The award is a way for me to honor and celebrate all of the wonderful teachers who inspired me. Education is a legacy and it is our mission to inspire students as well as other teachers toward quality education on all levels. Good teachers are continually developing and sharing quality practice. In this service we dedicate so much time and energy, and this award is an affirmation that there are tangible rewards for all of our hard work and dedication.

Donald Pata Grosse Pointe Woods, MI | 7-12, Science, 2011

The official biography below was current at the time of the award.

Don Pata has taught physics at Grosse Pointe North High School for the past 13 years. Before that, he taught science and mathematics in Ghana in West Africa while serving in the Peace Corps. For the past 3 years, Don has also taught inquiry physics to physics teachers in area counties.  At his school, Don teaches all levels of physics, from conceptual to college preparatory to Advanced Placement. In addition, he serves as the Science Department Chairperson and is a member of the school’s Leadership Team. After school, Don is the faculty advisor for the district’s FIRST Robotics Team. Inquiry science is the pedagogy that Don uses in the classroom: having students learn science while doing science. He turned his enthusiasm for this methodology into a 4-week summer workshop where he trains physics teachers in the Modeling Method, an inquiry methodology for teaching high school physics.  Don has presented at many local, state, and national teaching conferences. He has also been published in The Physics Teacher magazine and the Michigan Science Teachers Association Journal. Don has a B.S. in biochemistry and an M.A in teaching from Wayne State University. In addition, he received inquiry physics training at Arizona State University. He is a certified physics and chemistry teacher. 

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