Janice Trinidad
Ph.D. in Physics, Certification from UTeach Natural Sciences, 2007
The majority of my K-12 education was not student-centered. UTeach taught me to use learning strategies that used technology to make students active participants in their own education. I very much appreciated this and the project-based learning course. I now teach at a Manor New Technology HS, a public high school that serves a high needs student population that fully subscribes to project-based learning as the main vehicle for learning and instruction.
During UTeach, I was a teaching assistant for the research methods course. This experience meant I met weekly with great professors, Dr. Walker, Dr. Marder, and Dr. Bolnick. While working on this teaching team, I learned how to collaborate with professionals to improve the design and implementation of curriculum. This experience plus other experiences I had developing interdisciplinary lessons with prospective teachers prepared me for my current position. I currently co-teach an Integrated Physics and Algebra 2 course at Manor New Technology School with Floyd Banks, another UTeach graduate. We work closely together to design projects that will engage our students in the material.
Teaching is such a challenging profession. There is always room for improvement no matter how experienced or skilled you become. To grow and to be happy in this profession, it’s crucial to learn how to celebrate successes both large and small and to learn to leverage failure with a positive attitude in order to generate future successes.
Why UT?
I discovered the UTeach program through a friend who had gone through the program while completing a graduate degree. Through my experiences as a teaching assistant in graduate school, I realized that I wanted to become a high school physics teacher. UTeach attracted me because I liked the early field placements, so that I could try teaching while learning the theory behind it, and the strong network of supportive veteran and prospective teachers. I learned many lessons about classroom management and lesson design during my student teaching. UTeach has remained a source of mentorship even after I graduated.
Life After UT
During UTeach, I was a teaching assistant for the research methods course. This experience meant I met weekly with great professors, Dr. Walker, Dr. Marder, and Dr. Bolnick. While working on this teaching team, I learned how to collaborate with professionals to improve the design and implementation of curriculum. This experience plus other experiences I had developing interdisciplinary lessons with prospective teachers prepared me for my current position. I currently co-teach an Integrated Physics and Algebra 2 course at Manor New Technology School with Floyd Banks, another UTeach graduate. We work closely together to design projects that will engage our students in the material.
Advice for Students
I also believe it’s important to aim for positions that whenever possible enable you to express your dearest passions and visions for education. I consider myself very blessed to work at a high school with an educational vision, culture, and community that continues to inspire me to become better because it is very positive and innovative.
