Wiley Magnet Middle School Science Teacher Caniah Lentz is bringing a fresh perspective to teaching students with different learning modalities after attending a grant-funded education workshop in Alaska over the summer.
Lentz graduated from North Carolina Central University, where she studied environmental science. She worked with the Oceanographic Institution Marine Policy Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, as well as in a toxicology lab research program in Chapel Hill. She wasn’t particularly interested in science until she was inspired by a middle school science teacher, and now that she works for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, she’s always looking for opportunities to pay it forward.
“My love for science didn't manifest until I witnessed a middle school science teacher in action,” Lentz said in her application to the district’s Teacher Residency Program. “She had a passion for education and a desire for her students to learn their material. I have that same passion for my students."
This summer, Lentz was one of only two North Carolina teachers selected and sponsored to attend the Innovative Differentiated Exploration Activities in Space Science (IDEAS) workshop at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. The workshop explored how different learning modalities impact the efficacy of classroom lessons on STEM subjects and allowed teachers to practice strategies that will help them better reach students with differentiated needs.
Having grown up with dyslexia herself, Lentz is sensitive to the impact that learning disabilities can have on the classroom experience. In Alaska, she worked with other teachers to simulate what it’s like to learn in a classroom while nonverbal or dealing with auditory or visual impairments as well. Now that she’s gone through this workshop, she feels better prepared to meet her students where they are.
“Every child has a part to play in whatever you’re doing,” Lentz said. “You just have to modify some of this stuff for them to help them learn.”
The other North Carolina educator at the workshop was Betty Jo Moore, a former Wiley teacher and Lentz’ mentor from the Teacher Residency Program. Lentz says Moore’s support was essential for her to participate in the workshop. Just being included is a vote of confidence for her that she’s doing great work at Wiley.
“It was great to be around all of these other educators from different backgrounds and to know that she saw something in me,” Lentz said.