Director, Science Assessment
Dr. TJ Heck began her education career as a middle school science teacher on the sea islands of South Carolina in 2007. After involvement in several curriculum and assessment research and design projects, she led the development and implementation for Michigan’s NGSS-aligned state summative science assessment. TJ designs professional learning for science teachers, leaders, and researchers to develop science assessment tasks for state and district use.
TJ earned her Doctorate from Michigan State University in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education. Her passion for equitable education stems from her earliest teachers – her mother, a dance teacher and her father, a theatre professor. She attributes her love of science to a 6th grade teacher who ensured his students found beauty in the “messiness” of science.