When fifth-grade teacher Kerin Motsinger taught a unit on the circulatory system at Park View Elementary School in Glen Ellyn, she used red and blue tape to create a diagram of the heart on the classroom floor and had students walk through it to learn about blood flow. Creative lessons such as this have helped her students achieve strong results, often meeting or exceeding district expectations on end-of-the-year assessments. Ms. Motsinger works with each student to set goals, pays close attention to student progress and modifies her teaching strategies accordingly. She often uses her expertise in technology to engage students and help colleagues, from an online book club that classrooms around the country can access to a Web site she created and maintains for teachers. Each year she volunteers to attend the school's data retreat, where the teaching staff analyzes student test data and sets school goals for the coming year. The data on Ms. Motsinger reveals a creative, attentive and highly effective educator.
2012 2012 Lowell Milken Center Fellow
2005 M.Ed., Educational Psychology, University of Illinois
1995 B.S., Elementary Education, Illinois State University
