Noyce Scholar Profile
Ashley Rawls
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Biological Science
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Biology, grades 9-12
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Noyce Scholar
Name of Noyce institution:
Florida State University FSU-Teach
Current academic or teaching status:
Senior
School and school district:
PACE Center for Girls/Leon Co. Schools
Background:
I am from Wellington, Florida. Since elementary school, I have wanted to be a teacher. Now, because of FSU-Teach my dream of teaching has become tangible. Also, I have played basketball since I was 7 years old, and I would like to help coach high school basketball.
Why do you want to teach:
My desire to teach began early in life when I found that showing someone how to do something successfully provided me with fulfillment and excitement. Through my teaching I want to have an impact on student lives and use my knowledge to give back to the community. Lastly, the one thing I love to do more than teach is learn! Teaching requires life-long learning so I will never get bored. As new technology, unearthed historical information, new data, and advanced strategies for teaching are identified, teachers are in the enviable position of utilizing or communicating this new-found knowledge to many others.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
I was teaching a lower level eighth-grade science class about chemical reactions. During the engagement, many of the students were lost and didn’t understand why a Mentos made the soda explode. Not until the exploration when the students were trying to find their own chemical reactions did they have their “light bulb moment” and understood why and how chemical reactions worked. This moment showed me how well the 5-E lesson plan worked. From then on, I have realized how well this type of teaching works with students.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
The Noyce program has been a huge blessing to me. My high school was a high-needs school and because of the environment, many teachers came and left every year. There were very few teachers who had any impact on students’ lives. When I heard about the Noyce program and what it had to offer I was thrilled. I want to be able to go back to a school like my high school and show students that teachers can have a positive impact in their lives and that teachers aren’t just there to fail them.
