The Science and Mathematics Initiative/California Teach at UC San Diego
Overview
Two new minors, one in mathematics education and one in science education, form the core of
UC San Diego’s California Teach program. It is an interdisciplinary collaborative effort that has
developed ten new courses, added three new faculty members in different departments, and roots
pedagogy in the context of students’ science/math disciplines.
Unique Attribute—Strong emphasis on the development of pedagogical content knowledge.
UC San Diego’s new math and science education minors bridge the gap between the math and
science content students are learning in their STEM majors and their education courses and field
work. Students spend time solving math and science problems, exploring multiple solution
approaches, and discussing the implications for teaching and learning. This approach contrasts
with traditional teacher education programs in which “generic” education courses are tacked onto
students’ math or science content coursework. Unlike UC San Diego’s Cal Teach program,
traditional teacher education programs give beginning teachers few opportunities to unpack their
own math/science content knowledge, explore how precollege students learn math/science
content or develop domain-specific pedagogical strategies.
Faculty collaboration—Genuine partnership between the math/science and education
departments
The Division of Physical Sciences and Education Studies co-lead UC San Diego’s Cal Teach
program. The new minors were developed through this partnership, and math/science faculty
share the teaching of the courses with education studies faculty. New LPSOEs (lecturers with
potential security of employment who are Academic Senate Faculty that focus on teaching) have
been hired in the sciences, mathematics and education studies to develop the Cal Teach courses
and share the teaching.
History and growth
So far, 60 students who took at least one of
the new Cal Teach courses as
undergraduates have entered UCSD’s
credential program. Cal Teach has grown
rapidly since its inception, with nearly 500
students who have completed at least one of
the new courses in the math and science
education minors, 33 students signed up for
the math and science education minors and a
total current enrollment of 177, in winter
2010 Cal Teach courses. Not only do
students report that the courses are
enhancing their interest in teaching, they say
that the experience of solving math and
science problems and discussing solution
approaches in small groups (as is the format
of the Cal Teach courses) is improving how
they learn in their other science and math
classes by making them strive for deeper
conceptual understanding. Enrollments in
Cal Teach courses (not including the
Language, Culture and Education lecture
course) are shown graphically below.
400
Cal Teach Course Enrollments
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
Cal Teach-related grants received to date
Agency
Amount Date Purpose
Ackerman Foundation
Braitmayer Foundation
Invitrogen
FIPSE/Department of
Education
Gilead
NSF Noyce (Cal Teach)
$20,000
$10,000
$5,000
$557,877
NSF Noyce (Math for
America)
$1.5
million
$10,000
$892,049
2005
2005
2005
20072009
2009
20092013
20092013
Scholarships for students in credential program
Student recruitment and community building
Production of video about UCSD Cal Teach
Professional development workshops for pre-service and inservice mathematics teachers, curriculum guide, conferences
Student recruitment, community building, stipends
Scholarships for senior Cal Teach students and math and science
pre-service teachers in the UCSD credential program
Intensive professional development for pre-service and in-service
math teachers. Workshops taught by a Cal Teach faculty. Math
Cal Teach graduates can apply to Math for America.
Program Details—Math Education Minor or Science Education Minor, 34 quarter units
1) Teaching Math/Science: The Challenge (optional, 1 unit, pre-CaT1)
2) Intro. To Teaching Math/Science & Practicum (2+2 units, CaT1)1
3) Foundations of Teaching and Learning Math/Science I&II (4+4 units)
4) Math & Science Teaching/Learning & Practicum, A (4+2 units, CaT2)
5) Language, Culture and Education (4 units)
6) Teaching and Learning & Practicum, B&C (4+2+4+2 units, CaT3&4)
Students may begin the minors with an optional short seminar (#1) that introduces the types
of difficulties students have in learning math and science, and the ways effective teaching can
make math and science intrinsically stimulating for all students. The first required courses in the
minors, (#2), help undergraduates reflect on their own and younger students’ understandings of
math and science, as they explore recent research on learning, solve math and science problems,
and interact with secondary school students and teachers. The upper division courses build on
the lower division courses in the minors with a deeper exploration of the research on math and
science learning, the nature of science and math, math and science problem solving, innovative
math and science curricula (#3), and a more extensive field experience (#4). The minor is
rounded out with a course that explores the mutual influence of language, culture and education
(#5) and the most intensive of the undergraduate field experiences (#6).
UC San Diego also offers a general education minor and three education majors—
mathematics secondary education, chemical education and general physics/secondary education.
Of the three majors, only the mathematics education major has attracted large numbers of
students. For students still selecting between a career in teaching and graduate school in the
sciences, a pure science major coupled with the science education minor offers more flexibility
than a science education major. More at: http://physicalsciences.ucsd.edu/academic/science_math.ed/ .
When students complete their bachelor’s degree (with one of the Minors, or Math/Science
Education Majors), they will have completed an average of 140 hours of fieldwork, mostly in
high needs schools. At this point, they are eligible to become intern teachers who teach in local
schools and are paid while they complete their credential. Taking one of the Education Minors
or Majors reduces UC San Diego’s Master’s/Teaching Credential Program from two years to one
year plus a summer (15 months).
1
Grossmont Community College is now offering a version of the first required course in the UC San Diego Cal
Teach minors, and we are working with other local community colleges to expand these efforts and increase the
number of community college students who consider careers in math and science teaching.