Noyce Scholar Profile
Michael Kaminski
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: B.S. Food Science and Technology
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Life/Earth Science, grades 7-12
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Fifth year or post-baccalaureate Noyce scholar
Name of Noyce institution:
University of Arkansas Noyce Fellow Program
Current academic or teaching status:
Masters of Arts in Teaching Candidate/Intern
School and school district:
Randall Tyson M.S., Farmington, AR
Background:
I am originally from Tulsa, OK and moved to Fayetteville, AR to pursue a degree in Food Science at the University of Arkansas. I have always loved science, but I did not always know that I wanted to become a teacher. A short time after I began coaching swimming and substitute teaching, I realized that I had definitely found my passion. I love helping kids learn, grow, and become their best selves.
Why do you want to teach:
I think that for me teaching is the most effective way that I can make a difference in the world. Every morning that I walk into a classroom, I have the opportunity to teach over one hundred and fifty young people how to be successful learners, thinkers, and members of the community. With every student I teach, I have the opportunity to broaden their view of the world and to instill in them a thirst for knowledge and understanding. This responsibility is both exciting and humbling.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
My first real “teacher moment” was probably during my first internship rotation where I was teaching 7th graders at Helen Tyson M.S. in Springdale, AR. I was working closely with one of the Special Education students, who had been showing little improvement or comprehension in our unit on elements, compounds, and mixtures. The culmination of the unit was an inquiry-based lab activity where students were to design a way to separate salt from a mixture of salt, sand, and iron filings. The particular boy I was helping had an “A-HA!” moment where he not only was able to give a procedure for how execute the lab, but was also able to finally comprehend the distinctions between different types of matter. Seeing light bulb moments, like this one, does not get old.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
The financial support of the Noyce Fellowship has given me the opportunity to pursue my goal of becoming a great teacher. The knowledge and internship experiences that I have gained during the course of my M.A.T. program simply would not have been possible without the help of this scholarship.
