Nevin Katz is a teacher and curriculum developer who lives in Amherst, Massachusetts with his wife Melissa and son Jeremy.
Nevin majored in Biology at Swarthmore College and went on to earn his Master's in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He began developing curriculum as a student teacher in Roxbury, Massachusetts.
"Mr. Katz" has been teaching science over 6 years, in grades 6 through 11. He currently teaches Environmental Science and Physical Science at Ludlow High School in Ludlow, Massachusetts.
The following is an excerpt from a recent newspaper interview by Bob Dunn, Staff Writer for the Amherst Bulletin, published on July 27, 2007:
Remember when reading comics in class would get you in trouble? "Dr. Birdley" may change all that. Dr. Birdley is the creation of Amherst author, illustrator, and teacher Nevin Katz, who has designed a series of science books featuring Birdley, a tall, bespectacled, lab-coat-wearing bird. Birdley introduces and explains scientific concepts, like parts of the atom and physics, in an accessible and entertaining way.
Katz said that he considers himself both a cartoonist and curriculum developer. "They're equally prominent in my life," he said. Katz uses the Birdley books and lesson plans he's created in the classroom. There students not only absorb the material more easily because of the user-friendly presentation, but often it sparks their own creativity as well, and they'll sometimes create their own Birdley comics or, in the case of one student, Birdley-inspired music.
The visual medium also allows students of different reading abilities the ability to absorb the material at the same speed. "They can pair the words with the images and see how different images are related," he said.
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