UC Merced Magazine | Volume XIX, Issue V

CalTeach Makes STEM Comfortable and Fun for Future Teachers and Young Learners By Juan Carlos Flores Since its inception in 2006, the UC Merced CalTeach program has helped strengthen the pipeline of quali ed educators throughout the Central Valley and beyond by recruiting and preparing undergraduate students for teaching careers in science and math. During the past 18 years, the program has also established a bridge to the community by o ering numerous hands-on learning opportunities for elementary, middle and high school students — all led by undergraduates. “ is partnership with K-12 institutions enables UC Merced undergraduates to grow academically and professionally

by working with children and teachers from local schools,” said applied mathematics Professor Mayya Tokman, faculty director for CalTeach. “At the same time, CalTeach’s work bene ts education in the region as a whole and helps the campus create and maintain essential links with the community at large.” CalTeach provides direct pathways to a teaching credential in California and o ers two education minors. CalTeach is composed of academic teacher-preparation programs, Teacher Professional Development Institute, multiple internships, Learning Lab, Bobcat Summer STEM Academy and Solar Car Challenge. All of these initiatives are designed to help undergraduates not only become experts on the content they’re teaching, but also provide insight on student behavior, human nature and more. For current and future students looking to become leaders in the classroom, CalTeach Program Director Chelsea Arnold said, the program at UC Merced can help get them there.

“We’re rm believers in that ‘grow your own’ mentality where, in order for teachers to get back to their communities, we need to get them here to the campus and engaged in the mission of education,” she said. “ ere’s a lot more that goes into being good in your content area and being a good teacher. You have to have this whole-systems approach to education, so CalTeach really tries to help them navigate that path and nd themselves in it.” e Learning Lab is one of the most popular components of the program as evidenced by the high number of visitors since its establishment in 2020. e state-of-the-art space on campus serves as an outreach science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) hub for K-12 classrooms that o ers fun and exciting STEM activities. During the sessions, kids build roller coasters out of foam tubes and marbles, as well as racing cars out of empty juice cartons, plastic caps and balloons. ey think it’s all fun and games, but in reality, they’re getting immersed in the world of engineering and physics. “ ere’s no other UC campus that has a scienti c laboratory dedicated to K-12 STEM outreach. So, in that sense, no one is doing outreach the way that CalTeach is doing it at UC Merced,” said Mariah Gonsalez, special programs coordinator for CalTeach. “We get to serve thousands of students every single year using the lab, and it’s beautiful that our undergraduates are a major part of that.” In the 2022-23 academic year, more than 2,100 K-12 students and over 100 teachers participated in the Learning Lab, while 23 undergraduate students and ve College Corps fellows took part in the teacher training program. For the current academic year, more than 4,100 students are expected to visit the Learning Lab, and over 35 new interns and fellows are expected to participate in the teacher training program.

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At the Learning Lab, K-12 students get lessons in science and engineering through fun, hands-on activities such as this one, in which they construct roller coasters out of foam tubes.

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