Amieland Singh wins Excellence in Teaching Award
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When the pandemic forced schools across the country to go remote, Amieland Singh ‘23MEd did what any good science teacher would do: she decided to record herself conducting chemistry experiments from her deck, and to share those videos with her students.
“I tried to think out of the box,” says Singh, who teaches 8th grade science at Birchland Park Middle School in East Longmeadow, MA. “I had kits for every unit, and I sat outside of the school and students and parents came to pick up their materials.”
Singh’s dedication to her students caught the attention of her colleagues–and ultimately translated into a 2022 Excellence in Teaching Award from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
“Winning the Grinspoon kind of validated the attempt that I made,” says Singh, who is completing her master’s degree in the Science Education Online (SEO) program. “The most rewarding piece for me is when students get that ‘aha’ moment, and then they take what they learn and they ask questions.”
Being nominated by her colleagues made the honor that much more special, Singh said, because the last two years have been incredibly challenging for teachers and administrators alike. She credits Birchland Park’s team-based model of learning with giving students a platform for success, despite the obstacles posed by remote learning.
“Especially when we’re looking at earth science and climate change, when you see them make the jump from what is happening in the classroom to application in the world around them, that’s really great. We’re trying to educate them to be global citizens.”
Her experience in the College of Education SEO program was also invaluable to her success, Singh said. All of her classes included curriculum development projects, so she felt like she was building knowledge directly related to what she needed to teach. When Singh learned she would be teaching an elective in fall 2022, she decided to seize the moment and create a class on “Climate Change and Equity” from her UMass Amherst coursework on climate change and STEM.
"I think the fact that the SEO program is completely online gave me an idea of how to maneuver, how to prep for my classes, how to present my material online,” said Singh.
Faculty support also proved indispensable, she said. Many of the students in her cohort were full-time teachers, so it was uplifting to encounter faculty who recognized the workload and work life balance of students in the program, Singh said.
"For a teacher who’s working full time, the format of the SEO program itself was really workable,” she said. “It was a boon. I don’t think I would have been able to do this if I had to be on campus.”