Nader Makarious

E-portfolio

University of Pennsylvania

MCE Program

Cohort 7

 

 

 

I teach Chemistry at Brandywine High School in Wilmington, DE. I teach Honors Chemistry

as well as Regular Chemistry. I finished all the required courses for my Master degree in

Chemistry Education at The University of Pennsylvania. Prior to teaching at Brandywine High School I taught Chemistry and Physical Science at Aquinas Academy in Bear, DE, in addition to my teaching experience here I have also taught Chemistry and Physical Science in Alexandria, Egypt for six years.

 

Chemistry to me is not only a major or a career, but also a part of my identity, as the name itself is a part of my ethnicity and faith. The word “Chemistry” comes from the ancient word “Kemet” in Greek and “Keme” in Coptic (the old Egyptian language), both words give the name of my homeland Egypt. When anyone asks me about either my nationality or my religion, my usual answer is, “I’m Coptic,” meaning native Egyptian, and also refers to my faith as Christian Coptic Orthodox. It took me a while to recognize that I can also refer to myself as a Chemist where the word “chemist” not only a major in science, but also refers to my homeland Kemet or Keme where the science began.

 

I am really fortunate to come from Egyptian roots. Many doors have been opened to me because of my ethnic background. To my white students I am one of them where they see me as a Mediterranean male, where cultures exchange between emergent peoples of the region, and where many of their grandparents came from as first immigrants. On the other hand to my my black students I am “a brother.” My black students classifiy me as an African male, because of my tanned skin, and my African roots, to them I am a black man from their mother land, they always relate to me as one of them and take pride in me. And last but not least, to the Asian students I am an immigrant with a unique accent like them who made his way and accomplished a dream to become a teacher in the promised land. I have all these characterstics in me as someone from a special region that has made it eaiser for me not only to relate to all of my students from different ethnics groups, but also helped to shape my identity as a science teacher.

Through my teaching years I gained insight about my students and their cultures. I always try to adjust my teaching style to build a social capital in my classroom. As I mentioned earlier, chemistry united with me as a part of my identity to shape and frame my path in life; and I bring this faith and culture to my classroom.

 

 

The Purpose of E-Portfolio

This E-Portfolio serves to demonstrate my growth as a teacher, a learner, and a leader. Through the last three years at the MCE program at The University of Pennsylvania I believe my understanding of Chemistry went far and beyond what I had before I started the program. I grew not only in the content area, but also my teaching style has changed. The stronger understanding of important education literature and theory gave me insight to develop an energetic classroom where students and teacher can easily enact their cultures building social capital and creating solidarity in classroom.

 

 

 

Organization of e-portfolio

This portfolio is organized by the portfolio rubric categories. Listed in the table below are the 11 categories with links to my reflection and evidence. Some pieces of evidence may apply to more than one rubric category. Each reflection is specific to:

 

What the reader is about to see.

 

How the evidence connects to the rubric area.

 

Why I have selected this piece of evidence and how it helped me to grow