Noyce Scholar Profile
Kenric Davies
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Physics
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Physics, grades 9-12
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Noyce Scholar
Name of Noyce institution:
Texas A&M University
Current academic or teaching status:
2nd year Teaching
School and school district:
Sherman High School, Sherman ISD
Background:
I was a physics major who decided to join the ranks of teachers. Texas A&M University (TAMU) had a program known as aggieTEACH to help math and science majors get their teacher certification along with their degrees. I applied for the Noyce Scholarship for my senior year and received it during the first year of implementation of the Noyce Program at TAMU. Shortly after graduation, I received a teaching job at the high school in Sherman, TX.
Why do you want to teach:
During my first year, I taught Pre-AP and On Level Physics spanning grades 10-12. I will be entering my second year of teaching as the newly appointed Lead Teacher in Physics and will be teaching On Level, Pre-AP, and AP Physics B.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
The most memorable teaching experience was during the first weeks of my first year. We were studying motion graphs, and I needed a lab to help with understanding. I had instruments in my class such as motion detectors, but I didn’t have anything prepared for a lab so I created one. This was the first lab that I had created entirely from scratch with what I had in my classroom. The lab went over fairly well, but I picked up on some things that I will do differently this year. This experience reminds my that I might not have everything handed to me, and there will be things that I am going to have to create. Maybe the students will do well and maybe they won’t. If they don’t, I will have to learn from my mistakes and make the changes that I need for next year.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
The Noyce program has helped my pay for my education so now I am not in as much loan debt (I am within the amount that will be picked up by the federal government). More importantly, the Noyce program has continuously provided me with resources and contacts that have helped me in my first years of teaching.
