Who is behind Science with Mrs. Lau?
We are an independent curriculum and teacher resource company dedicated to helping teachers teach rich science content. Science with Mrs. Lau (SWML) was founded in 2014 by Bethany Lau, a science teacher and author who studied biology and genetics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Bethany Lau is the founder of Science with Mrs. Lau, a leading independent science curriculum company specializing in illustrated resources for high school science teachers. She is a science teacher, illustrator, and writer with over 15 years experience of teaching and mentoring students and other teachers in science, robotics, and mathematics. Bethany is known as one of the most innovative science educational resource writers and her resources are used in over 60 countries. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and two small children.
What is our mission?
We strive to create resources that help students understand science on a deeper level. We strongly believe that science educators should encourage students to ask deeper questions about their natural world, not memorize a bunch of terms and facts. Each and every resource is meant to push students to explore the scientific concept beyond the surface level. Each and every resource we create are full of meaningful examples, scaffolded practice, and purposeful and beautiful illustrations designed to enhance learning. None of our resources are designed to be “filler activities”; science teaching time is precious. Activities are designed to enhance learning, never to fill time.We believe science education should be designed to reach everyone, no matter the ability or learning style of the student. The differentiated resources we develop help teachers pick out and use the best resources to meet their students’ needs.
What is Bethany's teaching style?
I like to do a hands-on simulation or lab activity as often as possible. I also like to give my students a lot of diagrams and images to take notes on and to mark-up. Â I think a lot of students fall through the cracks, because their note-taking skills and drawing skills hold them back in class. They spend too much time in class copying notes (or attempting to) and they don't have time in class to truly absorb and think deeply about the material. I have always struggled with note-taking myself. As a student I thrived when I had a diagram in front of me, a diagram that I didn't have to draw. I can't draw a thing by hand, but my Adobe Illustrator skills make it possible for me to digitally draw and create diagrams, print them out, and copy for all of my students to use!
Does Science with Mrs. Lau take custom requests?
Yes... sort of! If a teacher emails me (bethany at scienceandmathwithmrslau.com) and asks me to design a lesson for a particular topic, I put it on my long list of ideas and get to it when I can and when I get inspired about that particular topic.
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