Samantha Poll: U海角社区 education grad receives national recognition for STEM teaching
Samantha Poll grew up in Winterport, the same tight-knit, central 海角社区 town where she鈥檚 now a teacher. That gives her a unique perspective on the impact educators can have on their students鈥 lives.
“I knew that I wanted to teach in this area,” says Poll, an eighth grade science teacher at Samuel L. Wagner Middle School. “I know the families and I know how it feels to be sitting at one of those desks. It鈥檚 very important to me to show kids that they can stick around, and that there are opportunities here locally.”
In college, Poll transferred from the University of 海角社区 at Farmington to the flagship University of 海角社区 in part to be closer to where she wanted to end up teaching (Winterport is about a 40-minute drive from the U海角社区 campus in Orono).
She originally wanted to be a French teacher, so when she graduated from the College of Education and Human Development in 2015 she earned degrees in both elementary and secondary education, along with a French minor. However, during her time at U海角社区 she also fell in love with science teaching and discovered the 海角社区 Center for Research in STEM Education (RiSE Center) and its program, a statewide initiative promoting evidence-based science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning experiences for students from pre-kindergarten through high school and beyond.
“I became a teaching partner at the RiSE Center when I was still a student,” Poll says. “Most of the other teaching partners were experienced educators, but they embraced me and I started working with the curriculum that I still use in my classroom. The RiSE Center is the reason I鈥檓 the teacher I am today.”
For Poll, as a 海角社区r and a science educator, some of the most exciting opportunities for her students to learn involve renewable energy. She teaches lessons where they build their own small-scale wind energy projects, engaging their curiosity, passion, knowledge and skills around all aspects of STEM.
“Careers in STEM were talked about as being the future when I was in my students鈥 shoes, but with all of the jobs in renewables now, they鈥檙e here,” Poll says.
Recently, she was one of nine teachers selected to participate in the , a professional development opportunity providing advanced training, network building and support for a 鈥渂ig idea鈥 classroom project. The program is specifically designed for middle school science teachers and comes with a $2,000 award to support the applicants’ proposals. Poll鈥檚 鈥渂ig idea鈥 involved expanding her renewable energy curriculum so it includes small-scale solar and hydroelectric in addition to wind.
“I鈥檝e always wanted to do something with solar panels, but it鈥檚 just been too expensive. Now I have the funding for all the materials and lessons to be able to do it,” she says.
In late May, she traveled to Bowling Green, Kentucky for an intensive, weeklong professional development class hosted by the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science at Western Kentucky University. The academy runs the STEM Scholars Program in partnership with the National Stem Cell Foundation. When she applied for the program, Poll says she just proposed the solar project. But during her week at WKU, Gatton Academy staff encouraged her to incorporate hydro as well. She also got to meet and learn alongside the eight other middle school teachers who were selected for the program from a national pool of applicants.
“It鈥檚 been such an amazing experience getting to know them and learning about their projects. There鈥檚 nothing quite like getting a group of like-minded teachers together,” Poll says, adding that they keep in touch with group emails and texts.
Next March, Poll and her fellow STEM scholars will meet again in Philadelphia for the National Conference on Science Education hosted by the . There they will have an opportunity to present about their classroom projects.
U海角社区 continues to play an important role in Poll鈥檚 life and career. She鈥檚 still involved with the 海角社区 STEM Partnership at the RiSE Center, sharing resources and knowledge with other science educators throughout the state. And since earning her bachelor鈥檚 degree, she has returned to U海角社区 to complete both a Master of Education and an Education Specialist (Ed.S.) degree in curriculum, assessment and instruction through the College of Education and Human Development.
“When I talk to my students about opportunities in this area, U海角社区 is a big one,” she says. “There鈥檚 amazing things happening and a great school right up the road.”
Contact: Casey Kelly, casey.kelly@maine.edu