Multiple Subject Teacher Credential Coordinator
School of Education
January 1, 2012
School Welcomes Dr. Toma-Berge as Coordinator of Multiple Subject Teacher Credential Program
“Those who can, teach.”
Susan Toma-Berge, Ed.D., believes that this twist on a familiar quotation has never been more evident than when observing and supervising student teachers in the UCI Multiple Subject Teacher Credential program.
For the last five years she considers herself fortunate to have been able to teach enthusiastic credential candidates and observe them at partnering school sites. It was during these observations that she was able to witness student teachers apply the knowledge they gained through course work with the expert guidance of dedicated mentor teachers.”
Whenever I observe a student teacher demonstrating the characteristics of an emerging teacher, I am able to recognize the influence of all who worked together to make this transformation possible: the multiple subject faculty who collaborate to design cutting edge curriculum, the mentor teachers who provide daily guidance and modeling, the supervisors who offer support and suggestions, and the school site principals who exhibit inspired leadership. And of course, the UCI student teacher who synthesizes these incoming messages without complaint (well, maybe just a little) and takes the steps to mature into a teacher.
Susan Toma-Berge’s own teaching journey started 20 years ago as an elementary school teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
I taught at a large urban school with linguistically diverse students so I studied Spanish in both Mexico and Spain to earn a BCLAD credential, only to have Prop 227 pass the same year.
When it became evident that she would need to improve her ability to teach English immersion, she went back to CSUN (Cal State University, Northridge) to earn a Masters of Education in Multilingual & Multicultural Education as well as a Reading Recovery certificate in order to tutor at-risk first-grade students struggling with reading. Her interests in first-grade literacy, English learners, and urban schools shaped her research trajectory and dissertation from the University of San Diego and San Diego State University joint doctoral program.
It is with great pleasure that I take on the role as the Coordinator of the Multiple Subject Credential program. I am looking forward to overseeing all our multiple subject candidates as they embark on their own teaching journey.