Teaching Award Winners Resources
To read more about our NJSAA Teaching Award winners and their projects, please check out our Teaching Awards page under the Awards tab.
2023
High School - Jazmin Puicon, Bard HS Early College - Newark, Innovative Newark
Innovative Newark, examines African American history in the city of Newark through a lens of power and social change. Students utilize digital archives to tell the story of the black experience in Newark. The final project requires students to utilize historical analysis and original research as a means to engage with current social issues in the city.
New Jersey, a diverse and densely populous state, serves as a microcosm for learning about Catholicism in the New Jersey Catholic Experience (From Settlement to Springsteen). This course reviews many dimensions of this experience including socio-religious perspectives, parish life, and New Jersey-centered Catholic traditions. Students are encouraged to discuss their own personal experiences and family traditions to encourage the sharing of knowledge.
2022
High School – Robert M. Fenster, Hillsborough High School
Mr. Fenster has created a pair of lessons focused on the lives of Black Americans in New Jersey. Through an examination of primary documents, conversations around agency, and student-centered activities. His lesson plans highlight the roles of Black Americans in the American Revolution and the significance of gradual emancipation in New Jersey.
College – Anita Bakshi/Rutgers University (Department of Landscape Architecture)
Dr. Bakshi’s Our Land, Our Stories is a collaborative multimedia project between the Department of Landscape Architecture and the Ramapough Lunaape Nation focused on environmental justice advocacy and curriculum development for Native American history and contemporary indigenous land relations.