Michael Conklin, a 2004 graduate of the College of Education, has been honored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the White House with a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
Conklin, who earned a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from the Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership, begins his twentieth year in the teaching profession this fall. Prior to coming to the College of Education, he pursued his bachelors degree at the University of Idaho and taught at Brixner Junior High in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching is the nation's highest honor for teachers of mathematics and science, including computer science. According to a story on his award in local Washington paper The Spokesman-Review, Conklin first aspired to become a teacher when he was in kindergarten. Now 42, he has taught math for the last 10 years at University High School in Spokane Valley, Washington. He has also taught drawing classes and served as an advisor for the school’s yearbook.
Conklin applied for the award in May 2013, submitting a personal essay and a video that shows him teaching pre-calculus. A noteworthy moment in the video, he points out, was when he paused to clarify instructions for a student. Conklin says that one of his particular strengths as a teacher is making connections with his students, some of whom continue to visit him long after they pass his math class.
Each year, the NSF bestows the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching on 108 K-12 teachers – two from each of the 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. territories, and schools overseen by the Department of Defense – in recognition of their contributions in the classroom and to their profession. The $10,000 award is accompanied by a certificate signed by President Barack Obama. The White House’s press release on this year’s awards also notes that honorees are invited to Washington, D.C., for an awards ceremony, educational events, and visits with members of the federal administration.
Click here to learn more about the NSF’s Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
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