Teach with Joy!

In November, WCE faculty members Denise Ousley and Robert Smith met with a core group of secondary education partnership teachers and alumni to explore ways they can provide inspiration and support for teachers through the creation of a Teaching with Joy Network. Over the past few months, the educators have shared their ideas in a series of presentations, and the initiative is gaining momentum.

The group’s broad goals are to offer an antidote to challenges many teachers are currently facing, to offer a message of hope and purpose in being a teacher, and to reframe teaching as a valuable, uplifting and desirable profession. They also hope to identify teaching philosophy and practices associated with teaching with joy, and help teachers create more welcoming, engaging and exciting classrooms, particularly for high school students.

In early February, five teachers - Jessica Harvey ’12M, Sydney Hoover ’24, Kylee Maarschalk, Hannah Moon ’08M and Nicole Turner ’24M -  joined Ousley, Smith and PDS assistant director Jenn Hatch Knight in a “Teaching with Joy” panel discussion at WCE’s Beginning Teacher Conference.  Teachers who attended the event described the discussion as energizing, uplifting and rejuvenating.

“This was exactly what I needed,” one attendee said. “I feel encouraged and inspired to go back to my classroom.”

Smith and Ousley showcased the initiative at UNCW’s 2025 Homecoming Brunch event in mid-February, where they previewed a new ‘Teach with Joy’ poster.

“It was very interesting to see peoples’ reactions to our poster,” Dr. Smith said. “For one teacher in particular,  it was as if the words on it affirmed her whole being, like she’d found a long-lost friend. It was powerful."

Matt Taylor ’24M, a teacher who participated in the inaugural meeting in November, joined Harvey, Moon, Smith and Ousley for a presentation at WCE’s PDS Professional Learning Day on March 21. Their session, titled “Finding Joy in Teaching,” was also very well received, with teachers saying it was refreshing to hear a message of hope, “It’s nice to remember why we started,” and, “We all need more joy; I want to find it and help others find it.”

Smith and Ousley said they’re excited to see the high level of interest in “Teaching with Joy,” and believe the project has the potential to impact teaching and learning at many levels. And, they say they are just getting started. On April 12, core members of the group will bring ‘joy’ to Seahawk Preview Day. On April 25, Ousley and Smith will deliver a keynote at the Faculty Presentation for UNI 101 instructors. The group has also authored a series on “Teaching with Joy” to present for publication. The series includes an overview of the initiative and three teacher perspective pieces.

“Teaching is an amazing profession that often doesn’t get the credit it deserves,” Dr. Ousley said. “It’s tough to recruit teachers now, and many are leaving the field. We are thrilled that our message of hope and purpose is resonating so strongly with so many teachers. We can’t wait to see where the “Teaching with Joy” initiative can go!”

Teachers interested in learning more about the “Teach with Joy” initiative are invited to contact Dr. Denise Ousley at ousleyd@uncw.edu or Dr. Robert Smith at smithrw@uncw.edu.