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GMS teacher to travel to Italy with Lilly grant
A Greencastle Middle School teacher will have the joy of spending a month in Italy this summer, enjoying the art, architecture and history the Mediterranean nation has to offer.
In doing so, Kristien Hamilton intends to further help her seventh-grade students see real-life connections in mathematics.
Hamilton learned recently she was one of 101 Indiana educators to receive a Teacher Creativity Fellowship from the Lilly Endowment.
Such fellowships provide a grant of up to $12,000 to fund personally and professionally meaningful activities.
In her proposal, Hamilton explained that she intends to “expand on a lifelong curiosity of Italy by exploring historical landmarks and works of art from Italian mathematicians and scientists to incorporate my findings into engaging mathematical lessons for my students and other mathematics educators.”
Besides studying the mathematical marvels of Italy, Hamilton will shoot videos to later be incorporated into lessons not only for her class, but possibly other classes.
Through the use of Canvas Commons, any lessons Hamilton prepares could be shared by other math teachers wishing to incorporate some real-life examples into their classrooms.
“Teachers are not reinventing the wheel these days,” Hamilton told the Banner Graphic. “So teachers could just search ‘scale factor’ and my video would come up. They could then just hit a button and it could come up in their class.”
It’s a resource Hamilton has already utilized but hopes she can continue to expand the number of lessons available.
“As we all in the world have transitioned from this digital realm, the repository is continuing to build,” Hamilton said. “Educators are always wanting to share with their people.
“Given the year we’ve had with this pandemic, this couldn’t have come at a better time.”
The timing is fortuitous in more ways than one, though. Like many other teachers, Hamilton has found the last year hectic, transitioning from in-person to digital learning, back to in-person and sometimes a hybrid model.
It left little time for recharge, an important element of the Lilly fellowships. Hamilton explained that the endowment will not even consider proposals that are for less than a month, as the idea is for the educators to immerse themselves in whatever they are studying, while also taking time to enjoy the process.
In her proposal, Hamilton compared it to pre-flight instructions on an airliner, when passengers are told to put on their own masks before helping others.
“If you take time to help yourself, then you will be in a better position to help those around you needing assistance,” she wrote. “My passion for teaching and mathematics still burns, but over the past few months the flame is but a flicker. My hope is to breathe fresh life into my passion so, in turn, I can encourage my students with theirs.”
While the trip itself remains nearly four months away, Hamilton is already feeling the excitement. When she received the email informing her she had received the fellowship, Hamilton “had to read it two or three times to make sure I read it correctly.”
She then went next door to inform a fellow teacher, where tears and screams ensued. Though they initially wondered what was happening, when Hamilton’s students learned of the news, they were envious of next year’s class, which will benefit from the trip.
“That’s not fair. We want to do that,” the students told her. “You need to transfer to eighth grade.”
She also shared it with various administrators, including GMS Principal Scott Weltz and Assistant Principal Alicia Cupp, who were soon in her classroom congratulating her, as well as Superintendent Jeff Gibboney, Assistant Superintendent Jenny French and Technology Integrator C.J. Shields.
“We’re all excited because we know how much is going to come out of this next year,” Hamilton said.
For example, each year Hamilton has her students do projects on specific mathematicians. Several of these are from Italy, so students will now have real-life examples of their work from which to draw.
“I just previously had them do some research to find out about the people,” Hamilton said. “Now, I’ll be able to draw upon my experience in teaching them.”
She has even considered making connections with Italian mathematicians to be able to work with them in the future.
Hamilton also obtained a 3-D printer for her classroom in the last year and plans to utilize its possibilities as she incorporates her Italian studies into the curriculum.
For now, though, there are preparations to be made, such as downloading Duolingo to learn the language.
The trip won’t be without some personal sacrifice, as Hamilton will not have her kids with her during the trip.
“It’s kind of bittersweet because my twins are seniors,” she said. “So they’re gong to be going off to college in the fall. They’re very independent and they’re probably going to have a great time while I’m gone. There will probably be a lot of FaceTime.”
On the whole, though, Hamilton is thrilled with an opportunity she would not have without Lilly’s generosity toward Hoosier teachers.
“This truly is a dream come true,” Hamilton said. “I could never go there without this opportunity, so I’m very grateful for it.”