Mentor Teacher Field Placement Information

Mission

The mission of Cal Teach is to encourage science, mathematics and engineering undergraduates to explore careers in teaching by providing opportunities for coursework and field placements with mentor teachers in local schools.

Overview

Cal Teach came about as a result of a partnership between California's universities, K-12 schools, and government and industry leaders to address the growing need for mathematics and science teachers in California. The goal of the partnership is to place one thousand new math and science teachers each year into California's classrooms.

Cal Teach Staff

The Cal Teach staff is here to help you with your needs and concerns.

For questions regarding field placements, you can reach:

Katie Blackwell, the Pre-professional Education Program Coordinator, at kblackwell@education.ucsb.edu or at 805-893-3976.

For questions about the program, working with Cal Teach students or stipends, you can reach Sue Johnson, the Cal Teach Program Director, at sjohnson@education.ucsb.edu or at 805-893-8091.

Cal Teach Courses

CaT1 course introduces our perspective secondary teachers to how children learn mathematics (ED 3A) or science (ED 4A) in the elementary grades. It serves as a basis for them to think about learning mathematics or science as a K-12 endeavor. As a part of CaT1 our students also work several hours a week in local classrooms with mentor teachers. Here they experience the learning of mathematics or science first-hand.

CaT2 course looks at learning mathematics (ED 130) or science (ED 131) in junior high and high school. Once again, UCSB relies of the expertise of local mentor teachers to provide the vital classroom experience.

Cal Teach Students

Cal Teach students bring an interest in exploring science and mathematics teaching. Cal Teach courses provide students an opportunity to learn about the field of education as well as an opportunity to work with a mentor teacher in a local school so that they can experience first hand what it is like to be a science or mathematics teacher. Students spend several hours each week in the mentor teacher’s classroom. At the end of the quarter, the students are required to get their mentor teacher to sign a time log documenting their placement experiences in the classroom.

Having Cal Teach students in your classroom should be both a learning experience for them and helpful to you and your students. We encourage you to consider having your Cal Teach Students:

Learn by observing your teaching and student learning.
Work with individual students or small groups in your classroom under your supervision.
Assist with classroom activities.
Lead a short activity.

Mentor Teacher Roles and Responsibilities

Mentor Teachers play a vital role in Cal Teach by providing our Cal Teach students experience working with teachers and students in K-12 classrooms. In order to make sure that having Cal Teach assistants in your classroom is a positive experience for you, your students, and the Cal Teach students, we ask that you follow the recommended guidelines below:

Working with Cal Teach Students.

Introduce the Cal Teach student(s) to your students and explain their role.
Tell them about pertinent school and district policies.
Offer them a safe place to store their materials and belongings.
Discuss emergency plans for earthquake and fire drills.
Work with your student(s) to come up with a schedule that works for all of you.
Cal Teach students usually do not grade papers unless they are grading papers connected with a lesson in which they participated.
Please remain in the classroom with your Cal Teach student(s).

Communication

Please maintain communication and dialogue with your Cal Teach student(s).
Share your philosophy and understanding of science and mathematics teaching, as your expertise is essential to their learning process.
Make sure to inform the students in advance about any schedule changes, assemblies, exams or anything that may mean that they would need to reschedule their visit.
Make sure the student knows how to best contact you if they are unable to be in your classroom due to illness, emergency, etc.
At the end of the semester you will be asked to sign a log of their placement experiences. You will need to sign this in order to get your stipend.
If any issues arise with your Cal Teach student we assume you will want to discuss it with them first, but it will be important for us be informed, as we want to ensure that you are having a positive experience with the Cal Teach program. To do so, please contact Sue Johnson at sjohnson@education.ucsb.edu
Students who are planning to apply to a teacher credential program may ask you to write a letter of recommendation for them about the field placement. Please consider doing this for them.

Using the Cal Teach Website

In order for you to receive your stipend, your demographic information will need to be entered into the Cal Teach website: http://www.ucop.edu/smi

Sue Johnson will contact you with information on how to access your information on the Cal Teach website.

Receiving your Cal Teach Stipend

It is important that you sign the document that contains the information about your Cal Teach student(s) experience in your classroom. We cannot request your stipend to be processed until we receive that document. You will receive a stipend of $275 for each student that you mentor that has spent at least 30 hours in your classroom. If they have spent less than 30 hours, the stipend is prorated.

If you have any questions regarding the stipend payment process, please contact Sue Johnson at sjohnson@education.ucsb.edu or at 805-893-8091.

Mentor Teacher Recognition

Too often teachers are not recognized for their dedication to science and mathematics education. Cal Teach, therefore, would like to nominate teachers whose lessons, teaching techniques, or mentoring deserve recognition. Please contact us if you or a colleague would like to share your school's science and mathematics education successes. Here are some examples of awards/grants:

National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and its sponsors recognize and reward exemplary science and mathematics teachers (preK-college) and principals (middle level and high school) with cash, trips, workshops, computers, science program materials, and more. For more information about the NSTA awards consult www.nsta.org/awards.

National Association of Biology Teachers recognizes biology teacher excellence with several awards. For more information about the NABT awards consult http://www.nabt.org/websites/institution/index.php?p=20
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) honor mathematics teachers with awards and grants. For more information about these awards consult http://www.nctm.org/resources/content.aspx?id=198&LangType=1033

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