Ms. Hallie Eichen

Hallie Eichen, or Ms. Eichen, is a favorite in the GWTeach community. But before becoming a wonderful mentor for GWTeach students, Ms. Eichen was a UTeach student herself. 

"I decided to become a teacher in the UTeach program because I wanted to do something where I could have fun every day and make a difference," recalls Ms. Eichen. "When I lectured my chemistry professor after class one day about how not everyone in there wanted to be a doctor, some of us wanted to teach, he immediately introduced me to the University of Houston's UTeach program. And the rest is history!"

Ms Eichen's experience as a teachHOUSTON student only solidified her interests in education. After gaining teaching experience through her teachHOUSTON field work, Ms. Eichen ended up teaching in the same district where she student taught. She taught regular and pre-AP chemistry and was the team lead for regular chemistry section. 

"As a UTeach student and Noyce scholar, there were so many opportunities- I got to travel across the nation and meet teachers and other UTeach students from all over," states Ms. Eichen. "I had the most supportive master teachers and UTeach became like a big family." 

Ms. Eichen moved to Washington, DC in 2019, where she is now going into her second year of teaching at DCPS's Wilson High School. For Ms. Eichen, moving meant meeting more members of the UTeach family!

"Now that I am mentoring GWTeach students, the feeling of being in a big family still hasn't gone away," said Ms. Eichen. "I love being a part of UTeach nation and am so excited to be mentoring a new generation of UTeach students! GWTeach students have some of the most creative, innovative ideas." 

Last year, Ms. Eichen had the opportunity to mentor three students taking GTCH 3102: Classroom Interactions and each of them taught her something different and inspired her in different ways. Michael F. taught her some new ways to use technology in the classroom through an amazing simulation for Mitosis. Lucinda M. was so on top of everything with the students, inspiring Ms. Eichen to try some great classroom management techniques. Vanessa V. had such creative ideas to catch the students' attention, modeling mitosis with candy.

"One thing that I loved seeing was how inspired my students were after a GWTeach student taught," Ms. Eichen states. "My students kept asking when their GWTeacher was coming back to teach another lesson. Some of my favorite moments as a mentor teacher, was seeing a lesson playout successfully and how excited the GWTeach students got when it all worked out. I also loved seeing those “lightbulb” moments, of how to adjust a lesson quickly and adapt in a strenuous moment."

Even throughout the transition to virtual classrooms, Ms. Eichen has continued to search for new ideas and methods to bring to her classroom. 

"Distance Learning has certainly had its challenging moments, but at the same time, I think it has pushed me to become a better teacher," relates Ms. Eichen. "It has inspired me to create a "flipped" classroom, which is something I had always thought about doing, but never really got around to. It has also really challenged me to think outside the box and become more creative. I know that even when we go back, there are a lot of components from my digital classroom that I will continue implementing." 

This semester, Ms. Eichen is a mentor for GTCH 3103: Project-Based Learning. Though this semester's field experiences will look different from others, Ms. Eichen is confident her GWTeach students will grow as teachers.

"My piece of advice for GWTeach students entering the virtual classroom this semester is to be patient, trust your instincts, and don’t give up. We’re all learning and figuring out how to do distance learning. Don’t be afraid to try something new because you’ll never know until you try!"

Many thanks to Ms. Eichen and all of our amazing mentors for the work you do to support our students, in addition to your own!