2014 Master Teachers: Vicky Gorman

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Vicky Gorman is a seventh grade science teacher at Medford Memorial Middle School in Medford, New Jersey. Gaining her certification through the Alternate Route Program, Vicky brings experience to the classroom from her time as a Field Artillery Officer in the United States Army, as well as from her tenure as the Owner/Operator of an international horse business. Vicky graduated with a B.S. degree in Biology, though the majority of her post college education has focused on the Geosciences. She is the 2013 American Meteorological Society Distinguished K12 Educator, and in 2014, Vicky earned both the New Jersey and Eastern Region National Association of Geoscience Teachers/Geological Society of America Outstanding Earth Science Teacher Awards. 

Vicky has been recognized twice by the New Jersey State Governor for her excellence in education. The first time was in 2012 when Vicky’s students organized an aid campaign for middle school victims of tornadoes in three Midwestern communities. The second was in 2013. Vicky and her students won the $5000 Beneficial School Challenge by creating a Citizen Science Education Program (CSEP). The program has five facets, the most important of which is for middle schoolers to teach community members about various aspects of science. CSEP’s motto is “Students Making a Difference, Improving Scientific Literacy around the Globe.” 

Vicky is proud to be a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Steward candidate, and a member of the NOAA/NASA New Jersey GOES-R Education and Outreach Team.  She is GLOBE certified and was the program's March 2014 feature teacher. As an Earth Systems STEM Master Teacher, Vicky has traveled to Washington, D.C to brief at the National Science Foundation and the Wilson Center, as well as, to Madison, Boston, and Atlanta to brief various national organizations. 
This year in the classroom, the theme of all units and lessons is “connection to water.” This was inspired by a summer visit to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, but more importantly because of Vicky’s acceptance into the NASA GPM (Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory) Master Teacher Corps!