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October 27, 2006 Vol. 77,
no. 11F
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| HELPING
HAND: BioE freshman Demetrius Camarillo tutors in a local classroom as
a part of E 39E. RACHEL SHAFER
PHOTO
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Teaching the K12 teachers
Freshman seminar introduces students to math and science teaching
In 2002–2003, nearly 1,500 math and 800 science
classes in California high schools were taught by teachers with no
teaching credential. Even more classes were taught by teachers with
a credential in an unrelated subject area.
Last year, the University of California launched its California Teach
program, designed to reverse this trend. By working with K–12
schools, the California State University and government and industry
leaders, the UC-wide program hopes to put 1,000 new, fully qualified
math and science teachers into classrooms each year.
ME professor George Johnson and Pre-Engineering Partnerships director
George Gagnon stand on the front line of this effort. This fall, they’re
co-teaching a new freshman seminar called “Engineering and Project-Based
Learning.” E 39E introduces freshmen to K–12 teaching methodologies
and designing classroom projects that cover math and science principles.
During a recent session, Johnson and Gagnon led the class in a discussion
of how difficult it can be to overcome initial perceptions, even in
the face of contrary evidence from analysis. Students were asked to
examine a can of tennis balls and estimate which was greater, the circumference
of the can or its height. The students, in groups of three, discussed
and then presented their predictions. The can looked much taller than
it was around, but in the end the class measured it and discovered
the circumference was greater.
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We want them to begin thinking about what it means to be an effective
teacher,” Johnson explains. “Most students think of teaching
as standing up in front of a room lecturing. We want to see learner-centered
classrooms as opposed to teacher-centered classrooms. The seminar also
gives students an early opportunity to get into the classroom to see
if they want to do this as a career.”
Each week, students spend a couple hours in local middle school or
high school classrooms, observing or tutoring. BioE freshman Demetrius
Camarillo is a tutor in a seventh-grade classroom in Emeryville. “I
saw a girl who was looking depressed so I went over and asked if she
needed help,” he said during his report on a recent visit. “I
helped her and she finally got it. Then she taught it to four others.
At the end of class, the teacher had her come up and explain it to
the class. So I felt pretty good about that.”
Camarillo says he’s not sure what he wants to do after graduation
but he likes helping younger students. “I went to Kennedy High
in Richmond, and it was always Cal students who came down to help us,
from doing demonstrations to helping with college applications. So
this is a way for me to give back and remember where I came from.”
Johnson knows only a small percentage of engineers will become K–12
teachers, but he hopes the seminar will inspire a few each year. “Engineers
can help students see the ‘why’ and demonstrate where mathematics
and science play out in the real world,” he says.
For more information on Cal Teach, go to http://calteach.berkeley.edu.
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