Benefits

 

Benefits to participating undergraduates and community college students

CalTeach gives students the skills, tools, and experiences to pursue a teaching credential. Participants learn and practice effective teaching skills in courses and through field experiences and summer internships at local K-12 schools. They also practice communication skills, learning how to convey science and math ideas to students in classrooms and in educational outreach activities. Mentor teachers oversee participants in K–12 math and science classrooms. Most CalTeach programs also offer a minor or concentration in math and/or science education that focuses on teaching those subjects. Three UC campuses — Berkeley, Irvine and Los Angeles — offer accelerated credential programs that provide CalTeach students with two options: earn a teaching credential along with the baccalaureate degree, or combine the last year of undergraduate studies with the first year of credential studies.

Benefits to the field of education

In collaboration with UC faculty and graduate students, CalTeach programs also sponsor and publish research that contributes to our understanding of effective practices for math and science education. Research topics include CalTeach graduates' preparedness for teaching, the effect of field experiences on attitudes toward teaching and public education, and effective methods for tracking the CalTeach graduates who enter teaching careers.

Benefits to schools and communities

CalTeach programs impact their communities. Each year, CalTeach undergraduates interact with and serve as role models for thousands of students in classrooms during their fieldwork experiences. For many K-12 students, this may be the first time they have talked with a UC student. For mentor teachers, the CalTeach students bring excitement and fresh ideas into their classrooms and offer new perspectives on the topics they teach. On many campuses, teacher professional development workshops and supplemental after-school programs for students benefit from the extra-curricular participation of CalTeach students as well.