Texas Border Business
Get to know some of the people who help make UTRGV run
EDITOR’S NOTE: President Abraham Lincoln said, “Don’t worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.” That certainly describes so many of the people who work at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. They work each day behind the scenes, away from spotlights and accolades, but still knowing they have a job to do that supports the university community and makes it run smoothly. In order for an institution as large as UTRGV to work efficiently, many people must contribute – but some of them go unnoticed. Our Unsung Heroes series highlights just a few of the people who often go overlooked, despite their importance and contributions.
By Amanda A. Taylor
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – Tim Sears values any opportunity to contribute to the UTRGV community. A UTeach Master Teacher at the Edinburg campus, and an associate professor of Practice in the Department of Biology, Sears is involved in everything from facilitating the RGV Regional Science and Engineering Fair to moderating the UTRGV Regional Science Bowl for local high school students. His passion for science runs through his veins.
Apart from the multiple hats he wears in the UTeach department and the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Sears also is an avid traveler who has visited 14 countries and 44 states – only six more states to go before he has seen the entire United States!
WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AT UTRGV?
Along with my UTeach colleagues at UTRGV, I help prepare secondary science and mathematics teachers. I enjoy teaching UTRGV undergraduate science and mathematics majors and observing them teach inquiry lessons at local partner schools (and virtually, during the past year). I am a Master Teacher and a Field Supervisor in our UTRGV UTeach Program. My service roles at UTRGV include serving as the fair director for the Rio Grande Valley Science and Engineering Fair, the campus liaison for the national AVID for Higher Education Teacher Preparation initiative, and a moderator for the Regional Science Bowl.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED HERE?
I have worked at UTRGV, and formerly UTPA, since 2012.
WITH THE SOCIAL CHANGES DUE TO COVID-19, DESCRIBE YOUR AVERAGE DAY IN THESE TIMES?
I co-taught synchronous online classes to undergraduate science and mathematics majors enrolled in our program’s Inquiry Approaches to Teaching and Apprentice Teachingcourses. I scheduled their virtual teaching experiences and really enjoyed observing their passion and improvement as they taught inquiry-based lessons online to peers. I offered virtual practice sessions before they taught, and I facilitated conversations with them about their teaching practices after they taught. For the upper-class students in our teacher education program, I provided virtual review sessions prior to their educator certification exams. Each week, I had the pleasure of observing virtual lessons taught by the clinical teachers I supervised during their full-day clinical teaching (student teaching) program at local schools. To promote and advance STEM in the Valley, I worked with a team of faculty, staff and community volunteers to organize and direct the Rio Grande Valley Regional Science and Engineering Fair – for the first time as a virtual event. I was inspired by the original research of our high school and middle school competitors from districts throughout the Valley.
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE MAINTAINING YOUR ROLE UNDER COVID-19?
The greatest challenge has been converting my face-to-face courses into effective online courses that provide opportunities for students to learn and practice effective inquiry teaching skills, as well as prepare them to become highly-skilled, inspiring educators.
IN WHAT WAYS ARE YOU HELPING YOUR DEPARTMENT MITIGATE THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS?
I have worked with our program leadership, faculty and staff to provide instructional, teaching, internship and student support opportunities through virtual environments to help reduce the spread of the virus.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE MEMORY, OR STORY, ABOUT YOUR TIME HERE?
As one of the founding faculty members of our program, I remember the first month we began presenting to and meeting with students who wanted to figure out if teaching science or math was right for them. I remember how excited we were to help design instructional aspects of the program and implement them to engage and promote inquiry teaching to our students.
