Marisha Plotnik
Educator and Researcher
Marisha Plotnik has been a member of The Nature Institute's board of directors since 2014 and has co-taught with Henrike Holdrege the institute's Mathematics Alive! workshops since 2012. She joined our staff half-time in September 2024 and transitioned to full-time in 2025. Her work with the Institute includes conducting courses, workshops, and mentoring, and well as composing written materials, both for a general audience and more directly targeting pre-service and in-service educators interested in deepening their practice of phenomena-based science and math instruction.
Marisha taught Physics and Mathematics at Waldorf schools for over 25 years. She has served as a visiting teacher, mentor, and consultant at Waldorf schools across the country, as well as offering courses and workshops to teachers in the USA and Europe. She is currently a core faculty member at the Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program in New Hampshire. Marisha brings with her administrative experience from serving as Upper School Chair, Chair of the College of Teachers, Board Member, and Finance Committee member at the Rudolf Steiner School in New York City. Marisha graduated from the Toronto Waldorf School, earned her Honors B.Sc. (Physics) from Trent University, her B.Ed. from the University of Western Ontario and her M.A. (Education Leadership) as a Klingenstein Fellow at Teachers College, Columbia University. She received her Waldorf High School Teaching Certificate (Mathematics) from the Center for Anthroposophy.
Publications
“Autumn Colors: Continuing a Study,” In Context #53, Spring 2025
“Teaching Toward an Understanding of Climate Change,” In Context #53, Spring 2025
2024 Article "Responding to Climate Change: The Earth as a Living Whole," Waldorf Research Bulletin, Volume XXIX
2011 Article “The Math Classroom: Where Diversity Matters,” Parents League Review, New York, New York
2010 “Professional Learning Communities,” Waldorf Research Bulletin, Volume XV, Number 1
2003 Essay “Chaos Theory: Description, not Prediction,” in Bartges, C., Lyons, N. (eds.). Educating as an Art: Essays on Waldorf Education. New York: Rudolf Steiner School.
2001 Research Project “Chaos: A New Main Lesson,” Association of Waldorf Schools of North America Publications