Noyce Scholar Profile
Yamily Colon
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Master of Arts in Math Teaching
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Mathematics, grades 10-12
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Master Teaching Fellow
Name of Noyce institution:
University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus
Current academic or teaching status:
5 years
School and school district:
Ramón Power & Giralt High School
Background:
I remember that since I was a little girl I loved Mathematics; therefore I became an accountant. But I also remember myself as a little girl watching my mother very carefully when she was teaching in her classroom and then going to my room and pretending I was my doll’s teacher. Now I understand that my passion for education was stronger than any bank-account that I was supposed to reconcile. That’s why I decided to finish early my bachelor degree in Business School in order to fulfill the requirements to obtain another degree in Secondary Education in Mathematics. Today one of my primary goals as a mathematics teacher is to live and share with my students and my colleagues my passion for education. This is my profession, and it will be with me every time and every where.
Why do you want to teach:
To me the essence of teaching is learning. I believe that I am a better teacher if I understand the richness and the complexity of the learning process. That’s why I share with my students my life experience and my knowledge by developing strategies that are in tune with the student’s environment and social reality. The passion that I feel for my vocation as a teacher allows me to encourage and support my students so they can develop the skills to think deeply, creatively and positively. That’s how they actually can learn to resolve a problem.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
Last year I had the opportunity to become a mentor of four of my students. They were participating in a project called: Yo soy un futuro empresario (I am a future business manager), an initiative of the Department of Education of Puerto Rico and the Department of Economic Development and Commerce of Puerto Rico. One of the objectives of this project was to promote leadership skills in the students since they had to create an imaginary company in order to compete with other students of the country. I am very proud to say that we won the second place with our design of a company dedicated to produce traffic lights powered by sun energy. I remember that for one of our students this was much more than a simple competition, it was actually a dream. Every time that we had any logistics difficulties he always was very optimistic. His ability to speak, his performance during the presentation, and his positive attitude definitively helped him to captivate the attention of the jury. I was very proud of my students especially of this student who was truly a winner.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
This is an excellent opportunity to expand my knowledge of the mathematics field and to share my experience with other teachers.
