About the Team

SHARON DUMIT

Sharon Dumit has been an educator for over twenty years.  She and her husband have three children and have been foster parents. Mrs. Dumit has taught in Ohio, Connecticut, New York and Texas, and was a recipient of a grant from the Ohio Department of Education: Little Ones Learning to Love Language. She is an avid reader and collector of hundreds of children’s books. It is her passion to help children get excited about learning.

JEFFREY A. NOWAK, PhD

From 1994 to 1997, Jeff taught biology, chemistry, geology and physics at Columbus East High School in Columbus, IN. From 1997 to 1999, he was Associate Instructor of elementary science education at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. From 1999 to 2000, he taught middle school science and eighth grade gifted and talented (G&T) science program at Northside Middle School in Columbus, IN. He joined the School of Education at Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) in 2000 as a Visiting Instructor of elementary science education. Currently Professor of STEAM Education at PFW, he teaches EDUC Q200 Introduction to Scientific Inquiry, E328 Science Methods for Pre-service Elementary Teaching Majors, E548 Advanced Teaching of Science in the Elementary School for Teachers, and F500 – LEGO Robotics for Teachers.  Jeff is executive director of Northeast Indiana Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (NISTEM) Education Resource Center serving northeast Indiana (website). His research includes how to incorporate and utilize “best practice” technologies and inquiry-based instructional strategies in the preK-12 science classroom. He has also published peer-reviewed articles comparing full-day kindergarten to half-day kindergarten.

AMY NOWAK SWIERCZEK

From the time she first picked up a crayon, Amy began to draw–sometimes on the walls of the childhood home she shared with two of her siblings, Sharon and Jeff. Amy created the fun (FREE) coloring pages found on this website. She hopes you enjoy them!

Thanks for visiting, and remember…