The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program

NSF
NSF
  • Home
  • The Program
    • NSF Noyce Program Directors
    • NSF Noyce Program Solicitation
    • Consider Becoming an NSF Noyce Principal Investigator
    • Become a Noyce Scholar or Teacher Leader
      • Noyce Scholar Profiles
      • Noyce Alumni Profiles
    • Voices From the Field Videos
  • Project Locator
    • Select from Map
    • Advanced Search
    • Submit Information
  • In the News
    • In the News
  • Meetings
    • 2022 Noyce Summit
    • 2021 Noyce Summer Events
    • 2020 Virtual Noyce Summit
    • Archived Noyce Summit Materials
    • Noyce Regional Meetings
  • Resources
    • Noyce Track 4 Research Book
    • Proposal Preparation Toolkit
    • Noyce Project Videos
    • Noyce Summit Abstract Catalogs
    • Reports
    • Toolkits
    • ARISE Research Community
  • Contact

Sapna

RETURN TO SCHOLAR LIST

Noyce Scholar Profile

Sapna Patel

Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Science Education in Physics

Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: 10th grade Integrated Physics and Chemistry

Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Noyce Scholar

Name of Noyce institution:
University of Arizona

Current academic or teaching status:
3rd year teaching at a High School

School and school district:
Del Valle High School

Background:

I was born in Torrance, California and grew up in Kingman, Arizona. I attended the University of Arizona from 2004-2008 originally as an Astronomy and Physics major. After taking a single teaching course, I realized my passion. I changed my major to Science Education with a focus in Physics and never looked back. While in university I studied abroad for a summer and traveled all over Southern Europe and realized that I would want to live there some day. After graduating, I moved to Phoenix, Arizona and taught 9th grade Physics at Pinnacle High School of the Paradise Valley Unified School District. Not wanting to settle down just yet, I figured the only chance I had to move abroad was now after my first year teaching. I took a month long ESL teaching course in Prague, Czech Republic and received my CELTA certificate endorsed by the University of Cambridge. I taught English to adults in Prague for one year. I met my husband there and just recently moved back to the US in Austin, Tx where we just recently got married. I currently work at Del Valle High School and love it!

Why do you want to teach:

My father and grandfather were teachers so my family were always respecting the education profession. After taking my teaching course, I knew it was the right thing for me. I love sharing experiences and new ideas to students and seeing the light bulb dawn on their faces when they make a realization. We always have something new everyday and not many professions can say that. We are performers everyday!

Describe a memorable teaching experience:

There’s been quite a few but this experience is what comes to mind right now. Last year I started working at a very high needs school in Austin and was pretty intimidated by the students that went there. It’s known for the gang problems they’ve had in the past and there’s been a real clean up at the school the past couple of years. Of course, the first week of school some kids try to test you, and my week was no different. A group of kids that always wore purple shirts on the same day (clear sign of a gang) were in my class and they always talked back and had issues taking directions from a woman. He showed so much disrespect, I had no idea how to deal with him. We had a couple of meetings about his progress in school, because he would show moments of brilliance, and the rest of the time he didn’t do anything, literally. After one ridiculous day, I held him after class and had a heart to heart with him and yelled at him quite a bit and gave him a chance to explain himself- his goals, his dreams, his reality. He rolled his eyes, said that he was just going to drop out anyway and walked off leaving me thinking that I had just wasted my time. The change didn’t happen right away, but within the month I saw more progress on his work. He actually TRIED! He asked questions! He stopped giving me dirty looks every time I spoke to him! It was an amazing transformation and I never thought that would happen. He turned into a respectful gentleman and I have no idea if I had anything to do with it, but it meant a lot to me because another student was potentially prevented from quitting.

What does the Noyce program mean to you:

The Noyce program has given me some amazing experiences and opportunities that I never thought would have been possible. Attending the 2011 Western Regional Noyce Conference was inspiring and helped me get through a difficult year. Noyce has provided a network for me to connect with other teachers with the similar experiences and given us a chance to share ideas, stories, and memories. I just attended the NASA Noyce summer institute and that was yet another opportunity to meet, share, and discover new resources. I never thought these kind of opportunities were available to teachers. What a great surprise!

What’s New

  • 2023 Noyce Summit
  • 2022 Noyce Summit
  • Noyce by the Numbers: 20 Years of Noyce
  • Proposal Preparation Webinars
  • Frequently Asked Questions for the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program
  • Become a Noyce Scholar or Teacher Leader
  • Consider Becoming an NSF Noyce Principal Investigator
  • Noyce Alumni: Where Are They Now?

Check out our ARISE website for research & opportunities!

Checking In

NSF

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.

AAAS

The World's Largest General Scientific Society

  • About Noyce Program
  • AAAS ISEED
  • Subscribe to ARISE
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
© 2023 American Association for the Advancement of Science