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Upon completion of the MST and GTEP programs I intend to teach integrated science at the middle school level, and do my part to get as many students as possible hooked on discovery.
"To a wise man all the earth is open, for the whole cosmos is the native land of a good soul."
Democritus
Jennifer Johnson-Griffith
Hi, my name is Jennifer Johnson-Griffith. I am excited and privileged to be a part of the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program. In 2005, I graduated from University of Oregon with a BS in General Science. In the past three years I held jobs in a pathology and an analytical testing laboratory. Both experiences taught me many things and fostered my interest in science, and ultimately led me to the conclusion that my true passion was teaching. Over the last two years I have volunteered with Big Sister and at an ILP Spring Break camp for foster youth. These experiences helped me see that teaching is an area where I can use my love and knowledge of science to make a difference in the lives of young people.
I plan to teach Biology and integrated sciences at the high school level. My MST research will ask how service-learning can reduce the achievement gap between students of low socioeconomic status and students not of low socioeconomic status. My motivation for being involved in the Noyce program comes from my love of science and my hope to bring that passion to students, regardless of their background. I believe that all children should be given an equal opportunity for education, and believe that the Noyce Scholarship Program supports that belief.
"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."
Sir Winston Churchill
Adela Genoves
Hello, my name is Adela Genoves. I received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with an emphasis in Environmental Studies from Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. While in school, I worked at the Salt Lake City Public Library system as the Young Adult Librarian. In 2006, I completed an internship with Utah Rivers Council. And, most recently, I finished a year assignment with Americorps as the Community Volunteer Coordinator for the City of Gresham's Parks & Recreation Division.
My motivation for wishing to teach comes from a belief that all students should receive a quality education before graduating from high school. The high school experience should provide students with the skills and confidence to be participants of society and successful college students. In addition, I hope to research ways in which students from diverse backgrounds can be educated in science through systems that encourages them to observe, formulate questions and learn from natural phenomenon.
"He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever."
Chinese proverb
Eric Scheuering
My name is Eric Scheuering and I received my bachelor's degree in Environmental Biology from the University of Montana in 1992. I began my career as a field biologist, working on a variety of research and monitoring projects primarily focused on avian ecology and management. I currently work for the Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center and specialize in the status and distribution of rare, threatened and endangered species.
I plan on teaching middle school science or high school environmental science. My research interests include the history of science and the influence of technology on the field. I am also interested in restoration ecology, particularly in urban environments, as well as issues related to transportation and food production systems. I was drawn to the Noyce program because of the opportunity to learn how I might use inquiry-based learning to engage students in citizen science and for the opportunity to share my curiosity in the natural world.
"The secret of Zen is just two words - not always so."
Shunryu Suzuki
Jessica Foster
My name is Jessica Foster and I have a Bachelor of Arts from Reed College. While at Reed I was an instructor in their biology outreach program. After graduating, I worked as the program director. Over the past two years I have worked at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
Currently, I aspire to become an integrated science teacher at the middle and high school levels, while later adding a biology endorsement to my future teaching credentials. Her research interests include examining what kinds of science teaching methods work best for students with learning disabilities and/or for gifted and talented students. Participating in the Noyce program gives me an excellent opportunity to not only obtain my initial Oregon state teaching credentials, but also to obtain a Masters in Science Teaching. I hope to become a highly-qualified science teacher and finally have a chance to do what I love (teaching and science) and to work with students on improving their science education experience.
"There is a great danger in the present day lest science- teaching should degenerate into the accumulation of disconnected facts and unexplained formulae, which burden the memory without cultivating the understanding."
J. D. Everett [In the preface to his 1873 English translation of Elementary Treatise on Natural Philosophy by A Privat Deschanel. (D. Appleton and Co.)]
Julie Querido
My name is Julie Querido, and I have volunteered in both Head Start and Title-I schools for the last fifteen years where I have run small groups, acted as a teacher's aid, and taught art literacy. I have also volunteered through English for Speakers of Other Languages tutoring in English, as well as teaching computer skills and programs. I was chosen by Portland Parks & Recreation Natural Resource Program, to follow through on my Water in the Environment final study. In the process, I wrote a watershed grant, which was then funded, and completed the restoration work to the riparian zone of Stephens Creek. I hold a Bachelor of Science from Portland State University in General Sciences.
I am now working towards my Masters in Science Teaching and I look forward to teaching 5th grade students, just as their schoolwork becomes truly academic, and working to help them stay interested in math and science. I am interested in researching how we can make math and science exciting and tangible so that students of all cultures and levels can learn in an interactive environment, grasp concepts readily, and retain their new information and vocabulary for future reference. I feel fortunate to be a part of the Noyce program as its goals are a perfect match to my passion for an inquiry based approach to science.
"Learn science by doing science"
Carol Stalzer
Morgan Mulkey
My name is Morgan Mulkey. Prior to going back to school, I worked as an instructor and advisor at a career college in Portland, OR. It was this job that piqued my interest in teaching and pursuing a future in education. I have a Bachelor of Science in Health and Human Science from Oregon State University.
I am planning on teaching science at the middle school level. My research interests pertain to comparing different forms of alternative assessment. My motivation for participating in the Noyce program is that I see a need for science teachers to create a more exciting and stimulating classroom environment and also for teachers to be involved in conducting scientific investigations themselves.
"Science is an imaginative adventure of the mind seeking truth in a world of mystery."
Sir Cyril Herman Hinshelwood (1897-1967) English chemist. Nobel prize 1956
Secret Belanger
My name is Secret Belanger and I have my Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Oregon State University. I chose zoology for my major as I had always been interested in science in general and animals in particular. By the time I graduated from OSU, I had decided that certain aspects of being a scientist, such as grant writing and spending hours in the lab, were not for me. My interest in travel and learning about other cultures led me to spend seven years teaching English in Japan, three years working at a private school and four years in public schools. Answering the call to help those in need, I also joined the Peace Corps and drew on my science background and teaching experience to teach biology to high school students for two years in Ghana, West Africa.
I am interested in teaching biology to high school students. I hope to spark curiosity and wonder in my students at the diversity and inner workings of life all around us. Although I am still in the process of developing a research question, I would like to determine how involving topics relevant to the lives of my students into the biology curriculum will affect their ability to learn and understand the material presented in class. I am also interested in studying how culture affects learning styles in order to better understand how to effectively instruct a classroom of students from multi-cultural backgrounds. I became intrigued by the Noyce Program once I learned of the training offered in working with bilingual and underrepresented student populations. I also agree with the goal of the Noyce Program to incorporate more student-centered scientific inquiry and technology into classrooms.
"The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery."
Mark VanDoren, Columbia University
Sue Peters
My name is Sue Peters. I hold a BS in Marine Biology and am a graduate of the Master's in Science Teaching program at PSU's Center for Science Education. I bring professional experience in natural science and informal education to the Noyce Program. Most recently, I served as Program Coordinator for Oregon MESA, a pre-college academic program that engages youth in inquiry-based math, science, and engineering projects. I was drawn to the Noyce Program because I see the importance of using research to inform my own practice as a teacher.
In my pursuit of licensure as a middle school science teacher, I will be student teaching at daVinci Arts Middle School in Portland. Early adolescence is a critical time to engage students in science, so that they maintain interest and motivation toward science into their adult lives. For that reason, I am focusing my research efforts on effective outcomes for middle school students.
"The knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet."
Lord Chesterfield
Huck Wilkens
My name is Huck Wilken. After high school and some traveling, I attended Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington where I experienced public education at its finest. I focused my studies on the physics of music and earned a bachelor's degree, however, the self-directed education taught me more about my learning process than physics. Over the two years following Evergreen, I tutored English in China and was a substitute teacher in my hometown for all subjects, all grade levels. Then my brother and I started a residential remodeling company here in Portland, and I spent five years tearing down old walls and putting up new ones.
I want to teach middle-school mathematics. Because of great teachers, I have never been afraid of math. I am saddened by stories from people who are afraid of math: stories that usually begin with, "I had a horrible teacher in seventh grade." I was attracted to the Noyce program because its objectives directly dealt with problems that cause inadequate education. As a warrior fighting bad math, my worst fear is to be taken captive by the dark forces of mindless, repetitive teaching, early burnout, and information without context. The Noyce program will help me develop defenses. One area of research that I am excited to examine is the benefit of alternative assessments and the effects of smaller educational communities in today's giant schools.
Julia Clark
My name is Julia Clark. My excitement toward mathematics education has led me to pursue both mathematics and teaching in my own education and profession. I have a Bachelor of Art degree in Mathematics from Scripps College in Claremont, California. After working as an elementary Spanish teacher, with peer mediation programs in Los Angeles high schools, and as a mathematics tutor, I felt that secondary mathematics education is where I can put my experience and knowledge to the greatest use.
I am specifically interested in teaching mathematics in the middle school setting, and am pursuing my educational research interests in order to become an effective and dynamic teacher. Research in the areas of the use of mathematic manipulatives in instruction and overcoming language barriers in the integrated classroom setting are my main research interests. The desire to understand how research done by teachers can improve education for their students and the most effective ways to carry out that research are what led me to the Noyce program. Upon the completion of my studies, I cannot wait to help my students become as passionate about mathematics and education as I am.
"The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards"
Anatole France
Meghan Briggs
Hi my name is Meghan Briggs and I'm so excited to be participating in the Noyce program this year. I recently graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry and LOVE science.
After completing my Master of Science Teaching, I hope to teach upper elementary to middle school. I am extremely interested in free choice science education and how teachers might be able to utilize these ideas in their classroom. I am so pleased to be working as a part of this newly emerging program because I believe strongly that to teach science, you must love science and the making of science. I hope to integrate these ideas into my teaching through hands on science and share my love of science with a whole new generation.
"The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he's one who asks the right questions."
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Rachel Shelton
My name is Rachel Shelton and I am very excited to be participating in the Noyce Scholarship Program. My educational background consists of a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife Management from Michigan State University, with a concentration in Environmental Studies. Currently, I am in the process of earning my Masters of Science Teaching (MST) from Portland State University. My thesis is tentatively titled "Effects of Ethnicity and Gender on 6th Grade Students' Environmental Knowledge and Attitudes." Some of my recent work experience includes being a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Portland State University, working as a Research Assistant helping to integrate the use of science technology in the classroom, and acting as a Student Ambassador for MESA, (Math, Engineering, and Science Achievement), mentoring and empowering students to pursue interests in science and math.
My professional goals are to teach biology and/or environmental science at the High School or Community College level. My research interests include: examining the effectiveness of supplementing traditional classroom instruction with community partnerships and other alternate forms of education and ethnic and gender gaps in science achievement. My interest in the Noyce Program stems from the program's commitment to empower teachers to reflect and refine practice in the classroom and to make science instruction fun and obtainable for all students.
"The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery."
Mark VanDoren
Stephen Walsh
My name is Stephen Walsh. I first came to the city of roses from my hometown in the San Francisco area to study at Lewis & Clark College in 1999. I received a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies from Lewis & Clark with a focus in education and sociology. Upon graduating, I spent a year working for the Center for Research in Environmental Science and Technologies (CREST) -- a science education center for the West Linn-Wilsonville School District -- first though Northwest Service Academy (Americorp) and then as a district employee.
Upon completion of the MST and GTEP program, I intend to teach secondary level biology and earth science. While still uncertain as to what my MST research will entail, I am interested in analyzing the relationship between new inquiry based methods of teaching and the increasing demands for classroom testing standards.
I see PSU's Noyce scholarship program as a unique opportunity to learn innovative science teaching methodologies. I hope to become not only a great teacher, but also an effective researcher and scholar of the science teaching community.
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