Scott Galson (MS06), a graduate of both the Master of Science in Education and NU-TEACH alternative certification programs, won the Siemens Award for Advanced Placement, which names the top AP teacher in each state. Galson teaches mathematics at Walter Payton High School in Chicago.Siemens Awards are given each year to teachers and schools based on excellent student performance and participation in AP courses. Galson is the 2009 winner for Illinois. Last year 93.8 percent of his students in AP Statistics scored 3 or better on the AP exam, and 60.5 percent scored 4 or 5, compared to only 35.2 percent nationally. Since he began teaching the course, the number of participants has grown from 20 to about 80.
Galson accounts for his students' success in two ways: "First, the students I teach at Walter Payton College Prep are some of the brightest and most motivated students in the nation. Second, I love teaching statistics. The mathematics behind statistics (primarily probability) is elegant, clever and practical. In fact, many students reflect that it is the first high-level mathematics class where they see the broad applicability of mathematics in social contexts."
In addition to teaching AP Statistics and Pre-Calculus, outside the classroom Galson coaches the Payton Math Team, which won state championships in 2005, 2006 and 2007, and serves as the dean of the freshman class. He also developed a financial investment seminar for students. "My mathematical learning experiences with my students go beyond the walls of my classroom," he notes.
Previously Galson was honored as a Golden Apple Foundation Fellow and a Northwestern Scott Fellow, and recently he earned his national board certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. To become a teacher, Galson left a career in economic forecasting. The NU-TEACH alternative certification program prepared him for teaching mathematics in Chicago, and he furthered his education through the master's program at the School of Education and Social Policy.
Galson's philosophy of teaching centers on developing a student-centered classroom that focuses on what is most important to learn, the ways students learn best and staying a learner himself. "I believe that the most important things for my students to learn are how to be critical and independent thinkers, maintain a curiosity of the world and have the mathematical skills to derive any facts or formulas that they may forget," he says. "I encourage students to be critical and independent thinkers by maintaining an environment in which students feel comfortable explaining conclusions they reach regardless of their confidence and criticizing conclusions they feel are inconsistent."
"Through both my master's education at Northwestern University and my nearly 12 years of teaching experience, I have come to the conclusion that students learn most effectively through constructivist principles. What this means, practically speaking, is that students learn new concepts by scaffolding off of previous learned concepts. … The teacher must identify where a student's understanding is first before building off it to the next, more complex concept," he adds.
"I am a very curious person and I enjoy mathematics and its applications. As I result, I believe that I maintain an overt position as a learner within my own classroom. While I spend a lot of time in the classroom learning each of my students' learning strengths and what they understand and do not, I treat each topic I teach as an opportunity to find answers to questions which students or the media present," says Galson. For example, in one lesson his students analyzed a Newsweek article on opinion polls. To keep current on the latest trends, he participates in numerous conferences and seminars each year.
Last Modified: 11/19/09