Biography
Linda Knight
Earth Science Teacher
Houston, Texas
Dr. Knight received a B.A. in English Literature from Knox College (1965)
and then an M.A.T. in Earth Science (1970) and an Ed.D. in Science Education
from Indiana University (1975). She entered college intending to be an English
teacher but found her first geology course (taken to meet college requirements)
to be so interesting that she kept signing up for more geology courses. Eventually
she redirected her goals toward teaching earth science. Over her twenty-three
years of teaching in the public schools of both Indiana and Texas, Dr. Knight
has found that her English, Earth Science, and Teaching knowledge have blended
together to both enrich her teaching and support a variety of exciting career-related
projects. She has co-authored a widely-used Earth Science textbook, developed
a number of curricular units for her school district, and created topographic
landform models that are commerically available through Wards Scientific. She
has served as president for both the Texas Earth Science Teachers Association
and the National Earth Science Teacher Association, as well as serving as a
member of the Education Advisory committees for AGU and GSA. She created Earth
Focus, a student environmental journal (http://www.rice.edu/armadillo/Projects/Ecodillo/Earthfocus).
Distributed nationally, this journal offers middle and high school students
a means of publishing their own research and ideas about earth and environmental
topics. Dr. Knight has received a number of grants and won several awards, most
notably, the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching, the GSA's
Excellenece in Earth Science Teaching Award, and the Business Week Award for
Instructional Innovation. Dr. Knight is presently serving as co-director of
the Rice University/Houston ISD Model Science Lab, a middle school enhancement
program in the Houston Independent School District, Houston, Texas.
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