APOPKA, Fla. — A+ Teacher Kristin Brown Steele has mastered the science of teaching science. She welcomes questions because she does not want to discourage her students’ natural curiosity.

As Steele circles her classroom to interact with her students at Wolf Lake Middle School, you can see them putting in the work.

Steele has been teaching for more than 21 years and says science is truly her passion.

She says, “Science is an adventure. You problem solve and you find solutions.”

That is exactly what she shows her students how to do.

“So the students right now are looking at weathering at different locations, which are landforms, the Grand Canyon. They’re looking at the different kinds of weathering like chemical, physical and biological.”

Steele admits the subject can be a challenge.

“Teaching science is difficult. The concepts are hard but if you make a way for the students to understand they’ll understand it right off the top, and you’ll see that aha moment when they get it,” she says.

Those moments, she says, make it all worth it.

“It’s great. It’s like, ‘Oh, I got it.’ Like, for example, one of my students got a hundred on one of his tests and he was so happy. He was smiling from ear to ear,” she said.

It is those smiles that motivate Steele to look for unique ways to make learning fun.

She says, “Each student learns in a different way. If it’s hands on, they can see it and have a conversation with the people at their table and they’re able to understand the concept of weathering a lot easier.”

For Steele, there is no other place she would rather be.