Tim Sears, a 2001 Rio Grande Valley corps member, taught high school sciences at South Palm Gardens High School in Weslaco ISD from 2001 to 2004.
“I taught there for 3 years because of the extraordinary leadership of my principal Cynthia Alperin,” Sears said.
Next, he was a Science Strategist at Weslaco ISD Administration until 2012, where he collaborated district-wide to improve science programs, obtain grants, form local partnerships, and develop a STEM student research program that led to awards at state and international science fair competitions. Sears is now one of the faculty members in the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s secondary teacher preparation program for science and mathematics majors.
“I am a founding faculty member of the program and have taught or supported each of its field-based pedagogy courses through which college science and mathematics majors teach inquiry-based lessons to students at local K-12 public schools,” he said. He is also fair director of the Rio Grande Valley Regional Science & Engineering Fair hosted by UTRGV since fall 2020, and a past chair of the International Science and Engineering Fair Advisory Council. He continues to be involved with Teach for America as TFA RGV Regional Advisory Board Member (2017-2022); and TFA RGV Alumni Board Member (2016-2022; founding member).
What motivated you to apply to join Teach For America and choose to teach in the Rio Grande Valley?
During college at the University of Virginia, I really enjoyed teaching English to local migrant farm workers and providing after-school tutoring to children of local migrant families through a student-led campus community service program for four years. Then, in my senior year, I taught local high school biology students through a student-teaching course and observed Teach For America high school teachers in Washington, DC. I saw first-hand how educational opportunities were different for many students compared to the opportunities I had growing up in public schools in rural New Jersey. I learned that spending time building relationships with students and colleagues, advocating for educational resources, and developing engaging lessons could inspire and motivate all students. This experience led me to apply to Teach For America. I chose to teach in the Rio Grande Valley because its educational advancement potential and relationship-centered culture seemed like the perfect place to share my passion for science education with high school students determined to make their families and themselves proud.
What is one of the most surprising things you have learned about education throughout your career?
One of the most surprising things I have learned about education throughout my career teaching high school and college students and supporting pre-service and in-service teachers has been the importance that networking and sharing ideas through intentional collaboration can have on both students and educators. Educators and educational leaders can support each other and their students better when they work together to share and improve on ideas rather than work hard in isolation, regardless of their years of experience or level of content expertise. It can be difficult for busy educators to find time to collaborate and network in their schools and at professional development, but intentionally discussing how new or varied approaches benefit students can inspire and re-energize educators.
How did your time as a classroom teacher inform your professional trajectory and commitment to educational equity?
When I began teaching, my classroom did not have a science lab table or area. My principal was fully supportive of my plan to build a safe lab area with gas and water to increase my students’ engagement as they learned biology, chemistry, and physics concepts. I realized that not all of my students were as excited about science as I was so I implemented Fun Fridays and Wacky Wednesdays with unexpected science demos and lab activities to get them excited about coming to their science class. I spent a lot of time reading about research-based learning and assessment strategies that worked and I tried many of them. I saw firsthand how involving students in collaborative learning activities involving misconceptions, academic arguments, and teamwork made them want to discover the reasons for their observations and results. I realized that this could be done with simple and inexpensive materials. Allowing and encouraging student discovery and student-led explanations motivated me to share those learning approaches with other teachers in my district and then with my UTeach preservice teachers at UTRGV. I believe that students should be taught by teachers that have a deep understanding of the content they teach, apply inquiry approaches to engage students, and use a range of strategies to assess and improve their students’ learning. All students can learn when relationship-building, trust, educator passion, and engagement are part of their educational experience. It is important to me to contribute to STEM education efforts beyond our university. Educators can deepen our own learning and broaden our impact through education-related service. I value my sustained partnerships and service activities at the local, regional, state, national, and international levels, including presenting at national and state educator conferences and forming partnerships for STEM education internships for our UTeach pre-service teachers.
If you could change one thing for students, either your college students or K-12 students, what would it be?
If I could change one thing for my college students and K-12 students, it would be to increase their access to experiential learning. It can be hard for teachers to convey the relevance and importance of what they are teaching and it can be hard for students to understand that relevance. When students learn by doing – whether that’s in their classroom, on field trips indoors and outdoors, or through field experiences, internships or service activities – and then reflect on those experiences, they can become inspired to pursue a career or seek additional training. The positive impacts that informal education and mentorship can have on students shouldn’t be underestimated, because they can be life-changing experiences for students. For the past several summers, for instance, a colleague and I have offered an agroecology professional development institute with experiential learning to local high school teachers. I’ve seen the impact that experiencing connections to agricultural science concepts and careers through field trips to local farms, research centers, and produce facilities has had on them as educators. My passion for experiential learning has led me to pursue a doctoral degree in educational leadership with a focus on experiential learning in the agricultural sciences. Can you share an anecdote or personal experience from your time as an instructor in the U-Teach program? The Rio Grande Valley, our state, and our country need highly qualified teachers, especially in science and math. I’m proud to be part of our UTRGV UTeach team because we support our college science and math majors pursuing secondary educator certification as they participate in early field experiences beginning their first semester at UTRGV. They are able to find out if teaching is right for them as they learn from supportive mentor teachers at local K-12 public schools whose classrooms they teach in and observe along the way. I typically teach the first and last courses in our program, and I’ve had the privilege of supervising our students during their clinical teaching in their final semester at UTRGV. When I discuss their teaching with them, I’m impressed with their self-reflection and continual desire to improve so that all of their students can learn and be engaged intellectually. It’s really rewarding to see semesters later how their experiences and teacher mentors shape them into enthusiastic and inspiring educators ready to teach in the Rio Grande Valley and beyond.
Teach for America (TFA) is the national nonprofit organization committed to the idea that one day, all children will attain an excellent education. To this end, the organization partners with communities to inspire the next generation of leaders to address unequal educational opportunities that fall along the lines of race and class. They begin this lifelong work with an initial two-year commitment to teach in some of the nation’s most underserved schools. Here in the Rio Grande Valley, 61 corps members work in seven districts across the region.
