Even as an adult, education didn't seem like a good fit for Daria Rego.
“I've always hated being involved in education,” Rego said. “For a while, I thought I might not even be able to follow a traditional educational path or even go to college.”
The fourth-year biochemistry transfer student is currently participating in UCLA's CalTeach program to become a teacher. Established in 2005, the UC-wide program aims to create a pathway for STEM students to explore careers as math and science teachers. According to CalTeach's website, it includes a variety of options, from pass/fail courses to undergraduate collaborative teacher certification programs.
Arlene Russell, faculty director of the UCLA CalTeach program, said the programs were developed across the UC system with the goal of training more science teachers in California. Russell said the program will give more students an idea of what a career in education is like, such as those on a tutoring program but looking for a more professional path after graduation. He said that the aim is to have people receive the same amount of money.
“The majority of my time now is spent talking to students about teaching careers, whether they have attended CalTeach or not,” Russell said.
Anyone pursuing a STEM degree can apply to enroll in a CalTeach course, said Tiffany Liang, a fourth-year chemistry student in the program. These courses include Science Education 1XP, 10XP, 15XP, and 100XP, which students can take to see if they enjoy science education or if they would like to pursue a science education minor. Russell said.
As part of these courses, students are required to complete a 20-hour classroom internship and attend a 90-minute seminar once a week, which gives them the opportunity to get to know their assigned teachers and students. Russell added.
Rego said the CalTeach courses she has taken so far are some of her favorites at UCLA. They encourage the pursuit of science education to make the field more accessible to people who have historically been underrepresented in the field or who have been unable to receive adequate science education. He added that it has been decided.
“I want to alleviate the very large science education gaps that some community colleges receive and the more inadequate K-12 science education gaps that some students coming from community colleges receive. I really want to help bridge the gap,” Rego said.
Being able to teach students lessons is one of the most memorable and rewarding parts of the program, Rego said. For example, Westwood says that while interning at her charter elementary school, she was able to create her own lesson plans and design experiments to teach her fourth graders and her fifth graders about photosynthesis. Masu.
Ms. Rego added that interning with a teacher allows her to understand the magic behind education and allows her to grow as a better educator and student.
Victoria Taylor, a fourth-year ecology, behavior and evolution major, said the course also helps foster relationships with mentor teachers. She added that she received useful feedback and felt supported by them.
“Whenever you have a teacher in the classroom, there is a teacher who has volunteered and chosen to be a mentor to someone they are considering teaching,” she says. “All of my mentor teachers were incredibly supportive.”
Taylor said she would like to teach science in middle school or high school. In addition to teaching, she aims to bring social justice to the classroom by providing science education to students from historically disadvantaged communities and later giving them the confidence to succeed in STEM. she added. .
“The more teachers that value diversity and inclusion in science education, the more diverse scientists will enter the field and the better science will be,” Taylor said.
According to CalTeach's website, in addition to taking classes in the CalTeach program, students also have the opportunity to participate in a science teacher education program to earn their teaching certification. These programs allow students to begin their first year of credential education at the same time as their final year of undergraduate education, Russell said.
Leanne is one of two undergraduate students, the other is Taylor, who is currently in a certificate program and teaches about 25 hours a week. She said Leanne always knew she wanted to be an educator, but that she taught both middle school and high school classes, which solidified her goal of becoming a high school science teacher. she said. She says high school was much more fun.
“Since childhood, I have always been interested in education,” she said. “I started helping out my classmates, and then I had a lot of younger cousins, so I tutored them as well. But when I got to high school and took chemistry class, I was like, 'Oh, no, chemistry. I thought.”
On some days, she said, classes may be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by classes from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. However, she said that every student's schedule is different depending on which classes they choose to teach, adding that as a student teacher, she is responsible for teaching two of the mentor teacher's teaching periods. Ta.
After earning their bachelor's degree and teaching certification at UCLA, students in the accelerated program go directly into the teaching profession and complete their master's degree as full-time classroom teachers the following year, Russell said.
Although CalTeach focuses on students in education, Taylor said the program can benefit any STEM student, whether or not they end up in education.
Rego added that understanding how to communicate science to the public was one of the most valuable skills she learned through CalTeach.
“Even if you decide that teaching isn't for you or that you don't want to work with children, the teaching experience is all about taking the time to understand other perspectives,” Taylor says. To tell. “It makes you a more conscious person and a more empathetic person.”