Noyce Scholar Profile
Catherine Willwerth
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: B.S., Mathematics; MAT
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Mathematics, grade 9-12
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Master Teaching Fellow
Name of Noyce institution:
Boston University
Current academic or teaching status:
5 years teaching experience
School and school district:
City on a Hill Charter Public School
Background:
I majored in mathematics at Furman University. Upon graduation I spent one year working as a tutor at MATCH Charter High School in Boston. I decided I wanted to go into teaching and completed the MAT program at Duke University. I then returned to Boston and have spent the past five years teaching high school math at City on a Hill Public Charter School.
Why do you want to teach:
Every student in the United States should have access to a quality education. Possessing an education is empowering and opens doors to a wealth of academic and professional opportunities. As an educator, my passion lies in teaching students who come from a socioeconomic population that has been traditionally underserved. I want my students to learn how to be problem solvers and how to work with one another – skills that will serve them well in their lives beyond the classroom. I love the feeling of success that comes from figuring out a proof or other mathematical problem, and it is even more satisfying to witness students having these moments of discovery. Teaching is the place where my skills and interests intersect with the need for equitable educational opportunities for all
students.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
A memorable teaching experience I had was with a senior in pre-Calculus who had a self-proclaimed fear of mathematics. This student struggled at the beginning of the course and used, “I’m bad at math,” as an excuse not to think. However, as the year progressed, this student became determined to succeed. She spent countless hours working in my classroom after school and grew to be confident in her abilities. The way she thought about math began to change as she grew in her abilities to make conjectures and seek counterexamples to theorems rather than merely accept them as facts to be memorized. Her attitude shifted, and she began to acknowledge that she was good at doing math because she was learning so much from her consistent hard work. This stands out in my mind because it reminds me that in the right setting with the right motivation all students can be successful in mathematics.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
Through coursework at Boston University, I have learned a tremendous amount about how students learn mathematics. This knowledge has empowered me to become a more effective educator. Being part of the Noyce program has allowed me to become a member of a mathematical community where I am able to participate in professional development and learn from other math teachers and from professors. I look forward to continuing learning about effective ways to implement content specific professional development at my own school.
