Courses
Fall 2008
Stat 39-Teaching Statistics with Demos, Activities and Projects
In this course students will explore the development and use of demonstrations,
activities and projects in K-12 math education. Students will study the
basis for these instructional approaches, examine the structure of well
designed demos, activities and projects, and work in groups to create
activities that they will use in a local classroom. The course includes
a paid field placement (15 hours for the semester) working with a teacher
in a local school.
MCB 98/198 (section 5) - It's Elementary! - Exploring Science
with Young Students
Share your love of science! This seminar is for Cal students who are interested
in fostering kids' natural curiosity and finding out about science education
in K-5 classrooms. The course approach uses activity demonstrations, skill
modeling, and discussions to explore the content and skill strands of
the K-5 California State Science Standards, while highlighting important
teaching techniques. Practical support from a team of experienced elementary
teachers will help each student gain the skills to participate in a rewarding,
paid field placement (15 hours for the semester) in a local elementary
school. This is an excellent opportunity to explore teaching as a career
(even if you eventually want to teach middle or high school) as well as
a chance to inspire local elementary school students with science.
Educ. 195C - Teaching Mathematics and Science:A Focus on Equity
and Urban Schools This course is designed to provide an initial
foundation for teaching mathematics or science in urban schools. It focuses
on defining the challenges for teachers of realizing equitable educational
outcomes in a system that has a history of under-serving and under-preparing
poor students and students of color. It strives to provide students with
multiple disciplinary perspectives on why equitable outcomes are so essential
to the students and their families and, ultimately, to the state and nation.
The course also examines some of the unique qualities, needs, and assets
of students who currently dominate the demographic composition of urban
schools. Finally, the course engages students in an examination and analysis
of promising instructional practices -- those that have demonstrated potential
to turn the tide of mathematics and science achievement among urban youth.
The course includes a paid field placement (30 hours for the semester)
working with a teacher in a local school.
Math 152-- Mathematics of the Secondary School Curriculum II
The purpose of this course is to study the following math topics that
are taught in schools -- Functions and quadratic functions, polynomial
functions and basic properties, complex numbers and Fundamental Theorem
of Algebra, roots and factorizations of polynomials, Euclidean geometry
and axiomatic systems. This course is open to students who have completed
Math 151 and have taken Math 54 and 113. The course includes an optional
paid field placement (30 hours for the semester) in a local school.
Hist 100, section 004-- TBD
A complete description is forthcoming. Please check back. Crispin Barker
has a Ph.D. in the history of science and medicine from Yale and completed
his dissertation on the history of the molecular biology of aging and
telomere biology. He is presently investigating the influence of radiation
genetics and medical physics on early molecular biologists and the role
of laboratories at Berkeley, Colorado, Yale, Harvard, and similar institutions
in elucidating the synthesis and significance of DNA termini.
Hist 180 - The Life Sciences Since 1750
Since 1750 This course will survey the development of the sciences of
living nature from the mid-18th to the late-20th century. Topics include
scientific and popular natural history, exploration and discovery, Darwin
and evolution, cell theory, the organizational transformation of science,
physiology and experimentalism, classical and molecular genetics, and
the biomedical-industrial complex. Emphasis is on the formation of fundamental
concepts and methods, long-term trends toward specialization, institutionalization,
professionalization, and industrialization, and the place of the life
sciences in modern societies. Many lectures are illustrated by slides.
Two midterms and a final examination. A paper may be substituted for part
of the final examination.
PLEASE NOTE: If you are a mathematics or statistics major, there is a teaching track available in your major. Please contact your advisor to find out more about it.
