Noyce Scholar Profile
Morgan Olson
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Master of Arts in Teaching Secondary Science Education
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: 9th-12th All-Science
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Fifth year or post-baccalaureate Noyce scholar
Name of Noyce institution:
University of Iowa
Current academic or teaching status:
2nd year Master's student
School and school district:
Lone Tree Middle School, Lone Tree Community School District
Background:
I graduated from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa with a Psychology, B.S. after three years of undergraduate studies. After Iowa State University I attended the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa and received a Science Education, B.S. After receiving my Science Education, B.S. I decided that getting my Master’s degree would be a good option; I am currently going into my second and last year of my Master’s of Arts in Teaching Secondary Science Education program at the University of Iowa.
Why do you want to teach:
The main reason why I want to teach is to make a difference in the lives of the youth and to show them that science can be fun. I want to be able to provide students with learning experiences and positive relationships that will push them to reach their full potential and to not sink down into possible bad alternatives. I believe that I can bring positivity and optimism to the teaching profession, and that I can push people to be their best and succeed in school as well as life in general. I am patient and can help students through problems they are facing with material and in their personal lives. I can face the daily challenges that occur as a teacher such as diversity, ethics, religion, and students being at different cognitive levels of learning. I can be a teacher that doesn’t just present the students with the material, have them write it down, and memorize it but rather one that facilitates learning by involving the students in every process of my teaching. I know I will be a good teacher because I have the proper background and the ability to make a change in students’ lives.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
A memorable teaching experience for me is from my practicum classroom last semester. I was teaching Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion to a class of sixth-graders using multiple strategies that I have learned in my previous education classes, including inquiry and hands-on experiences. On the second day of teaching my lesson I asked the students if they could recall Newton’s Laws that we had discussed the day prior, and nearly all of the students knew the Laws and could tell me what ‘experiments’ with the Laws we had done on the first day of the lesson. This made me so proud and really quite exhilarated because I realized that I can get through to students and make learning meaningful. That experience will be forever in the back of my mind, especially on those days I have doubts about whether or not I can get through to my students.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
The Noyce program has provided me with opportunities that I most likely would not have been provided if I hadn’t received the scholarship last academic year. First of all, the Noyce program took a huge weight off of my shoulders; receiving my $10,000 scholarship last academic year meant that I could breathe for a year and not have to worry about working fourty hours a week to make enough money to put into savings that would eventually go toward my student loans. Second, the Noyce program provided me with a science mentor from a local high school. My mentor was so insightful and gave me a glimpse into what I should and should not stress when it comes time to teach. She provided me with answers to important questions that most pre-service teachers have, and helped me feel even more ready to be in a school teaching in my own science classroom.
