CalTeach-SMI program, since 2005
In response to a call by then-Governor Schwarzenegger to address the state's shortage of highly qualified math and science teachers, UC launched the CalTeach-SMI program in 2005. Since then, CalTeach-SMI has been successfully recruiting, preparing and motivating talented undergraduates to explore careers as math or science educators.
Housed at all nine of UC's undergraduate campuses — Berkeley, Davis, Los Angeles, Irvine, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz — programs invite students majoring in math or science to augment their studies with a sequence of CalTeach-SMI courses and fieldwork experiences that introduce them to teaching while they concurrently complete undergraduate degrees. These courses, together with research opportunities and practical experience in K–12 classrooms, complement participants' discipline-specific studies and prepare them to seek a teaching credential while or after earning a bachelor's degree.
Our Mission
To provide multiple pathways for STEM majors to explore careers in STEM teaching to increase the number of highly qualified teachers in California science and mathematics classrooms.
Goals
- To encourage and create multiple pathways for students interested in science, mathematics, and engineering to consider teaching as a career
- To facilitate and advise students toward completing a Bachelor's degree in science, mathematics, or engineering, along with the possibility of establishing eligibility towards entrance into an intern teaching credential program
- To engage students in peer-mentorship opportunities to develop and enrich professional networking systems
- To provide courses that include an introduction to schools and teaching as a profession, cultural diversity, and education and educational psychology
- To provide field experiences in K-12 classrooms with supervised "mentor teachers" focusing on discipline-specific teaching methods to meet state teacher credentialing requirements
- To provide information about financial incentives, including loan-forgiveness programs
- To provide information on credential requirements
- To prepare students in areas related to career planning