This semester, two UC Berkeley students are assisting computer teacher Flint Christensen in teaching AP CSP classes. The two students, Dakota Clark and Kevin Duong, come in to observe and help students in computer teacher Flint Christensen’s 3rd and 5th period classes and have started teaching lessons. The initiative is through a California program known as Cal Teach aimed at addressing California’s shortage of teachers by allowing STEM majors to fast track through teaching credentials.
“I think it’s pretty awesome that you can graduate with a teaching credential after the Cal Teach program which is something people [usually] spend two years after graduating to get,” Duong said.
According to Cal Teach, the program allows them to start teaching sooner and avoid paying for an extra two years of college.
“You have two years of tuition cost and everything – so it’s just knocking [the credential] out in undergrad,” Duong said.
Duong said he is a junior studying public health with a focus on genealogy and data science while Clark is studying more traditional computer science. Both are coming to Piedmont to fulfill their 45 hours of classroom time to complete the program.
“Students are working through their Code HS portal, watching lessons and doing problems and if anyone has questions, I would walk around and help them with that,” Duong said.
In addition, Duong said the dynamic between the Cal students and the Piedmont students is very strong.
“I’m only a couple of years older than them so I feel like I’m just a mentor and a friend to them. Students will share with me things they wouldn’t necessarily share to Mr. Christensen,” Duong said.
Christensen also said the students have responded positively to the college students.
“I have not seen any students shy away from them. Most of them are very eager – they’ve quickly learned their names,” Christensen said. “When they’re stuck, they will ask them by name for help.”
Junior Melodie Lee said that she also likes the Cal students’ help.
“I like it a lot because there’s a lot of people in that class. I have Mr. Christensen, so just having him with over 30 kids is a bit too much. It’s helpful because they have a lot of experience too. They’re fresh out of college and they know a lot,” Lee said.
Starting the week of Nov. 4, Duong said he and Clark [took] over some of the class periods and taught their own lessons with Christensen giving them full freedom on what to teach.
“We’re trying to get creative since a lot of it is just students working on JavaScript all the time, so maybe doing something a bit more fun and out there will help break that,” Duong said.
Duong said he feels like the Cal Teach program is an effective way of addressing teacher shortages in STEM because avoiding two extra years of college is a huge incentive.
“They’re young people who want to be teachers and it’s a win-win. It helps them make a decision about teaching,” computers teacher Jana Branisa said. “It helps the profession get new and excited young individuals, and there is a financial incentive to do it so it’s a win-win all around. And in the crisis that we have in the teaching profession, we need to incentivize young people to make that decision.”
