St. Francis teacher Peter Graven on his science and robotics job

Peter Graven, a science and robotics teacher at Deer Creek Intermediate School in the St. Francis School District, said his job focuses on big science and engineering ideas. That can involve modeling what’s really happening in the world; other times it involves diving into topics using blended learning strategies.

“It’s a balance of curiosity, creativity and helping students connect abstract ideas to real-world experiences,” he said.

His favorite science lesson to teach? All things geology, he says.

“When you really think about how dynamic Earth is, it’s mind-blowing. We’re spinning while revolving around the sun. The Atlantic Ocean is expanding more than two centimeters every year. Mount Everest gets a little taller annually. There are more than 50 earthquakes every day and countless active volcanoes. And that’s before you even get into rocks, fossils or astronomy, like the fact that the moon rotates and revolves around Earth at the same rate. Once students realize how alive our planet really is, their curiosity takes over,” Graven said.