Einstein Fellow Houtz Joins Summit to Improve Education

Credit: The Triangle Coalition

Barbara Houtz, Director of Outreach at Penn State's Eberly College of Science and an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow recently joined more than 80 current and former Fellows for a 20th Anniversary Summit, sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Houtz is one of only two Einstein Fellows from Pennsylvania.

The summit included guest speakers from the White House, federal agencies, national education organizations, and Congress. Houtz and other conference attendees generated recommendations for informing and improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

Following her Einstein Fellowship in 2005, Houtz was appointed as a science-education consultant to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to monitor science-education outreach programs. She has written two books about science teaching: Teaching Science Today for new elementary and middle-school teachers, and Science Strategies Notebook for K-12 science teachers. She teaches a graduate course on science teaching methods for the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences Graduate School at the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education. She is on the planning committee for National Lab Day and frequently advises federal committees, agencies, and international entities on K-16 STEM education policy issues.

Houtz holds Bachelor of Science degrees from Penn State in both microbiology and secondary education/biology. She also holds a Master of Education degree from the University of Phoenix in Curriculum and Technology.

For 20 years, the Einstein Fellowship program has offered K-12 STEM educators with demonstrated excellence in teaching the opportunity to spend a school year examining and helping to improve national public policy. With their extensive classroom knowledge, experience, and credentials, Einstein Fellows provide practical insights and "real world" perspectives to policymakers and program directors who develop and manage educational programs.