The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program

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Gina

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Noyce Scholar Profile

Gina McDonald

Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Masters of Arts in Teaching

Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Mathematics, grades 6-8

Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Fifth year or post-baccalaureate Noyce scholar

Name of Noyce institution:
University of North Carolina WIlmington/STAR Program

Current academic or teaching status:
Graduate Student

School and school district:
New Hanover County, NC

Background:

After I earned my undergraduate degree with a major in Psychology from Wells College, I continued my journey on deciding what I wanted to be when I grew up. I worked a variety of jobs and eventually ended up as a Teacher’s Assistant at a middle school. That’s when I decided that I wanted to teach, and so began my return to school to obtain my teaching certification.

Why do you want to teach:

I want to teach because it is one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. The students are incredible, and the ability to teach them new things to help them in the future is something I cherish. I had amazing math teachers growing up and hope to pay forward the experience they gave me. Math is a subject that many kids find boring or difficult, and my goal is to enlighten future generations to the fun that math can hold!

Describe a memorable teaching experience:

One memorable teaching experience I have had was when I was subbing for a 6th grade Special Education group of math students. I was trying to teach them a concept that they were not grasping, so I decided to try something silly that would hopefully make them connect to the content and get it! They all laughed at me, but I saw at least a few light bulbs go off over the heads of the kids. That was my first true experience of witnessing students have an “ah ha” moment, and I loved it!

What does the Noyce program mean to you:

This program has meant so much to me. It is allowing me to pursue my education full time, which means I will be in my own classroom sooner than I had expected! It is allowing me to follow my dream, and I’m excited about that!

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant Numbers DUE-2041597 and DUE-1548986. Any opinions, findings, interpretations, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of its authors and do not represent the views of the AAAS Board of Directors, the Council of AAAS, AAAS’ membership or the National Science Foundation.

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