The (KSTF) recently named CU Boulder School of Education alumna Jamie Gay one of only 34 nationally selected听Teaching Fellows for 2016.听Gay听is currently teaching听at听.
听are highly competitive and听awarded to the most promising teacher candidates across the nation in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Fellows听must demonstrate the potential to develop: the content knowledge needed for teaching,听exemplary teaching practices, and听the qualities of a teacher leader.
Throughout the five-year fellowship, recipients are听eligible to receive approximately $50,000 in available grants including funds to support听professional development,听teaching materials, and听summer stipends. Additionally, fellows听receive听support and coaching听from a national network of over 300听STEM educators听and are presented with leadership and mentoring听opportunities within KSTF and beyond.听With an emphasis on inquiry and collaboration, the听Teaching Fellows Program听supports participants as they advance their teaching practice and student learning, while leading from the classroom. Teachers completing the five-year fellowship become Senior Fellows that remain actively involved with KSTF.
Gay听marks the听11th听CU Teach听graduate to receive this honor since 2009. Julie Andrew, master teacher for the CU Teach program,听helped nominate听Gay and had the honor of working with her in a course called Teaching and Learning Chemistry. According to Andrew, Gay conceded听early in the semester that she enrolled in the course because she did not have a positive experience with chemistry as a student, but听she wanted to learn more about chemistry and听hopefully change her view on the discipline. Much to Andrew's delight, Gay showed "an incredible desire to learn and听re-learn the subject."
"She was a true leader in the class," Andrew said.听"I must confess that it filled my heart with joy at how committed she was to truly understanding why we know what we know about chemical systems... And what makes this story so salient is: Jamie is currently teaching high school chemistry!"
Gay听graduated from CU Boulder with a BA听in in 2013 and a MA听from the School of Education in Curriculum and Instruction in 2015.听As an undergraduate, Gay听worked as a teaching assistant for freshmen in a听leadership program. There, she planned lessons for a recitation of 10 students and helped write assessments. Additionally, she听lived abroad听in Uppsala, Sweden, where she studied neuroscience and philosophy, and听also听in Bocas del Toro, Panama, where she was a research assistant studying听the effects of ocean acidification and warming on the interactions between coral and bio-eroding sponges. Andrew recalls Gay's ability to听seamlessly听connect听interests in ocean听acidification and听biological systems听across science disciplines, which reflects Gay's philosophy on science education.
鈥淚 love science听as a discipline听because it is so interconnected and impacts so much of our lives," Gay听said.听"Teachers have a responsibility to share their understanding of the world around them and how to interact with it.听This includes content knowledge, practical skills, and scholar skills."
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