Finding Inspiration in Local Schools
April 2012
Soomin Jung learned about BASIS in her first year as an undergraduate and has been showing 3rd grade students the wonders of Oobleck and the states of matter ever since. Volunteering with BASIS has shown her how much quality science instruction is lacking in elementary schools and inspires her to go on in her education so that she can continue to teach science and health in the community.
Soomin Jung learned about BASIS when, as a freshman in Fall 2010, she had to drop a class and needed additional units to keep her full-time status. While browsing the course catalog she came across “UGIS 80A – It’s Elementary! – Exploring Science with Young Students”, the introductory course for students in CalTEACH. Though she didn’t know it at the time, CalTEACH provides internships and mentoring for undergraduate students to advance their studies in math, science, or engineering and support for obtaining a teaching credential in math or science upon graduation. During the course, students learn techniques for teaching science and inquiry to elementary school students while developing their own lesson plan. Soomin learned about BASIS from CalTEACH instructor Nicki Norman and has been showing 3rd grade students the wonders of Oobleck and the states of matter ever since.
Soomin says that volunteering with BASIS has shown her how much quality science instruction is lacking in elementary schools and inspires her to go on in her education so that she can continue to teach science and health in the community. But her love of science began in 11th grade in an honors course on Anatomy and Physiology. She loved the hands-on wet lab experiments and learning about topics in human health. Soomin is currently majoring in Integrative Biology and hopes to pursue a career in medicine or public health.
In the classroom, Soomin begins each presentation by telling students that they are going to be scientists and asking them what kinds of things scientists do and how scientists behave when they’re doing an experiment. Teachers have commented not only is this a great way to introduce the idea that every student can do science but it also engages students in the learning process. They have also commented that these presentations have inspired them to teach more science during regular class time.
One of Soomin’s more memorable teaching moments was when a teacher asked her to share a little about her Korean heritage and spent several moments asking her to tell the class how to say various phrases in Korean. In fact, one her first teaching experiences was leading a Korean language class for the youth at her church when she was in high school. Besides her regular coursework and volunteering with BASIS, Soomin also works part-time at the UC Berkeley College Writing Programs and is active in the Biology Scholars Program (BSP) and Acts II Christian Fellowship.