Noyce Scholar Profile
Brendan Trache
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Environmental Studies
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Earth Science, grade 8; Life Science, grade 7
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Fifth year or post-baccalaureate Noyce scholar
Name of Noyce institution:
Virginia Commonwealth University
Current academic or teaching status:
M.S. in Biology
School and school district:
Lucille Brown Middle School, Richmond, VA
Background:
I have a research heavy background which led to a Master’s degree in Biology. I’ve entered the Richmond Teacher Residency Program at Virginia Commonwealth and haven’t looked back.
Why do you want to teach:
I want to teach to give back to the community but also like to hang out with kids and talk about science.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
We were teaching our students about maps. Fortunately, we had handheld GPS units and designed an activity around them. Students completed a scavenger hunt around the schoolyard looking for items based on latitude and longitude coordinates. A lot of our kids who are ordinarily disengaged in the classroom really got excited about the hands on application of the GPS units.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
It’s a great opportunity to connect with like-minded teachers in training. I’ve also learned a lot about avenues to obtain crucial resources. The financial support is nice too.
