Noyce Scholar Profile
Jacquelyn Namer
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: MAT
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Secondary Science Education
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Master Teaching Fellow
Name of Noyce institution:
Georgia State University
Current academic or teaching status:
First Year Master
School and school district:
Duluth Middle School, Gwinnett County
Background:
From elementary school experiences all the way to Research Experience for Undergraduates I have loved finding connections between science and the amazing natural world around me. I studied biology at Ga Tech for my undergraduate degree. While at Ga Tech, I was involved with research in Biologically Inspired Design. After Ga Tech I worked for Dekalb Academy of Technology and Environment as a substitute teacher and after care program teacher. My main focus was science in the aftercare program, and I planned lessons that allowed students to interact with science.
Why do you want to teach:
I want to teach because I have enough enthusiasm about science to be able to share it with many others! I have a special place in my heart for adolescents, and I know that high school is a very impactful time in most people’s lives. I want to take my love for science and use it to find new ways to approach the subject with students so that they can take important skills out of my classroom whether or not they care about science itself.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
I was teaching the periodic table in an 8th grade physical science class. We were working on an “alien periodic table” project, and the students had to organize aliens into a logical periodic table. One student asked, “What does this have to do with science?” From here, I had a chance to tell them a little about the nature of science and how scientists gather or observe information that they have to make sense out of. Explaining this to them gave them the motivation to look for trends and to put the table together. I want to teach science to motivate students to think outside of the box and to allow even non-scientists to catch a glimpse of what the discipline is all about. That particular experience showed me I was in the right place!
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
The Noyce program has given me the opportunity to take the excitement and enthusiasm I have for teaching and apply new knowledge and skills about the profession to ensure that I can reach the age group I will teach. The program is allowing me to make sure I am as effective and relevant in my teaching as I am passionate about teaching.
