Meet Elise Naramore: An Educator Committed to Change
Welcome!
Hello, and welcome to my corner of the education world! My name is Elise Naramore, and I’ve been a high school science teacher, primarily in physics, since 1991—yes, that long! Even after 34 years in the classroom, I continue to find immense joy and purpose in my work. Teaching is more than just a job; it’s a core part of who I am. One of the most incredible aspects of teaching is that it’s never boring. Sure, it’s often frustrating, overwhelming, and never-ending, especially during the hectic scramble to finish the curriculum, address the concerns of anxious students (and their parents), and keep everything on track.
Yet, amidst the chaos, I find myself continuously learning, growing, and—most importantly—enjoying the kids even more as the years go by. I want to take this opportunity to (re)introduce myself thoroughly to you. It’s important that you know who I am, what shaped me, and what I bring to the table. So bear with me as I provide some autobiographical details; I think it will deepen your understanding of where I come from and why I am doing this.
I grew up in northern New Jersey, near the border of New York. I have lived and worked in NJ almost my entire life. I was fortunate to have supportive parents, a close group of friends, and mentors who guided me on my path.
Pivotal Influence: #1
A pivotal influence during my high school years was Mr. Ross, a history teacher whose appearance and demeanor resembled a grumpy Santa Claus. We had him in 9th, 11th, and 12th grades. (It was a small school!) He’d sit in his chair, tilted back a bit, holding a pointer, and drone on about Thomas Jefferson or Alexander Hamilton.
Despite his monotonous delivery, Mr. Ross challenged us with assignments called “Topic Papers” that required analyzing original historical documents without any guidance on how to approach these analyses. Initially, I struggled with these assignments, consistently earning mediocre grades marked by the word “Perfunctory.” But one day, it clicked.
He wanted us to THINK about it, tie it to something current or past, something in our lives or that we’d learned in class.
Once it clicked, I was so excited. Knowing facts is not enough; he wanted us to think critically and make connections to broader historical or contemporary issues. This lesson in critical thinking was profound and has stayed with me ever since.
College
My post-secondary educational path was tumultuous. I started at Carnegie Mellon University as a Chemical Engineering major but eventually realized it was not for me.
After a brief period of waiting tables, I transferred to Rutgers University, switching my major to Biochemistry. But I didn’t like that either, not at all. So, giving up on STEM, I switched to Art History—a field I was passionate about despite its practical limitations.
After earning my BA, I spent a brief interlude at a local school taking Fine Arts classes just for fun. During this time, I also started working at The Princeton Review, where I discovered my knack for and interest in teaching.
Why I became a Teacher
There were three key factors that led me to teaching: it was in my family (my mom was, and still is, an educator), my part-time job with The Princeton Review showed me both that I liked and was good at teaching, and (laughably, in retrospect) I thought that teachers have “lots of time off” (so I could continue painting and sculpting).
By 1992, I was an alternate route teacher with 2½ years of engineering and science coursework, but a BA in Art History and a love of the creative arts. With both fine arts and general science certificates, I landed my first job teaching Earth Science and Physics, neither of which I knew much about.
When I began, I was, like most new teachers, merely mimicking what I had experienced: information dump so kids could take notes, practice with worksheets, and then test. I knew I was supposed to do activities, but I was very intimidated by that, since I had such limited personal experience with lab work.
Pivotal Influence #2
There were two people who really shaped me as a teacher. At my first teaching job, the district partnered with New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) for a one-on-one mentoring program.
Once a month, Dr. Gautreau taught me the modeling approach to physics, helped me plan units, and walked me through experiments.
It opened my eyes to the creativity of teaching, as well as the slow building blocks needed to bring kids to more complexity. Later, he hired me to teach a pre-college summer program at NJIT. I was so lucky to have his guidance at that early stage of my career!
Pivotal Influence #3
In my second job, I was hired by a new supervisor of science named Borislaw Bilash. As a frequent demo show presenter, he took me under his wing, enlisting me as an assistant in his shows and effectively teaching me how to present. (If you are a science teacher, you should look up his YouTube videos and his books (Demo A Day) and Physics Lab kits.
Borislaw is smart, hard-working, and as big a nerd as you could ever meet. (I mean that affectionately!) I can listen to him talk for hours about his hobbies (numerous and varied), but especially about teaching. While our paths diverged, each moving on to different schools, we continued to collaborate on presentations and assessments. We actually work in the same district again, but at different schools. I call him regularly to pick his brain.
As an alternate route teacher, I had never learned educational theory. To fill this gap, I got my master’s degree at Teachers College at Columbia University, finishing in the mid-1990s. My master’s thesis was on design projects. I still remember coding those interviews. My apartment was covered with post-it notes! I really enjoyed those days (and needed the pay raise that went along with the degree).
The formal education as well as my mentors not only improved my teaching techniques but also helped me overcome my inherent reserve.
Finding my path
Shortly after that, I taught for two years at the American School of Durango in Mexico, where I was the math and science teacher for grades 10–12. I loved living and teaching abroad, but I was brought home earlier than expected: a tumultuous time for me personally, with the death of my father, birth of my son, and a wobbly marriage.
I got a new job back home in NJ and worked there for nine years. I then switched districts one last time, to where I am now, 16 years later.
As I encountered various mentors, earned my master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, and gained experience as a teacher and mother, I improved at engaging my classes.
I tried every new thing I encountered: cooperative learning, inquiry method, Project-Based Learning, etc. I went to conferences to see what others were working on. Along the way, I became skilled at making rubrics to assess those labs and projects. In 2012, Borislaw told me about this new technique he had implemented: the flipped classroom. I immediately loved the idea, took an online course, and began to put it into action.
Growth and Shifting Perspectives
For all the success I was having with these strategies, I was still searching for ways to address differentiation, inclusion, and students’ near-obsessive focus on grades. About 10 years ago, my colleague and I were frustrated about the endless talk of grades as well as a perceived lack of student initiative and self-awareness.
We began experimenting with Standards-Based Grading, seeing interesting results, then further developing it into the Learning Progression Model. We documented this transformation in the book we later published, Going Gradeless.
I see myself as a student in the role of teacher. I have learned not only from formal schooling but also in these rich interactions with people in my work and home life.
I fell into this career sideways, but I love it. It motivates me. I am curious about all the things that make education worthwhile and good. I keep meeting people who shift my perspective. But most importantly, the students keep me on my toes. Sometimes I think I am the expert, that after more than 30 years in the classroom, nothing can possibly be novel. Happily, the students show me that I’m wrong on a daily basis.
Current Projects
When I’m not teaching, I’m involved in a variety of projects. One major endeavor has been my recently published book on assessment, The Learning Progression Model, which has been a labor of love (and no little bit of anxiety). You can read about the details in this post from August.
I’m also deeply engaged in educational initiatives like KidWind, Clean Energy Fellows, and STEP UP NYC, as well as contributing to National Science Teacher Association conferences. And now I have begun coursework towards my doctorate at University of Florida at Gainesville, which I hope will improve the quality and significance of my research.
It’s all great stuff, but balancing all these commitments while maintaining my sanity is a constant challenge. But I know that creating a structured routine, without sacrificing the things that keep me grounded—like exercise, meditation, and time with loved ones—is key to managing it all.
My family means the world to me. My mother still lives nearby, and I visit her often. My son is currently deployed with the Army National Guard, and my daughter recently returned home from studying abroad and traveling in Asia. I’m incredibly proud of them both, and I’m fortunate to have a supportive and patient husband, along with our cat and dog, who keep me company while I work. I am both happy and grateful for all that life has brought me.
Conclusion
While this website has existed for several years, there have been ups and downs to my publishing.
What you can expect: I’m going to do my best to add at least one new one each month for this next academic year, in the hopes of engaging more people in conversation. If you sign up for the newsletter, I will send one out when something new is posted.
A little sample of what I am working on: What is Assessment for Learning?, How we misunderstand each other and how to fix it, How to build an Equitable Classroom, Revisiting Content vs. Practice, Do Rubrics Stifle Creativity?, Using Learning Progressions for Advanced Placement Classes, and much more.
Please browse past articles, as they are all still relevant. I think you will especially like these: Target Levels, Grade Translations, and Creativity.
I’m excited to share my experiences, ideas, and insights with you, and I look forward to connecting with fellow educators, learners, and anyone passionate about making a difference in the world of education. I hope you will get in touch personally to introduce yourself. Let me know your thoughts about your own educational journey.
Here’s to the 2024–2025 school year!
Warm regards,
Elise Naramore
