Teachers Create Joy in Teaching Network

Jeremy Buie, Jessica Harvey ’12M, Sydney Hoover ’24, Kylee Maarschalk, Matt Taylor ’24M and Nicole Turner ’24M - with support from WCE faculty members Denise Ousley and Robert Smith - have created a Joy in Teaching Network for high school teachers. The group held their first meeting on November 20.

“We are excited to see this group of first year and very experienced teachers come together to share their experiences and support each other as they all seek to ‘teach with joy’” Ousley said. “During the first meeting, there were dynamic discussions around the support teachers need and ways, as a group, the network can have an impact.”

The Joy in Teaching Network project aims to identify teaching philosophy and practices associated with teaching with joy, help teachers create more inviting and exciting classrooms for students, and provide an antidote to the challenges teachers are facing. The founding teachers hope to affirm the practices of teaching with joy for themselves and invite others to explore such practices.

Longer term plans include sharing “teaching with joy” with other educators in Southeastern NC and across NC through presentations, media outreach and/or peer reviewed articles.

 “Teaching at the high school level is both highly rewarding and challenging,” Smith said. “Some high schools currently face chronic absenteeism rates for students of up to 40 percent. Finding ways to create more inviting and exciting classrooms for students is a pressing issue. It’s important for teachers to create networks of support that keep them in the profession, actively engaged, and teaching with passion.”

Founding teacher leaders in the “Joy in Teaching Network” are:

• Jeremy Buie, a science teacher at Ashley High School and longtime Watson College partnership teacher
• Jessica Harvey ’12M, a social studies teacher at Laney High School, longtime WCE partnership teacher and member of the NHCS Emerging Leaders program
• Sydney Hoover ’24, a first-year English teacher at North Brunswick High School
• Kylee Maarschalk, an English teacher at New Hanover High School, WCE Master Teacher and member of the NHCS Emerging Leaders program
• Matt Taylor ’24M, a first-year social studies teacher at Waynesboro High School in Virginia
• Nicole Turner ’24M, a first-year social studies teacher at Ashley High School

Teachers interested in learning more about the Joy in Teaching Network are invited to contact Dr. Robert Smith at smithrw@uncw.edu or Dr. Denise Ousley at ousleyd@uncw.edu.