COE Teacher of the Year Rose Pringle: 'It's all about the learning'

When it comes to science education, the 2006 College of Education Teacher of the Year says she strives to model the ideals she hopes to instill in future teachers. Rose Pringle, assistant professor, School of Teaching and Learning, encourages her students to become involved in the teaching process, guiding them past the preconceived barrier that science is difficult and helping them build confidence in themselves as well as in their teaching abilities.

“As a teacher/researcher, my interests in science teacher education are promoted as I learn from and about my students. My deliberations, therefore, include the modeling of a variety of teaching strategies to build confidence, develop positive attitudes toward science and provide images of science learning for classrooms,” Pringle says.

Pringle is a two-time recipient of the College of Education’s Teacher of the Year award. She also holds the title for 2002. If asked whether she has developed a “Rose Pringle model for teaching,” she will laugh.

“I wonder what that would look like?” she says. “My method is more philosophical and involves what works at that point in time. I do not think I have ever taught the same class in the same way twice.”

Still, Pringle says she tries not to lose sight of the needs of the prospective teachers and their lack of confidence in their ability to teach science. As the semester develops, she works to “gently” tear down the scaffolds to help students become more independent in their thinking.

Pringle joined the College faculty in the fall of 2000, after earning her doctorate in science education from Florida State University. But Pringle was not new to a classroom. She had spent 18 years teaching high school and college level students in Jamaica, where she received a Distinction in Teaching and other awards for her contribution to science education.

    Pringle recognizes that planning for and teaching science is a complex activity. That is why she devotes time to developing a relationship with and an understanding of her students to help them work through the challenges inherent in science content. Pringle encourages her students to reflect on the concepts and strategies she brings to her courses, and to explore other models.

    “I’ve had students complain that I ‘spoil their GPA,’ and I understand they want a good grade. But I try to focus their attention on what they have learned from the class, to understand why we’re here,” Pringle says. “It’s all about the learning.”

#    #    #

Writer

    Joy L. Rodgers, jrodgers@coe.ufl.edu, 352-392-0276, ext. 274