Deborah Smith is currently a second grade teacher at the Woodcreek Elementary Magnet School for Math, Science and Engineering in Lansing, MI. Dr. Smith received her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Delaware in 1989. She was co-principal investigator for science on the Delaware Statewide Systemic Initiative, and was the author and, until she returned to the classroom, co-principal investigator on a five year, K-8, National Science Foundation grant for Teacher Retention and Renewal to the Lansing School District and Michigan State University. She facilitates two of the teacher professional learning communities for that grant. She has consulted for Project 2061, WestEd, Horizon Research, Annenberg CPB, and the Michigan Department of Education on matters of professional development, science standards, and curriculum analysis. While on the faculty at Michigan State University, her research investigated preservice teachers' science content understanding, and their conceptions of the nature of scientific work and of science teaching. Dr. Smith has published her research in such journals as the Journal of Research on Science Teaching, Teaching and Teacher Education, and The Journal of Science Teacher Education. She has received a Spencer Foundation postdoctoral fellowship and a Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning fellowship. Currently, she is a member of the National Academies Teacher Advisory Council.