SCSE: A Rossier–JEP Partnership Redefining Undergraduate STEM Teacher Preparation

USC’s new Sustainability, Community and STEM Education (SCSE) minor is a first-of-its-kind partnership between USC Rossier and the USC Joint Educational Project (JEP) that prepares undergraduates to become future secondary STEM teachers while serving local schools. The “SC” in SCSE nods to USC itself, underscoring the university’s commitment to community-engaged, equity-focused STEM education. USC has approved the minor and it is current waiting for approval from the California Commission on Teaching Credentialing (CTC). 

Why this minor now

Traditionally, California required post-baccalaureate routes for teacher certification, like standalone credentials or master’s degrees, but amid a critical teacher shortage, the state and CTC have removed this mandate. This shift now paves the way for innovative undergraduate credentialing programs that integrate subject-matter study, teacher preparation, and clinical fieldwork during the bachelor’s degree. In response, USC Rossier and JEP co-created the SCSE minor, enabling students to gain structured classroom experience and pedagogical training before graduation, which shortens the time and cost to a full teaching credential.

USC Rossier–JEP partnership

The SCSE minor grows directly out of Rossier’s teacher-preparation expertise and JEP’s long-standing leadership in community-engaged learning in local schools. Spearheaded through a Integrated Teacher Preparation Program Planning Grant awarded from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (Commission) co-led by Dr. Jenifer Crawford, Dr. Cathy Creesia, and Dr. Dieuwertje “DJ” Kast, the partnership embeds JEP’s Young Scientists Program (YSP) model into a coherent undergraduate pathway toward teaching.​

First-year fieldwork: 6th grade YSP

In the minor’s first year, students enroll in the initial two SCSE courses while serving as YSP instructors in 6th-grade classrooms for course credit. This launch allows YSP to expand beyond its traditional elementary focus into middle school, beginning with 6th grade at Foshay Learning Center, Norwood Street Elementary and 32nd Street/USC Magnet, with potential new partners such as Girls Academic Leadership Academy (GALA).​

New 6th-grade STEM curriculum

To support this expansion, DJ Kast is drafting a 20-lesson inquiry-based 6th-grade STEM unit aligned with NGSS and sustainability themes. These lessons include experiences such as flower dissections, planaria regeneration investigations, engineering design challenges with catapults and spaghetti bridges, simulated ice-core climate explorations, and “Backyard Brains” neurophysiology activities where students can safely observe how nerve signals control muscle movement in a partner’s arm.​

Student teaching

Courses 3–5 in the SCSE minor are where students step into sustained, classroom-based teaching, with a clear escalation in responsibility and time commitment. These experiences are designed to mirror real secondary STEM teaching while keeping intensive faculty and mentor support in place. In the third and fourth courses, students are placed in local 6–12 STEM classrooms for approximately two days each week across both semesters. This fieldwork focuses on leading portions of NGSS-aligned lessons, with structured observation tools and feedback cycles connecting directly back to weekly seminar meetings. 

The fifth course functions as a Maymester capstone, running from mid-May to mid-June in an intensive, almost daily format that approximates a short, full-time student teaching experience. During this period, candidates spend extended blocks of time in partner schools and community STEM sites, planning units, teaching whole-class lessons, and engaging in assessment and reflection with mentor teachers.

Courses and faculty

The SCSE minor weaves together foundations in equity-centered STEM pedagogy, sustainability, and clinical practice in secondary science classrooms. Courses in the pathway (titles may vary as the minor finalizes) include:​

• An introduction to sustainability, community and STEM education
• A foundations of learning and equity in STEM course
• A practicum centered on YSP/JEP fieldwork with local 6–12 science classrooms
• Advanced methods focused on culturally responsive, project-based secondary science teaching and a capstone field or research experience

The minor is led by a collaborative faculty team: Dr. DJ Kast (USC JEP STEM Education Programs), Dr. Darin Gray (USC Viterbi K-12 STEM Center ), Dr. Anthony Maddox (learning technologies and equity in STEM), and Dr. Fred Freking (science teacher education and curriculum), Dr. Cathy Creesia (Director of Accreditation and Credentialing).​

Faculty and Student input 2025

The faculty team utilized the planning grant to set up two events during Fall of 2025 to get feedback from various stakeholders that can strengthen the launch of this program in the future. One was a faculty and staff lunch with both the intended instructors for the courses but also faculty like Jill Sohm and Scott Applebaum in Environmental Studies that could help with science and sustainability integration and recruitment. Richard Fleigel, who has created other interdisciplinary academic programs advised on ways to make the program support pathways to jobs and connections to major areas of study. Fred Freking, the former chair of the teacher education program and lead of science teacher education pointed to one hundred percent job placement rate for his science teacher graduates over the last 15 years at USC within the context of the state and national shortage of STEM secondary teachers. Staff leaders, including Crystal Conley, Academic Adviser for teacher education masters and education minor students, Doris Madrigal, Program Director, and Debra Solorzano Madrid, Clinical Placement Supervisor, discussed ideal student teaching placements for students and possible pathways for students interested in communicating science to community members of all ages but not wanting to earn the teaching credential The second event asked current students that could either provide feedback or would like to apply to the program presuming it starts in Fall of 2026. Students described important values to be focused on like community and the joy of doing science projects with students, and commitment to sustainability, while also suggesting logistical concerns with web registration and to offer a capstone project if the 600 credential related hours end up being too difficult to manage. Mia Moore Walker, a second grade TA for YSP currently, said “I need this program to exist for me” and was grateful to have been a part of the planning process. Another student said, “…my biggest concern was figuring out how to get a teaching credential. This minor appeared at the perfect time. My interest in teaching science has strong ties to sustainability and environmentalism.”

Core Courses 

EDUC 477 – Explores community-driven sustainability initiatives, integrating environmental literacy with STEM education to design interdisciplinary projects that promote equity and civic engagement.

EDUC 478 – Examines how digital tools, AI and engineering practices can be leveraged to teach sustainability in STEM, with an emphasis on culturally responsive and ethical technology use.

EDUC 481 – Focuses on systems thinking, interdisciplinary teaching and the use of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to create sustainability-focused STEM curricula.

EDUC 483 – Investigates how STEM education can address sustainability and career pathways while incorporating social-emotional learning and equity-based instructional practices.

EDUC 485 (Maymester Capstone) – A hands-on teaching experience where students design, implement and assess sustainability-focused STEM lessons in real-world classroom or community settings.