Courtney Tway ’13, conveyed the joy of learning to her students while immersing herself in an extended field experience at China Middle School in China, Maine, a school working to establish customized learning experiences for all students.  During the spring semester she will pursue the last phase of her journey to receive her life science teacher certification for grades 7-12.

A native of Chillicothe, Ohio, Tway has grown to enjoy living in Maine and plans to stay after graduating from Unity College. Tway’s broad experiences in marine biology and teaching and learning will help her kick start her career as a full-time educator.

“The teaching program here at Unity College is hands-on, innovative, and focused on the newest technologies and standards of teaching,” noted Tway.   She praised the differentiated instruction approach to teaching and learning.

“We’re learning so much about differentiated instruction, which is a method to teach students in a manner they learn best,” Tway explained.  “It’s a means of individualized instruction and utilizes a variety of instructional strategies.  Direct instruction is just sit there and lecture, and I’m not ok with that.”

She is infused with a desire to teach.

“Can you imagine, some teacher had an impact on John F. Kennedy,” Tway said.  “The magic of teaching is in the possibilities of each student.”