The certificate serves as a career ladder approach to a credential or permit or as a stand-alone entity to document that a student has taken coursework related to subject matter proficiency and has acquired skills for successful employment as a teacher's aide, after-school program assistant, tutoring or other paraprofessional level classroom career. 

The certificate is especially appropriate for students following various pathways to classroom teaching or an education-related field: 

• The paraprofessional or aspiring paraprofessional teacher aides
• Homeschooling parents 
• The aspiring paraprofessional or currently employed paraprofessional teacher-aide seeking a career ladder approach to a teaching credential and/or child development permit

• The teacher-aide paraprofessional who has decided against pursuing an AA and/or credential or permit but would like to acquire knowledge and skills/professional development relevant to serving as a teacher assistant or support staff in a classroom or school or related environment, concentrating on providing students support in science-related disciplines.

• Teacher preparation for students on a transfer pathway for a BA and Credential who also desire certificate recognition in Educational Studies STEM: with a Science Concentration.
• Independent tutors, students working with students in a science-related setting, seeking a certificate to augment and recognize their training and expertise.

 In order to provide an additional pathway to an education-related career, the certificate is for students interested in an education/teaching-related career who prefer online classes and/or cannot always attend traditional face-to-face classes due to employment, marital status, family responsibilities, distance, and expenses incurred with traditional education schedules. All certificate classes are online.

Possible employment/illustrative examples: position requiring practical skills and knowledge to work with children in an after-school care, tutoring, or mentoring program/ (focusing on providing support in science-related disciplines ); teacher’s aide/ science area; teacher assistant elementary school classrooms/ magnet science schools; work with k-12 students in an after-school setting (upper grades/ remedial); provide tutoring/homework assistance, assist in academic enrichment programs; outdoor education group leader or assistant, science museum education assistant/ camp counselor for science specialty options; tutor; nanny; Disney; Lego theme park worker science fair coach.

Program Level Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this program students will be able to:

1. Work effectively with students, teachers, parents, colleagues, and administrators in a school and classroom setting
2. Apply knowledge, skills, and experience to make an informed choice to be employed or to continue study in the field of education.
3. Apply the certificate towards entry into a teaching credential or child development permit program, and/or the certificate may serve to document the acquisition of knowledge and skills relevant for employment as a teacher assistant or support staff in a classroom, school, or related environment.

Review Graduation Requirements.

Course List Units

Course	Title	Units
Required Core
Complete the following:
CHEM C140	Survey of Chemistry and Physics	4
or PHYS C140	Survey of Chemistry and Physics
BIOL C100C	Introduction to Biology Lecture/Lab	4
GEOL C106	Earth Sciences for Teachers	4
EDUC C180	Family, School, and Community Partnerships Includes 10 hours of required fieldwork/observations)	3
EDUC C104	Introduction to Teaching and Learning in Diverse Contemporary Classrooms Includes 10 hours of required fieldwork/observations	1
Total Units		16