Noyce Scholar Profile
Kayla McCarthy
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Middle childhood Mathematics and English
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Mathematics, grades 4-9
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Noyce Teaching Fellow
Name of Noyce institution:
University of Rio Grande
Current academic or teaching status:
Graduate May 2011
School and school district:
Eastern Local School District
Background:
I am from Meigs County where I have lived all of my life. Meigs is a small town with Appalachian values. I have just recently graduated from the University of Rio Grande where I was an education major. My degree is in Middle Childhood Education in Mathematics and English.
Why do you want to teach:
I want to teach because I love children and enjoy working with them. I love the feeling of teaching math to students and seeing a child get a problem that they may have not before. Seeing the look on their face and then seeing them be able to do the problems is a wonderful feeling.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
One of my most memorable moments in teaching happened during my student teaching experience. I was teaching a word problem that involved money when I noticed that one student was not able to count money. One day after class, I found a program on the smart board on making change. The student and I went through the program together, and I explained to him what each thing meant in money. After working with the student several times with the program, he student showed improvement. I was so proud of the student, and I could tell that he felt good about himself being able to count change.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
Being part of the Noyce program has helped me out in so many ways. The Noyce program has helped pay for my education, and I’m so grateful to Noyce for this. Also, Noyce has provided me with a community of other teachers and educators. Having the virtual community has been nice to share my experiences in education and read other teachers’ experiences.
