Noyce Scholar Profile
Alicia Davis
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Mathematics and Seconary Mathematics Education
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Mathematics, grade 8
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Master Teaching Fellow
Name of Noyce institution:
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Current academic or teaching status:
9 years teaching
School and school district:
Hastings Middle School, Hastings Public Schools
Background:
I am originally from Hastings, NE. I received my Bachelor’s degree from Hastings College and my Master’s from University of Nebraska-Kearney. I have been teaching at Hastings Middle School for 9 years. I enjoy college football and spending time with my kids.
Why do you want to teach:
I am an educator because I care deeply about my students and believe that I am effective in teaching them how to become strong mathematicians and good people. However, being an educator does not just stop with the students in my own classroom. I have a bigger sense of responsibility for education as a whole. I enjoy sharing my passion and experience as a teacher with those who are just entering the field of education. I take my role working with upcoming educators very seriously. While students learn a wealth of information in their education courses, there is nothing that can replace the hands-on training of a classroom setting. It is one thing to learn about something by reading about it or role-playing and an entirely different thing to see the same situation first-hand. I ask my college students many questions to provoke thinking about how they will transfer their experiences in my classroom to their own classroom.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
During a summer school class, one of my students who was known as one of the toughest students in our school looked at me and said, “Do you know you make math, like, fun?”
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
The Robert Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship would provide me with an opportunity to merge my strong mathematical knowledge with my leadership abilities. My passion is teaching, and I absolutely love what I do. I am not ready to leave my position as a classroom teacher, but I am eager to share my mathematical and pedagogical knowledge with other educators. I have held various leadership roles during my teaching career, each helping me develop specific leadership skills. I want to point these skills in the direction of my deep commitment to mathematics education in my district and beyond. With the coursework available to Noyce Fellows, I will sharpen both my leadership and mathematical ability. I envision myself utilizing this knowledge to expand my role in the mathematics instruction in the Hastings Public Schools. I would like to work with district leadership to improve instruction K-12. I would also like to become involved in helping teach courses for future teachers or current teachers. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has top-notch mathematics courses for educators, and I would like to assist in their vision to improve mathematics instruction across the state. The Robert Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship is an amazing opportunity that I would use to help me reach my full potential as a mathematics educator.
