Information and Resources for New and Prospective
Teachers
New Teachers: A Special Opportunity Awaits you at the California
Science Education Conference!
If you are a new teacher, CSTA has an exciting opportunity
available to you at the 2010 California
Science Education Conference, which will be held October
22-24 in Sacramento. The conference offers over 200 sessions,
covering every science discipline and every grade level, Kindergarten
through University, and will offer a New Teacher Strand
featuring a variety of professional development experiences
specifically for teachers in their first through third year
of teaching. The strand is designed to provide new teachers
with the skills and knowledge they need to begin a science
teaching career on a positive footing with courses in:
- Classroom Management
- Materials Management
- Pedagogy
- Literacy/ELL
- The Nature of Science
- Assessment
- Standards
Attendance at the California Science Education Conference
and participation in the New Teacher Strand is the most comprehensive
approach to a new teacher's professional development. University
credit is available from Chapman University. Registration
for the 2010 conference will be open in May. Please check
back then.
Teach California
The California Department of Education has an excellent online
resource for prospective teachers. Teach California
has credentialing and job information as well as an interactive
question-and-answer feature. Click on the Discover
Teaching Science link on the home page to get answers
to your specific questions about science teaching. http://www.teachcalifornia.org.
Science Teacher as Researcher (STAR)
Science Teacher As Researcher (STAR) is a CSU-sponsored program
for science majors or single subject students/recent grads
who are planning to teach middle or high school science. The
program provides an eight-week paid research opportunity
at a federal lab or research center in the San Francisco
area. STAR interns are paid $4,000 for the eight-week program.
The program is intended to provide first-hand experience with
applied research, cultivate an interest in and increase the
prestige of science teaching as a profession, and foster inquiry-based
science teaching and learning. STAR participants will be creating
a research poster/presentation at the end of their eight-week
program, and they will have opportunities for mentoring by
scientists and inservice teachers. Additional information
about the STAR program can be found at www.cesame.calpoly.edu/programs-star.html.
Preservice Teacher Program (PST)
The US Department of Energy Office of Science runs a program
to provide internships for preservice teachers (PST). This
program is a paid, ten-week summer research program. Similar
to STAR, the PST program sends preservice teachers to work
in research labs. Like STAR students, the PST students will
be creating a research poster/presentation at the end of their
program. More information can be found at www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/PST/about.htm.
Activities to Use With Preservice Teachers
Science Methods Instructors: Introduce your
preservice students to CSTA and professional enrichment. New
and prospective teachers will benefit by understanding that
they are an important part of the larger science education
community and that professional growth in their career is
a lifelong endeavor. Introduce your preservice students/teachers
to the benefits of belonging to their professional organizations
and participating in ongoing professional development activities.
Download activities
to use with your preservice students. Use the PowerPoint
presentation, below, to enhance the activities.
PowerPoint Presentation for Preservice Teachers
Click on this link to view a PowerPoint
presentation which will familiarize you with your
professional organization!
Credentialing Information for Prospective Teachers
Teachers are credentialed for teaching by the California
Commission on Teacher Credentialing
Information for Elementary
Credential
Information for Secondary
Credential
BTSA Programs
Induction programs for new teachers are conducted by districts
and county offices around the state. The Beginning
Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) website has resources
and professional development opportunities for new teachers.
To find the BTSA coordinator in your area, click on the
state cluster map, then on the cluster for your geographic
area.
Highly Qualified Teacher
All districts must also certify that their teaching staff
meets the requirements of the "Highly Qualified Teacher" mandates
of the No Child Left Behind act. Information on California's
Highly Qualified Teacher criteria can be found on the CSTA
website at http://www.cascience.org/csta/leg_hqteachers.asp.
SEC - Science Education Community
The Science Education Community in the California State University
(CSU) is a community of CSU faculty, K-12 science teachers
throughout California, K-12 administrators, interested legislators
and, of particular importance, preservice through induction
year science teachers, including undergraduate and credential
students and those in their first three years of teaching
science. Visit http://teachingcommons.cdl.edu/sec/
for resources, credential information, grants and awards,
research opportunities, and more. MERLOT — Multimedia Educational
Resource for Learning and Online Teaching
An educational resource for teaching and learning, join MERLOT—it's
free—and contribute to this growing community of teacher
education instructors by using the learning materials, submitting
your own modules and assignments for evaluation, and learning
ideas to help you teach online and in the classroom. Visit
http://teachereducation.merlot.org/
for more information.
New Teacher Center, UC Santa Cruz
The New Teacher Center at UC Santa Cruz offers an array of induction, mentoring, and other support programs for new teachers. Visit http://www.newteachercenter.org/ for more information.
California Science Project
The California Science Project offers professional development
throughout the year at 18 locations throughout the state.
Contact them at http://csmp.ucop.edu/csp.
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