Marquita Smith Blades
Ed.D
GA, USDr. Marquita S. Blades is a self-proclaimed Recovering Mediocre Teacher who helps other teachers avoid the trappings of mediocrity caused by burnout, illness, and other life issues. For 16 years, Dr. Blades served as a STEM Educator, teaching high school Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and several other science electives. Her instructional priorities included problem- and inquiry-based learning initiatives coupled with the incorporation of technology in order to increase student engagement and promote independent learning and critical thinking. Dr. Blades earned a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies in Broad Field Science from Georgia State University, a Master of Science in Technical and Professional Communication from Southern Polytechnic State University, and a Doctor of Education in Instructional Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. Her passion not only includes providing valuable learning experiences for students, but enhancing the professional practices of teachers as well.
Dr. Blades' experience in education is not limited to the classroom. Dr. Blades has sponsored several extracurricular activities and worked closely developing relationships with parents by serving as a PTSA Parent Liaison. Dr. Blades has encouraged those entering the education field by supervising student teachers and mentoring new teachers. She has worked as a curriculum reviser and assessment writer for two of the largest public school districts in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Additionally, Dr. Blades has delivered professional development sessions for teachers at the building and district level, while serving as Professional Learning Facilitator.
Dr. Blades also has vast experience in the field of program/project management, having worked for the past 10 years as a Program Coordinator and Director for STEM career exploration programs for high-achieving high school students for two nationally-known summer enrichment programs. She has also served as a Director of Training, for one such program, a role in which she was responsible for designing the company's first training program for its summer staff. Dr. Blades has also worked as a consultant with one of the country's largest and oldest professional organizations for educators. In this role, she assists presenters with audience engagement and designing creative learning sessions for conference attendees. She is an Independent Education Consultant; who offers prescriptive solutions to learning institutions and individuals by offering professional development programs and curriculum & assessment development. Dr. Blades is the founder of The Mediocre Teacher Project; a program aimed at helping teachers combat burnout and improve effectiveness in the classroom through the use of their unique gifts and talents.
When she is not working, Dr. Blades enjoys traveling with her husband and spending time with family and friends.
Dr. Marquita S. Blades is a self-proclaimed Recovering Mediocre Teacher who helps other teachers avoid the trappings of mediocrity caused by burnout, illness, and other life issues. For 16 years, Dr. Blades served as a STEM Educator, teaching high school Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and several other science electives. Her instructional priorities included problem- and inquiry-based learning initiatives coupled with the incorporation of technology in order to increase student engagement and promote independent learning and critical thinking. Dr. Blades earned a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies in Broad Field Science from Georgia State University, a Master of Science in Technical and Professional Communication from Southern Polytechnic State University, and a Doctor of Education in Instructional Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. Her passion not only includes providing valuable learning experiences for students, but enhancing the professional practices of teachers as well.
Dr. Blades' experience in education is not limited to the classroom. Dr. Blades has sponsored several extracurricular activities and worked closely developing relationships with parents by serving as a PTSA Parent Liaison. Dr. Blades has encouraged those entering the education field by supervising student teachers and mentoring new teachers. She has worked as a curriculum reviser and assessment writer for two of the largest public school districts in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Additionally, Dr. Blades has delivered professional development sessions for teachers at the building and district level, while serving as Professional Learning Facilitator.
Dr. Blades also has vast experience in the field of program/project management, having worked for the past 10 years as a Program Coordinator and Director for STEM career exploration programs for high-achieving high school students for two nationally-known summer enrichment programs. She has also served as a Director of Training, for one such program, a role in which she was responsible for designing the company's first training program for its summer staff. Dr. Blades has also worked as a consultant with one of the country's largest and oldest professional organizations for educators. In this role, she assists presenters with audience engagement and designing creative learning sessions for conference attendees. She is an Independent Education Consultant; who offers prescriptive solutions to learning institutions and individuals by offering professional development programs and curriculum & assessment development. Dr. Blades is the founder of The Mediocre Teacher Project; a program aimed at helping teachers combat burnout and improve effectiveness in the classroom through the use of their unique gifts and talents.
When she is not working, Dr. Blades enjoys traveling with her husband and spending time with family and friends.
Battling Through Burnout
All NGSS, All the Time: NGSS-Aligned Formative Assessments
This engaging and interactive workshop will focus on the incorporation of
the Next Generation Science Standards into formative assessments to drive instruction. Most formative assessments focus on students' abilities to recall scientific facts.
Augmented Assessments: Using AR to Personalize Learning
Participants will learn to use
- Augmented Reality applications to differentiate and personalize learning for students.
- The presenter will model practical and effective...
You've Got the POWARR ©: A Collaborative Approach to Literacy and STEM
In this interactive workshop, participants will learn to incorporate literacy into any STEM lesson using the POWARR method© of predicting, observing, writing, analyzing, researching, and reporting. When challenged with inquiry-, problem-, or performance-based learning tasks, many students have trouble organizing the information gathered from research and data collected from experiments, in order to properly analyze and communicate the results of their...
Standards. Mastery. Proficiency. OH MY!
This workshop models practical and effective methods for using formative assessments to support standards-based instruction, the use of mastery checklist, and proficiency scales for personalized learning. Participants will walk away from this workshop with templates and applications that can be used immediately with the lesson plans they are currently implementing.
Workshop Length: 4 to 6 hours
Intended...
POWARRful Teaching Strategies for Science Courses
Sometimes it can be difficult to encourage movement and collaboration while maintaining the integrity of an upper-level science course. In this workshop, participants will learn several strategies and techniques that can be used to create an interactive science classroom that supports rigorous and relevant laboratory investigations, promotes the use of academic discourse, and reinforces the fundamentals of scientific inquiry.
Workshop...
