Wyatt Anderson

Program

Middle School Science in the Richmond Teacher Residency Program

Background

I am from Richmond, Virginia. I attended the University of Virginia as an undergraduate, where I majored in psychology. Then I attended the University of Georgia where I received a master’s degree and a doctorate in social psychology. Afterward, I moved back home and tutored students in Richmond Public Schools before applying to the Richmond Teacher Residency program at VCU.

Why do you want to teach?

I'm excited to teach the surreal, ongoing history that is science. When we make the effort to frame it in this way, it cuts to the core of what makes us human, irrespective of culture and social background. This mind-expanding potential not only helps the academics of individual students; it has a positive impact on our personal relationships and communities.

Please tell us about a memorable teaching experience and why it stands out in your mind.

As a graduate student, I was fortunate to be able to teach an undergraduate psychology course, where I had my most memorable teaching experience. Here, I was able to engage my students by reconstructing mild adaptations of famous experiments for the classroom. To convey how Milgram’s participants could be so blindly obedient to authority, I made cartoonish demands that my students complete nonsensical worksheets "for science" until they caught on to the absurdity of the situation and defied me. It was awesome to see the wheels turning in my students’ heads as they considered the profound implications of this experiment.

What has the Noyce program meant to you?

Noyce has been a great resource for a future teacher like myself. Most notably, I’ve been exposed to great ideas about how to convey scientific thinking to my students. I'm excited to see what the future with Noyce brings.