Get to know 2021 Conference Co-Chair Claudio Vargas.
CASE is excited to introduce you to our wonderful 2021 Conference Co-Chairs.
Special Member Spotlight
Meet 2021 Conference Co-Chair: Jenny Chien
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hello everyone! I'm Jenny Chien, Principal of Casita Center in Vista Unified by day and curious mind all hours of the week. Coupling science and computer science is a huge passion of mine and I'm excited to be part of the conference committee to co-lead the journey! I've served as the Primary Director on the CASE Board, am currently serving on the board of the San Diego Computer Science Teachers Association, co-leading the Vista STEM Collaborative, and am a K-12 Alliance 6-year Early Implementer Initiative Core Leader Alum. I love building pedagogical capacities in educators and creating relevant, sense-making experiences for students as a lead learner.
What do you hope to achieve as a conference chair?
As co-chair of the 2021 CASE conference, I would love to see innovative and tried and true instructional approaches in integrating science and computer science. My hope is to gather all the great minds of educators to engage in making NGSS propel into the future with concepts and practices of computer science.
What was your highlight of the 2020 Conference?
The keynotes were amazing! I loved hearing about what is going on in Science Education through the equity lens and the workshops that followed were exceptionally unique! I appreciated how the workshops pivoted to virtual and helped to show what NGSS looked like remotely.
What are you most excited about for the 2021 conference?
Be ready for an experience. We hope to design a conference experience that will leave you wanting more and feeling supported with inspiration and tools.
Do you have any fun/funny conference experiences you would like to share?
I love seeing all the happenings in Twitterverse in our science community. I remember that after a year of finding inspiration from others, I felt like I knew people through their posts. One conference, I remember waving to people, and they did not wave back... it was just me thinking I 'knew' them IRL.
What is your favorite movie or book? Why?
One of my all time favorites is Tuesdays with Morrie. Such a great outlook and reminder of the fragility of life. I also love The Alchemy of Us. It is a great blend of humanities and materials science.
If you were to write an autobiography, what title would you choose for it and why?
The Musings of a Curious Mind.
What is the best thing about working with Claudio so far?
Claudio is extremely knowledgeable and thoughtful about his work. I love collaborating with him because he always finds a way to push my thinking forward or deeper. And one of the best sides to him, is his humor! You never expect it and it's always clever.