Real World Experiences

Carol Taylor

On May 5, Carol Taylor, Marty Creech, Allison George and Martha Tedrow were recognized in Raleigh for their work as 2012 Kenan Fellows.

The Kenan Fellows Program for Curriculum and Leadership Development is a competitive fellowship offered to public school teachers. The program’s mission is “to enhance curriculum relevance for the benefit of all students; engage teachers, business, and universities through unique professional collaboration; and promote growth opportunities for teachers and the teaching profession."

  

Taylor, who teaches math at Hanes Magnet School, worked with N.C. A&T State University on an aviation safety project paid for by NASA. She helped develop materials, tools, models and technologies that support the safe operation of aerospace vehicles. One of Taylor’s goals was to find ways to integrate engineering concepts into classroom lessons in math and science.

 “My experience working on a project funded by NASA was fantastic!” said Taylor. “I was able to work in the Composite Materials Resource Center in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at A&T State University. I developed hands-on activities for my math classroom based on this experience.”

Creech is a district instructional technologist with the school system’s Department of Instructional Technology. He explored innovations in healthcare while working with a radiologist in the Laboratory of Complex Brain Networks at Wake Forest Baptist Health.

“After teaching for eight years, this experience opened my eyes to see what we as teachers were preparing our students for,” Creech said. “The advancements that are being made in the biomedical fields are astounding. Knowing that our students need to be ready for these careers in their future forced me to reflect on my own practices and education practices in general. It reinforced the ideas that there is a need for real world experiences in our classrooms….I am excited that in my current position that I get to share the things I learned through the Kenan fellowship with teachers across our district.”

Allison George

George, who teaches math at Reynolds High School, worked with Guilford Technical Community College, on a NASA Flight Fellowship designed to build a workforce in aerospace and aviation. Geroge saw first-hand the kinds of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) skills necessary to succeed in this field and worked on developing relevant, engaging lessons that encourage high school students to consider aerospace training programs.

"Through my externship, I experienced first-hand the math skills that students needed to be successful in the aviation field," George said. "As a teacher, the Kenan Fellows program challenged me to explore my teaching methods and reflect on my practices. It was an amazing, transformative experience."

Martha Tedrow

Tedrow, who teaches at Jefferson Middle School, worked with the N. C. Department of Public Instruction on teacher training programs associated with the new Common Core Standards for Mathematics and English/Language Arts, and Essential Standards for Science and Social Studies that have been adopted in North Carolina. They will be put into place in classrooms across the state this coming school year, and Tedrow will help schools make the transition.

For more information about Kenan Fellows go to www.kenanfellows.org