data literacy comes up across all subjects, not just math and science so building this skill is so crucial to students who will become successful communicators in their classrooms and communities.

Brock Baxter

  • Subject: Science
  • School: Osage City High School
  • State: KS

Why did you want to be a Fellow or what is the best part of being a Fellow?

I wanted to be a fellow because Tuva really caught my attention when I was surfing the web for data driven activities. I thought Tuva had a lot of potential to make learning science and math better. I'm always trying to think of ways to engage students by finding activities or lessons that pertain to their life. That was my initial thought when I found out about Tuva. Becoming a fellow, in my mind, was a sound way to accomplish what I mentioned above as well as help others accomplish the same. I wanted to be a part of, what might possibly be, a very powerful and useful teaching tool. I'm not much for waiting around for things to happen. I like to "put myself out there" to see what happens!

Why do you think data literacy is important?

One thing I've learned as a science minded person and a science teacher is that most people cannot tell truth from untruth. Many do not even know how truth/certainty/reliability is determined. That is what data literacy is all about. It's about objectivity. It's about learning the relationship between to variables without emotion getting in the way, and so many people do not have that ability. Besides that, having more interesting ways to teach slope is nice too! Math having a context makes it so much more interesting.

Jacqueline Muratore

  • Subject: Math
  • School: Mount Saint Mary Academy
  • State: NJ

Why did you want to be a Fellow or what is the best part of being a Fellow?

I wanted to be a Tuva Fellow because I believe Tuva is going to fulfill a great need in the field of education. Tuva is a two-fold treasure: it promotes data analytical skills as well as the utilization of technology as a tool. Tuva crosses the schoolwide curriculum map; it provides an opportunity for teachers across disciplines to collaborate and reinforce content through application.

Why do you think data literacy is important?

Data Analysis has become a very lucrative and necessary skill in today's world, whether one is a student or a working professional. On the new SAT, throughout the sciences, in economics, and even in psychology courses, students are being asked more and more to work with and interpret data, and this skill has also become increasingly important among employers. The ability to understand and analyze data helps to guide decision making and allows students to build bridges between what they learn in the classroom and how they eventually apply it in the workplace.

Janine Malavasi

  • Subject: English / Language Arts
  • School: Dr. David L. Anderson Middle School
  • State: FL

Why did you want to be a Fellow or what is the best part of being a Fellow?

I wanted to be a Tuva Fellow so that I could provide my students with learning that is above and beyond what most teachers use. The best part of the Fellows program is the chance to learn from the creators of the software and provide feedback so they can make the program accessible for teachers and students.

Why do you think data literacy is important?

I believe that in order to truly be educated, students must understand that data is manipulated for a purpose each time it is presented and that we must learn not only how to identify its misuse, but also how to use data to achieve both professional personal goals.

Jen Loescher

  • Subject: Math
  • School: Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
  • State: NV

Why did you want to be a Fellow or what is the best part of being a Fellow?

I wanted to be a Tuva Fellow because it is one of the only (or few) data literacy programs that reaches both students and teachers on their level to learn how to interpret and manipulate data-- going beyond the content.

Why do you think data literacy is important?

Data literacy is a growing platform that doesn't have existing support systems readily available. It is an area of statistics that is multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary.

Joann Purcell

  • Subject: Math
  • School: Downers Grove North High School
  • State: IL

Why did you want to be a Fellow or what is the best part of being a Fellow?

I wanted to be a fellow because I feel that I barely scratched the surface of what Tuva can do last year and I wanted to learn more about it.

Why do you think data literacy is important?

Data literacy is important because we are inundated with data everyday that we need to sort and make decisions about in order to function as competent adults. Training our students to be competent citizens is our job.

John Moore Van Dis

  • Subject: Science
  • School: Islesboro Central School
  • State: ME

Why did you want to be a Fellow or what is the best part of being a Fellow?

I want to be a Tuva Fellow to hone my own data literacy skills so I can better learn with my students. But, really, I just love Tuva and how much students enjoy messing about in data and want and to better know how to bring that joy and comfort with data in all classrooms and disciplines through using Tuva Labs.

Why do you think data literacy is important?

We live in a fast paced world with almost too much information at our fingertips. Our future depends on people making conscious, well reasoned decisions and I want to help today's students feel comfortable using and analyzing data to make those well-reasoned decisions. Students need be comfortably literate in data.

Karen Nee

  • Subject: Math & Social Studies
  • School: Essex Middle School
  • State: VT

Why did you want to be a Fellow or what is the best part of being a Fellow?

I wanted to be a Fellow because I know the importance of data literacy and believe that through discussion and work with other Fellows, we will all learn how to best support our students.

Why do you think data literacy is important?

Comprehension and effective use of data is a skill set that I am excited to teach my students because I know how important it will be in their lives. Using data is also an interesting and natural way to learn math concepts. Students learn best by doing the math and working on problems they are interested in. The flexibility of using relevant data sets is also very appealing.

Rebekah Sluss

  • Subject: Sciences
  • School: Weed High School
  • State: CA

Why did you want to be a Fellow or what is the best part of being a Fellow?

I wanted to be a Tuva Fellow because I have been a fan of Tuva since I first used it a few years ago. The Tuva activities I have done with my students have been meaningful and applicable to them. I am interested in learning more about using Tuva Labs with my students including how to upload and use student created data. I am looking forward to working with Tuva Fellows from across the country over the coming year.

Why do you think data literacy is important?

One of my goals as a teacher is to not only see students graduate but to become productive members of society. This entails them being thinking individuals who are able to look at information and data critically. I hope that they will gain the confidence to question information when appropriate and seek reliable sources of information. I think Tuva can help students see the stories that data can tell and also how stories can be changed based on how the data is presented.

Shannon Harris

  • Subject: Gateway to Technology: A Project Lead The Way
  • School: Sequoyah Middle School
  • State: OK

Why did you want to be a Fellow or what is the best part of being a Fellow?

I want to be a "Fellow" because I am passionate about technology and learning new things. I love to share my knowledge with others to help lighten the load for everyone. I see the practical application of what TuvaLabs has to offer and see it as a huge need in our curriculum and a fun, instantly relatable way for students to make sense of data.

Why do you think data literacy is important?

Data literacy is important because it surrounds us in our everyday lives. Understanding data makes the world more accessible; it opens doors for us that otherwise would not be available.

Shaun Gross

  • Subject: Math
  • School: Grants Pass High School, GPSD#7
  • State: OR

Why did you want to be a Fellow or what is the best part of being a Fellow?

I had been using TUVA with my High School students since the Fall of 2016 and saw great engagement and interest from them. The data sets were captivating and the online tool made it so easy for the students to explore and analyze the data without being bogged down with the “how to” create a specific graphical representation. The online and phone support for TUVA is outstanding. I remember when I first wanted to use TUVA in my classroom and had a few questions on how to go about this. I called and talked to someone named Harshil. He spent close to 30 minutes answering my questions and talking to me, helping me to get acquainted with TUVA. Well it turned out that I was talking to one of the co-founders of TUVA Labs, Harshil Parikh. When I found out about the opportunity to be a TUVA Fellow, it was a no-brainer for me to apply. I loved the online platform, the captivating data sets, the equity in the sense that all my students can easily access it, and most of all knowing that TUVA was developed by a group of people that truly have a vision to promote statistical literacy to our students and society.

Why do you think data literacy is important?

Having taught High School mathematics for more than 30 years, I can easily say that data literacy is one of the most important skill set we can give our students. The opportunity for students to explore a data set, create graphical representations, calculate numerical statistical summaries and justify their belief of what the data tells them is so important. Our society we live in, the world we live in, is permeated with data and now it is even more important to empower students with the skills and tools so they can address the many challenges and issues they will encounter in their lifetime.

Toni Barboza

  • Subject: 7th Grade Science
  • School: Sebasticook Valley Middle School
  • State: ME

Why did you want to be a Fellow or what is the best part of being a Fellow?

I wanted to be a Fellow to improve implementation of data literacy skills in my classroom. The best part of being a Fellow is being able to collaborate with other teachers and Tuva team members to customize software which benefits both teachers and students.

Why do you think data literacy is important?

Having data literacy skills provides my students with skills necessary in science class but it also allows them to be more active citizens. They can analyze, interpret and communicate better about the data around them by applying work we do in the classroom to data in everyday life. I hope that my students are driven by evidence from data in their adult lives.

Tyler Pulis

  • Subject: Math
  • School: Lakeview Secondary School
  • State: NC

Why did you want to be a Fellow or what is the best part of being a Fellow?

Tuva Labs has taken some of the best features of statistical software designed for student learning and made it accessible to a broader audience. I have consistently recommended Tuva Labs to other math teachers in informal and semi-formal settings and hope to see it become an integral part of mathematics education in my district, state, and beyond. Additionally, as all teachers are expected to provide “data-driven instruction,” I see Tuva Labs being a tool that can help all teachers collect and interpret their own data.

Why do you think data literacy is important?

Everything in our world is data and every decision is (or could be) based on data: from politics to medicine, education to social media, city planning to banking. Understanding and interpreting data are skills that are necessary for making decisions on a personal level and a societal level.