NSTA Honors GSE Grad

April 1, 2011 - Gamal Sherif, a 1999 graduate of Penn GSE, has received a National Science Teachers Association award for excellence in science teaching. 

Sherif, a teacher at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, was awarded the Delta Education/Frey-Neo/CPO Science Education Award for excellence in inquiry-based science teaching. This award recognizes and honors three preK-12 teachers of science who successfully demonstrate the use of inquiry-based science to enhance teaching and learning in their classroom.  

“As a teacher, inquiry is important to me because it's an effective way to engage students,” says Sherif. “I believe that the best, long-term learning happens when students are intrinsically motivated. With inquiry, students ask their own questions, design their own research and collaborate with the larger community to share their findings.  

“Inquiry is especially important in science education,” Sherif continues, “because it emphasizes the process of science. It's not so important that young scientists are ‘right’ about their research; it's important that they pay attention to unexplained outcomes and then design further research accordingly. Inquiry is a process that sets up further learning.”  

Chris Lehmann, principal of Science Leadership Academy describes Sherif as “a master teacher” who “has been instrumental in designing the core inquiry-driven focus of both the science curriculum and the school writ large. I have never met anyone as skilled in creating a classroom that moves from guided inquiry to open inquiry over the course of a school year.”  

Sherif has presented workshops on inquiry-based biology and chemistry curricula at a variety of educator conferences and has had fellowships with the U.S. State Department, the National Institutes of Health, and the Center for Teaching Quality. In 2009, he was named Outstanding Colleague by the School District of Philadelphia.  

The National Science Teachers Association is the largest professional organization in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning. 

Media contact: Jill DiSanto-Haines / jdisanto@upenn.edu / 215-898-4820