Science, Math Teachers Get Multi-Ethnic Edge at UCSD

A little-known but highly respected UC San Diego program is on the cutting edge of preparing teachers to handle multi-ethnic classroom settings and to boost the level of science and math instruction.

From San Ysidro to Oceanside, graduates of the UCSD Teacher Education Program, or TEP, expound the philosophies of cooperative learning, of hands-on teaching, of cross-curriculum instruction and other strategies only now catching on with educational reform efforts nationwide.

Although small in numbers when compared to traditional university schools of education such as San Diego State University--the UCSD program graduates only about 50 new teachers a year--TEP has carved a niche for itself in having a sharper focus more attuned to the changing nature of American urban education.

The rigorous requirements for completion of TEP, which include a year of volunteer work in a school before acceptance into the yearlong program, have led school district administrators to place a high value on UCSD students who apply subsequently for permanent positions.

“I interviewed eight or so of their science-math folks last week, and I’d like to hire every one of them,” said George E. Flanigan, who oversees hiring of new teachers for the San Diego Unified School District, the nation’s eighth largest.

Harry Weinberg, superintendent of the highly ranked Valley Center School District in North County, acknowledged surprise at learning of the UCSD program when he first met some of its student teachers a few years ago.

“We’ve subsequently hired several for our (elementary) bilingual program, and what really impresses us is the academic background of these students. . . . The fact that they have degrees in something other than education is a real plus in bringing more diversity to our students.”

Philosophy Described

The interdisciplinary program began in 1972 as a way to emphasize educational equality across ethnic and economic groupings. Its underlying philosophy is that all students can learn, and it draws on professors from various academic disciplines as instructors.

While TEP originally trained students to teach at the elementary level, with an emphasis on bilingual education, for the last two years it has included a math-science specialty internship for would-be secondary-level teachers.

“We actually thought to begin the program so that science and math majors would have a career alternative to research,” said Hugh (Bud) Mehan, professor of sociology and TEP director. “However, we realized that in many ways, the quickest and best way to change schools around was to start with elementary.”

But, despite its stature within the county’s educational community, TEP has existed for years on the periphery of UCSD’s consciousness, suffering as many liberal arts programs have in the shadow of the university’s world-renowned math and science accomplishments.

“For years, virtually none of the freshmen who enter UCSD even knew that there was a TEP,” said Randall J. Souviney, associate program coordinator. “Now we are being invited to come to various activities, to present the options for undergraduates and to raise the general campus awareness.”

The program accepts a few students with undergraduate degrees from other institutions or graduates who have decided to switch careers.

Mehan stressed the program’s selectivity, noting that potential students must not only have a degree in a specific academic field but also must volunteer for 120 hours of unpaid work in a school--where they tutor or work as aides--and must take prerequisite courses in educational sociology.

“This is deliberate so that students have a good experience, a clear idea of whether they think teaching is for them before going through the rigor of TEP,” Souviney said.

Many Latino Applicants

The self-selection process apparently works well. Mehan had 175 students take his introductory courses this past year, but only about 70 applied to the training program.

About 30% of the students are nonwhite, Mehan said, and a large number of applicants are Latino. Teacher training programs nationwide are under pressure to attract more minority applicants as the number of minority students in the nation’s schools grows.

“I think we attract many Hispanics because of our bilingual emphasis and emphasis on multicultural perspectives in classroom management,” Mehan said. But he said that many black students qualified for teaching are instead attracted to jobs opportunities in other areas.

“The way to turn this around would be to get more fellowships for education, having businesses pay a student to go to UCSD for five years on the condition that he or she then teach for five years,” Souviney said. “We really need the community to invest more in education.”

Anthony Co majored in biology at Cal Poly Pomona, but wanted to “give education a shot.” He is now finishing his year in the secondary science-math program along with 18 colleagues, where, after a quarter of unpaid student teaching, the students receive their own class under an internship paid for by school districts.

“I was really attracted by the focus in the UCSD courses on cooperative learning, where you emphasize structured group work, trying to have every student helping each other,” Co said. He has spent the last year teaching five physics and physical science courses at San Diego High School, where administrators hope to offer him a full-time job next year.

Wealth of Strategies

The Filipino native said that UCSD instructors have provided him with a wealth of strategies and assistance to cope with the numerous problems facing a first-year teacher.

“I found quickly that while the kids in my physics classes were highly motivated, I had to work much harder in the basic physical science course in designing different ways of teaching, using hands-on methods and other concepts,” said Co, who also had one science class where the students were not yet fluent in English.

“I had some students who from the very beginning I was not able to motivate, while others I think really have become more interested in science because I did things other than just lecturing,” Co said.

The interns receive substantial supervision. UCSD instructors visit them at least once a week, and they also videotape performances for later critiques.

“We don’t just put them into a classroom and ignore them,” Souviney said. “They get a lot more supervision than in other (teacher-education) programs . . . and the internship is much more realistic than simply student teaching, because the students come out with much more experience, with a more realistic understanding of the classroom.”

Mary Morales, an intern at Rancho Buena Vista High School in Vista, found that the reality of motivating all students is far different from simply having the hope.

‘A Two-Way Street’

“I wanted to be a teacher to help get more low-income students and those of color a better education,” Morales said. But after a year in the class, she has learned how much energy it takes to carry out discipline and to involve parents.

“I see it much more now as a two-way street. At times I can plan the best lesson ever, but still fail with some students.’

UCSD instructor Frances Slowiczek, a 20-year veteran of science teaching before joining the program, said, “In our own classes, we give the students a lot of practical applications; we aren’t deluded by a lot of meaningless (educational) methods classes” that are standard at most schools of education.

Souviney said he wants the students “to learn that every kid has a right to equal time and attention.”

“We spend an inordinate amount of time developing ideas to make science comprehensive in the class because our interns quickly learn that not all of their kids are taking science because they want to. . . . We talk about how to integrate science and math with writing, with other areas. . . . For example, we present a model curriculum and ask students how they could change it for the better.”

Oceanside officials have used the interns as additional teachers to lower the student-teacher ratio in their schools, Assistant Supt. Bill Bragg said. “We’ve been real pleased with their preparation and especially with their methodology in the classroom, learning to reach out to all the students.”

Knew Her Material

Jay Rubin, chemistry department chairman at Gompers Secondary School, San Diego’s nationally known science, math and computer magnet, lauded intern Dawn Newcom’s preparation as a science teacher this past year.

“Not only did she know her subject, she had an impressive array of up-to-date methods, much better than the tired old training you sometimes see.”

While the same teaching philosophy permeates the elementary training program as well, the 35 to 40 students each year carry out a more traditional volunteer student teaching program and do not have paid internships.

“That’s mainly because there is not a shortage of elementary (trainees) as there is in science, and so districts won’t pay,” Mehan said. However, an internship program in bilingual education, a subject more in demand, will begin next fall under TEP.

“In a way, elementary school may be harder to teach because you have to get across all subject matters,” Mehan said. “That’s why we show students how to integrate the curriculum, talking about elementary school as an instructional practice, not teaching methods about one subject--such as social studies--in isolation.”

Souviney often asks TEP graduates to come back and share their experiences with the new crop of students, saying that an idea or technique often has more effect when relayed by a recent graduate, especially in the bilingual area.

The growing number of UCSD graduates in various districts should bring greater recognition for the program as well as boost innovation in the schools, Mehan said.

“Granted, given the size of our program it’s hard to measure the impact on a given school,” Mehan said. “But we expect that our students will have an impact in a district as their careers advance, to determine whether they are getting promoted.

“And, ultimately, we expect them to continue to experiment and to take chances.”