Emily Richbourg | Si Noyce | SIU

Name: Emily Richbourg

School: Anna-Jonesboro Community High School

Degree: MS in Science Education

Years Teaching: 10

Grade levels you teach: 9th-12th

What is your teaching style and philosophy?

My philosophy is that students always seem to learn better when they can get their hands and brains involved in a project.  Doing something makes the information stick in students’ brains better than being lectured at. I also involve students in as much group/partner work as possible. It is better for them to learn to be collaborative and use their resources than to mindlessly remember facts and spit them back out on a test.

How do you see the SIUC Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship in Environmental Sustainability influencing you as an educator, your classroom and your community?

I feel that the Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship will help me to integrate more hands-on projects into my classroom. It will also help me to learn methods for getting my students to come up with their own ideas so they can conduct their “own” research with guidance from both myself and their peers.