Funding from an NSF grant served as the catalyst for the creation a free-standing,* science education minor that would fill a void at UCLA.  Like many other research-intensive universities, at UCLA science and engineering students had neither support nor safe space to pursue preparation for a career in secondary school teaching.  At worst, faculty and peers ostracized them for such a choice; more frequently they were met with "benign neglect."  To counter this attitude and create the minor, faculty from the sciences were brought on board by building into the new curriculum capstone practicum courses in each of their disciplines.  Since undergraduates are not allowed to serve as TA's at UCLA, having science education minors work side-by-side with TA's in their large, over-crowded, lower-division lab courses was recognized as valuable to their departments.  In addition to the two practicum courses, the curriculum of the new science-education minor includes an earth science course, two service-learning course in local middle and high schools, and two education courses.  The new minor was approved unanimously by the Academic Senate.in Fall 2012.  A coalition of faculty from the sciences, the Graduate School of Education, and the California Teach program now oversee this minor, which has already graduated 30 STEM students.  Most students have gone into secondary science credential programs; one is pursuing graduate studies in Materials Science with the intention of entering higher education.  Even from the beginning, students have seen this minor as valuable training for understanding how to teach and inform  future patients and clients in their chosen public health, medical, and information science professions.  The rewards of seeing these students succeed overshadow the challenges of creating the minor.<br/>* interdisciplinary and not housed in any one department<br/>

Report on the four-year old, science-developed, science-education minor at UCLA

253rd National Meeting (2017)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.