Kyla Smith has stood in front of a classroom of young people and has seen first-hand their keenness and excitement for science, as well as the difficulties they face while learning science in high school. This love of science teaching has led her to pursue three previous degrees in science and education, to work as a teacher in Canada and abroad, and to enrol at the University of Oxford as a doctoral student in science education.
In 2018, Kyla applied and was accepted to Oxford; unfortunately, she did not have the funds to go and was forced to decline the offer. She applied again the following year, and, due to the incredible support of her communities in Canada through an online fundraising campaign, Kyla was able to start her doctorate at Oxford in the fall of 2019. She has worked many jobs since starting at Oxford to support her studies.
Kyla is currently in the final stage of her data collection, and her study consists of a questionnaire and interviews with high school science and mathematics teachers in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The study investigates the experiences and teacher self-efficacy of those teaching out-of-field, meaning those who teach a subject that differs from their area of expertise.
The problems associated with out-of-field teaching have been explored by other research, and the chronic shortage of physics teachers is well documented in the UK and elsewhere. However, out-of-field teaching is not yet well understood in the four western Canadian provinces, in terms of prevalence or impact, and it is a matter of importance to students, teachers, and schools in Canada.
Kyla has a deep-seated desire to serve the communities around her and has previously been involved in running Science Rendezvous in Winnipeg, instructing computer coding camps for kids, and assisting with elementary school literacy programs. She is also a Director on the Board of the Canadian Association of Physicists Foundation.
The CCSF award will enable Kyla to decrease the amount of employment she takes on in order to progress with writing her thesis. She hopes that her research will be of interest to schools and various teaching bodies across western Canada, emphasising the value of teachers.
