Noyce Scholar Profile
Kim Dinh
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Math and Psychology
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Mathematics, grades 6-12
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Master Teaching Fellow
Name of Noyce institution:
San Diego State University
Current academic or teaching status:
5 years
School and school district:
Health Sciences High and Middle College, San Diego Unified School District
Background:
I studied Math and Psychology at University of California San Diego (UCSD) and then went on to get my teaching credential and Master’s of Education at UCSD. From there, I have taught at a few different schools, including Southwest High School, Olympian High School, San Dieguito Academy, and am currently at Health Sciences High and Middle College.
Why do you want to teach:
I thoroughly enjoy the interactions I have with students and love to see them grow not only throughout an academic year but also throughout high school. To see a student start out as a freshmen and then see them grow to mature and enter the real world at graduation is such a gratifying experience. I love and enjoy teaching and learning about math and hope to spread my joy to my students. One of my main career goals is to push for more mathematicians, scientists, and engineers in our students, as I know our country is lacking in these fields.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
During my first year of teaching at Southwest High School, I taught a California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) course to students who had failed the math portion of the test. These students had struggled through math and certainly did not enjoy the content anymore. My job was to motivate and engage them in the content such that they would not only pass the test, but also be ready for college in the next year or two. As a large group of those students were seniors, when they graduated (thankfully having passed the CAHSEE), some of them came to hug me, thank me, and take pictures with me. They thanked me for helping them pass the test and for making math more enjoyable than in the past. As it was my first graduation as a teacher, it reminded me of why teaching could be so rewarding. I still remember that graduation, as that was my first group of students who had graduated. To this day, I still thoroughly enjoy seeing students graduate, hoping that I made some small, slight change in their lives and views of math.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
The Noyce program has already helped me to reflect upon my teaching and learning. Through collaboration and conversations among other Noyce fellows, I have already learned a lot and am hoping to learn much, much more. I realize that I have many opportunities to reflect and improve upon my practice through the Noyce program by observations, reflections, professional development, and videotaping. I hope to continue doing this and much more throughout the program to grow as much as possible.
