Noyce Scholar Profile
Cullen Stevens
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Education
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Mathematics & Computer Science, grades 9-12
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Master Teaching Fellow
Name of Noyce institution:
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Current academic or teaching status:
10 years teaching
School and school district:
Southwest High School, Lincoln Public Schools
Background:
I am originally from Lincoln, NE. I received my bachelor’s degree from Adams State College and master’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I have been teaching for 10 years and am currently at Lincoln Southwest High School. I enjoy reading, spending time with family, and computers.
Why do you want to teach:
My goal is to help students face and defeat the struggles in life and in their classroom.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
There are often students who have given up. Instilling faith in those students is very rewarding. I recall helping a student who stated that she was done with math. After working together, she now believes that math is something she can do.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
My graduate studies did help me take the next step toward better instruction and implementation, but I have always felt the necessity to be a student for life. Each teacher needs to search out assistance to improve the design, purpose, and delivery of instruction. I personally surround myself with peers who not only challenge me, but have the strength to tell me that when I am wrong. I see no greater benefit to my educational growth than a continual push to study the nature of teaching and the complexity of the student. I began volunteering in classrooms when I was still in elementary school! In middle school, I began to study the classrooms of my father, my aunt, my cousin, and my teachers. As they continue to share their classroom challenges with me, this collaboration also allows me to be a part of each of their successes. I envision the Master Teaching Fellow coursework and group collaboration as not only allowing me to continue my own educational journey, but also assisting me in bringing others along through leadership, understanding, and deeper content knowledge.
