UC Davis junior Stephanie Craig wanted to wet her feet with a teaching experience, so she's waded into two seventh-grade science classes in Sacramento.

She's one of 20 science majors interning in 12 schools this fall through a UC Davis internship program designed to encourage them to consider science teaching as a career and to allow them to learn from an experienced teacher. Since its beginnings in the winter of 1999, more than 200 students have been part of the program.

And at a time when California needs more teachers with science credentials, the program is proving effective. Glen Lusebrink, who coordinates the program for the university's Division of Biological Sciences, says 25 percent of students enter the program interested in teaching as a career, and, by the end of the 10-weeks, 33 percent to 45 percent say they plan to teach.

Craig, who is spending her internship with teacher Kerin Butterfield and 52 students at Fern Bacon Basic Middle School, recently guided students through a review session for an upcoming test. "It's a really good opportunity to explore what I'm planning on doing and understand what it's like to teach science."

Program participants attend class once a week at UC Davis to take on topics from lesson planning to classroom management and spend four to six hours a week as a resident scientist and teaching partner. They keep a weekly journal and at the end of the internship write a paper reflecting on their experience and how it affected their thoughts about teaching as a profession.

Ross Ellison can attest to how the program influenced his thinking. After interning at Winters High School in the spring of 2000, he graduated with a degree in biochemistry and completed the teacher credential program at UC Davis. Today, he teaches chemistry at Vacaville High School. "I was definitely interested in teaching, but I don't think I would have taken the plunge had I not done the internship," he says.

Editor's note: The UC Davis class for teaching interns meets 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays; for media access, please contact Glen Lusebrink. The Fern Bacon classes in which Stephanie Craig is interning are in session 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; for media access, please contact teacher Kerin Butterfield.