AAPT Names Winners in Barbara Lotze Scholarship for Future Teachers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

College Park, Maryland, United States, March 20, 2009

The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) announced today that the Barbara Lotze Scholarship for Future Teachers has been awarded to Douglass A. Endrizzi and Shaun Piazza with Honorable Mention to Rebekah Myler. Supported by an endowment funded by AAPT Member Barbara Lotze, the scholarship provides a $2,000 stipend to outstanding future high school physics teachers.

About the Recipients

Douglass A. Endrizzi is a member of the class of 2010 at Yale University. “What makes physics interesting is that often one’s innate intuition about how the world works is wrong. Moments when you correct your frame of the world, the Aha! moments, are some of the most gratifying moments in school,” Douglass says. “My drive to become a teacher derives from wanting to help students realize their own Aha! moments.”

Jonathon H. Gillette, Director of Yale University Teacher Preparation & Education Studies, says, “Doug routinely reads beyond an assignment that is excerpted from a book and asks for supplemental work that specifically connects to his interests as a future science teacher. He is relentlessly upbeat and eager to share new insight whether from my class or a moment of clarity in a physics class. He is a real joy to teach and I cannot imagine a better prospect as a science teacher.”

Shaun Piazza is a member of the class of Fall 2009 at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Reflecting on his very positive personal experience at Upland Hills Middle School in Michigan, Shaun says, “I have a commitment to teach physics/science in an ‘at need’ school district. This commitment comes from involvement in the STEM program and NOYCE fellowship. I plan to fully give myself to teaching and to employ the methods used at Upland Hills.”

William McGinley, Associate Professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s School of Education said, “I am most impressed not only by Shaun’s knowledge of science and physics, but by his commitment to helping all students through the use of innovative and thoughtful approaches to teaching. Throughout his experience in my classroom, Shaun held himself and his peers to the highest of standards with a combination of inventive playfulness and more serious academic inquiry.”

Honorable Mention went to Rebekah Myler, Lipscomb University Class of 2010.

Previous Scholarship WinnersA list of previous winners can be found on the AAPT website at: http://aapt.org/Grants/lotze.cfm .

The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) announced today that the Barbara Lotze Scholarship for Future Teachers has been awarded to Douglass A. Endrizzi and Shaun Piazza with Honorable Mention to Rebekah Myler