Beth Fox, PLTW Master Teacher at William Lenoir Middle School, in Lenoir, North Carolina, received the 2016 PLTW Gateway Teacher of the Year award at PLTW Summit 2016.
Fox has been a PLTW Gateway teacher since 2007 and is known for creating an engaging classroom environment for her students. She has teaching credits in seven of the 10 PLTW Gateway units: Design and Modeling, Automation and Robotics, Magic of Electrons, Science of Technology, Energy and the Environment, and Introduction to Computer Science 1 and 2.
“Mrs. Fox has an excellent rapport with her students,” says William Lenoir Middle School Principal Lisa Vaughn. “She shows a sincere interest in them as individuals and constantly searches for ways to make her teaching more interesting and more informative. “
Fox is currently writing an Effective Instructor Guide for Introduction to Computer Science (ICS) while participating in PLTW curriculum and Core Training revisions. In addition, she’s traveled far and wide to teach PLTW Professional Development courses and is also a mentor for PLTW teachers as part of the PLTW Professional Learning Community (PLC) forums.
“I can't imagine myself doing anything else other than being a Project Lead The Way teacher,” Fox said. “It has transformed my teaching – the empathy that I have developed for my students when they struggle because I understand the struggle of having to learn software and having to be flexible and have a mindset where there isn't always the right answer. It has defined me as an educator.”