While most students take a lab class or shadow a business professional to decide what career they would like to pursue, Revelle College sophomore Jeanette Rosas opts for a more direct approach. As part of her Education Studies (EDS) minor, she spends four hours twice a week at Porter Elementary School to gain an in-depth look at teaching.
Serving 106 undergraduate students, the EDS department offers three minors ‘mdash; mathematics education, science education and general education studies ‘mdash; to students interested in a career in education.
What makes the minors unique are their practicum requirement, in which students must spend at least one quarter working at a local preschool, elementary or high school to observe, tutor or mentor students.
‘[The practicum] gives them firsthand experience,’ EDS Assistant Student Affairs Officer Melissa Wolf said. ‘There’s no better way to teach them than to have a student go to a classroom and see what it’s all about. There’s only so much you can learn from a lecture classroom and to have that applicability.’
The practicum is a collaboration between EDS and Partners at Learning program, which sets up relationships between 20 different, underrepresented and underserved schools within the San Diego Unified School District from Mira Mesa to Oceanside to National City. Open to students of all majors, P.A.L. assigns seach participant to a specific teacher.
‘ ‘We base [school assignation] on several factors: where they live, what their majors and minors are, what languages they speak,’ EDS professor Caren Holtzman said. ‘We also put them in groups so that they can work out a carpool. Whether they tutor or mentor depends on what co-required course they are taking.’
In order to receive their grade of pass/no pass, students must spend four t
o six hours a week at their assigned school. However, they are given freedom to choose when they work.
‘They need to work out a schedule with their host teacher,’ Holtzman said. ‘We tell them to set up a consistent schedule because students and teachers really start to depend on them. Some teachers will even set up activities for the student to work with the kids; they may be in charge of a math or science activity.’
Even though Rosas was wary about the 20 minute drive from UCSD to Porter Elementary in San Diego, she found the practicum experience very rewarding, and throughout the quarter she was able to run several activities with her second-grade class.
‘I read a story aloud to the class and ran a math game activity, and I’m writing a bilingual children’s book as part of my EDS final,’ Rosas said. ‘Luckily, [the students] have all enjoyed the activities. It’s great because you get that experience of coming up with a lesson plan or activity that is your own. You have to think about the students, how they will react, and how to get them involved. It’s your activity, and you’re going to run it and hope it succeeds.’
The practicum also provides students with a chance to interact one-on-one with students and make a great impact on their lives, according to Thurgood Marshall College senior Chelsea Maxwell. She took the practicum for three quarters: once as a social studies tutor for high school students and twice as an elementary school mentor.
‘ ‘I just couldn’t get myself to stop mentoring them [after only one quarter],’ Maxwell said of the fifth graders she worked with. ‘I wanted to continue with them and ease the transition from middle school to high school. I just couldn’t break off that relationship so quickly.’
Rosas agrees that P.A.L. and EDS students serve as great role models to the students they are assisting, especially since these students are part of the underserved and low-income community.
‘These kids have grown up without a role model that’s gone to college,’ Rosas said. ‘It gives these students an idea. A lot of times, college isn’t an option because of lack of resources or lack of money. For these kids to see that it is possible, it makes a difference. It’s great that we’re able to show them that what we are now, they can be too some day.’
EDS and P.A.L. students are a great resource to the teachers as well. Having college students in the classroom on a consistent basis has enabled Florence Elementary kindergarten teacher and EDS graduate Elizabeth Frausto a chance to talk to her students about college and what they can do in the future.
‘I’ll have the EDS students lead small group activities to support those of my students who are struggling, or enrich the thinking of others,’ Frausto said in an e-mail. ‘Often, they’ll assist me in supervising and questioning students to deepen their understanding. EDS students are a terrific way for me to provide one-on-one interventions for my most needy students. They are an invaluable resource to make sure all my students receive personal attention.’
After students complete the EDS minor, they have the option to apply for the EDS Master of Education Degree and Credential program, either to become a single-subject high school teacher or multiple-subject elementary school teacher.
‘If a UCSD student completes the EDS minor, they’re finishing off the first year of our credential program, or the foundational coursework,’ Wolf said. ‘So, they stay at UCSD for an extra 10 to 11 months after they graduate and are then certified as a California teacher.’
However, not all EDS minor students choose to go to the graduate program because of its limited options. The EDS graduate program only offers credentials for single-subject teachers in biology, chemistry, geosciences, physics, English and mathematics.
To find more about the P.A.L. program or EDS minor, visit www.eds.ucsd.edu.
Readers can contact Jasmine Ta at [email protected].