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Information for Teachers - HealthTeach

Recruiting for HealthTeach starts in October. All SFUSD K-5 teachers are sent information inviting them to participate. Generally, two elementary school teachers from the same school are partnered with two to three professional students. The team meets at a Partnership Orientation hosted by SEP in January where we describe the program’s expectations, share tips for a successful partnership, and provide time for teams to begin planning. Teachers and their student partners together plan and teach four lessons in each of the teacher’s classrooms. The lessons are taught during four visits by the volunteers to the school between January and May. The estimated time commitment for teaching and planning the lessons, including the dinner orientation, is 20 hours. SEP staff provide support, including feedback on lessons and help in finding lesson ideas and materials.

 

Your professional student partners will have a strong general science background with many of them having majored in science as undergraduates. UCSF professional students are a diverse group. Teachers who participate in a HealthTeach partnership are mentors to the students, providing guidance about whether lessons are age-appropriate and will meet the abilities of their students, how to engage their students and manage the classroom and materials, necessary safety precautions, and more. After a lesson, teachers can provide constructive feedback about what went well, what they would’ve done differently, why a student may have reacted in a certain way, etc.

From surveys of previous partnership participants, teachers report that they have deepened their understanding of some scientific concepts (100%); that their students have the opportunity to talk about their own scientific ideas (100%), and that their students see the UCSF students as role models (91%) and all teachers agree that this program was a valuable experience and that they would recommend it to their colleagues. UCSF students report that they learn to explain science and health concepts more simply (88%), acquire communication skills that will be useful when working with patients (75%), and deepen their appreciation of teachers and the work that they do (94%).

I’m interested – how do I sign up?

  • Application deadline: Wednesday, November 16, 2011