Filling the math/science teacher void
by cynthia lee
today staff writer
UCLA will recruit freshmen to become K-12 math and science teachers.
An ambitious systemwide initiative to produce 1,000 math and science K-12 teachers annually by 2010 will launch this fall at UCLA and other UC campuses in an unprecedented effort to resolve a critical shortage of teachers in those subjects.
In May 2004, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked UC to work with CSU, the state, K-12 schools and California businesses and industries to improve the quality and quantity of science and math teachers. Currently UC produces about 45% of the state’s science, math and engineering baccalaureates; CSU trains 60% of the state’s elementary and secondary teachers.
UC’s effort, called California Teach: One Thousand Teachers, One Million Minds, a program developed with more than 700 UC faculty and outside experts, aims to quadruple the number of science and math teachers UC produces, from 250 to 1,000 annually, said Lynda Goff, executive faculty assistant to the UC provost.
“By almost every measure, California is failing to provide the science and mathematics knowledge and skills that our children require,” Goff told regents meeting July 21 in San Francisco. In nationwide testing, California eighth graders placed last in science and near the bottom in math compared with their peers in other states.
“Probably the major reason why our children are doing so poorly is that ... there are not enough highly qualified science and mathematics teachers to meet the needs of California’s K-12 schools,” Goff said. Because of the shortage, many teachers without science or math degrees are pressed into service. Also, the dismal lack of math, science and engineering graduates in the state has forced many California employers to import skilled workers from other states and countries, Goff said.
Campuses hope to recruit freshmen to California Teach by offering them several incentives. Students will be able to earn a degree in science, engineering or math, plus a single-subject teaching credential, in four years. There will be loan-forgiveness programs for those who commit to teaching science or math for a number of years as well as bonuses for graduates who teach in low-performing schools.
The program also promises field experience early on. Freshmen will assist mentor teachers in the classroom. They will be taught by both UC faculty and mentor teachers. Summer institutes will move students toward teacher certification. Once placed in a school, graduates will be supervised by mentor teachers during their first year on the job.
At UCLA, a committee led by Dean Tony Chan of the College’s Physical Sciences Division is paving the way for the program and looking into what exists at UCLA already. “There are many people at UCLA who are already involved in these activities,” Chan said, citing as an example Center X in the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies. The graduate school’s Teacher Education Program (TEP) also trains math and science teachers.
“We’re delighted to have additional support that will further what we have been doing for quite a number of years,” said Eloise Metcalfe, TEP director, who will work with the College. “We welcome the fact that science and math departments will be encourag ing students to become teachers, particularly in hard-to-staff schools.”
All told, the graduate school has issued 145 math teacher credentials since 1997 and about half as many science teacher credentials in a shorter time period.
The Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science is also tackling the shortage of math and science professionals in other ways. Each summer, the Center for Excellence in Engineer-
ing and Diversity holds an enrichment camp in math and science for high school students (see page 8).
Chan’s committee hopes to open a resource center where freshmen can get information about the program as well as assistance.
But no one knows for sure whether funding from the state, UC and private sources will be enough. To produce one teacher will cost roughly $20,000 to $25,000.
“Right now there are some uncertainties,” Chan said. “A thousand teachers — that’s a lot of people. It’s not really clear whether we can reach that goal.” |
