NOYCE SCHOLARS INVITED BACK TO DELIVER PRESENTATION AT NOYCE SCHOLARSHIP CONFERENCE IN BOSTON
On October 12, three former Noyce Scholars from UMass Dartmouth will give an encore performance of their presentation “Survival Guide for the First-Year Teacher” at the second annual Noyce Northeast Regional Conference in Boston. “Survival Guide” received such rave reviews at the inaugural event that conference organizers have invited its presenters back for a second time.
The conference, which will be held at the Boston Marriott Cambridge on October 11-13, brings together students, teachers, and directors from the over 44 Noyce programs in the Northeast region for networking and discussion. This year’s theme is “Learning from Each Other for Excellent STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math] Teaching in High-Need Schools.” The Robert Noyce Scholarship is given to students in the STEM fields who plan on teaching in high-need schools, such as in Fall River or New Bedford.
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| Noyce Scholars Michelle Pound, Kate McDermott, and Jimmy Knuuttila at the 2011 Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Conference in Washington, D.C. |
In High Demand
This will be the fourth time in total that James Knuuttila, Kate McDermott, and Michelle Pound will give this particular presentation. In the spring of both 2011 and 2012, they presented to educators from across the country at the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Conference in Washington, D.C.
Knuuttila recognizes the value of the presentation, both to the audience and to the presenters themselves. "When we made this presentation, we forever captured the anxiety first-year teachers go through from our own experiences. We use this workshop to remind ourselves where we come from and how we can help teachers survive in this much-needed profession."
All three presenters graduated in 2010 as part of the first cohort of Noyce Scholars from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Knuuttila is currently teaching high school mathematics at Ayer/Shirley Regional High School, McDermott is teaching 7th grade mathematics at Central Middle School in Quincy, and Pound has recently moved to California to pursue teaching opportunities there.
Noyce Scholarship Program Coordinator Kym Welty is ecstatic about their success. "I'm very proud of these Noyce Scholars for being invited to present this workshop for a second time at the Noyce NorthEast Regional Conference. All three of them have been in the shoes of a first-year teacher and have important advice for those just beginning their careers in the classroom.”
Regarding UMD’s Noyce program as a whole, Welty adds, “I'm also very proud of all of the UMass Dartmouth Noyce Scholars for choosing to enter the teaching profession and working to make a difference in students’ lives. These are talented, gifted young people, with strong backgrounds in - and passion for - math or science, who want to share that knowledge with others."
In Good Company
In addition to the presentation of “Survival Guide,” keynote speakers at the conference will include:
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Dr. Pendred Noyce, daughter of the late Robert Noyce.
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Dr. Raj Chetty, a Harvard economist whose study confirmed the importance of teachers in students’ lives.
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Arthur Eisenkraft, Director of the UMass Boston Center of Science and Math.
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Rebecca Grella, a high school chemistry teacher who made national news last spring for helping a homeless student reach the semi-finals of the Intel Science Talent Search.
More information about the conference can be found at www.noycenortheast.org.
Inspiring Students
The Noyce Scholarship program was created by the National Science Foundation in 2002 to recruit students majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math to teach in high-need middle and high schools. At UMass Dartmouth, it offers undergraduates a $10,000 scholarship to complete their degree, and an additional $19,000 post-baccalaureate scholarship to earn their initial Massachusetts Teacher License. Noyce Scholars are placed in classrooms as apprentices for a year before teaching a class of their own.
