Megan M. Bettis
Lecturer/Supervisor, Science Teacher Credential and Young Scholars Program Director
Megan M. Bettis is a lecturer/supervisor of Teacher Education at UC Davis working primarily with secondary science teacher candidates. Additionally, she serves as the director of the UC Davis Young Scholars Program, a residential research program for high school juniors and seniors.
Prior to moving to academia, Megan worked as a secondary science teacher, most recently at a school that focused on project-based learning. There she also served as an instructional coach and new teacher support provider. As a classroom teacher, Megan’s focus was on educating the whole child and attending to their social-emotional development as they cultivated a love for learning and science. Now as a teacher educator, Megan focuses on how best to prepare teachers to support all students.
Megan earned her EdD in Leadership and Innovation at Arizona State University and her research focused on integrating SEL in out-of-school time programs to support student STEM identity development. She is particularly interested in how this happens with secondary students.
Education
BS – University of California, Davis
MA – University of California, Davis
Administrative Credential Certificate of Eligibility – Sacramento
County Office of Education
EdD – Arizona State University
Professional Experience
Lecturer/Supervisor, Teacher Education 2018 – present
Director, UC Davis Young Scholars Program 2018 – present
Science Teacher, Davis Joint Unified School District 2011 -
2018
Science Teacher 2008 – 2011
Publications, Poster Sessions, and Presentations
Publications
Bettis, M., Bock, J., & Markos, A. (2024). Culturally grounded social-emotional learning for identity development. In Demartino, L. & Fetman, L. (Ed.) Moving from trendy social-emotional learning to transformative social-emotional learning. Manuscript in preparation.
Bettis, M. (2023). STEM-Social Emotional Learning for Facilitators: A Study on the Implementation of Social-Emotional Learning in Out-of-School Time Programs to Support STEM Identity Development (Doctoral dissertation, Arizona State University).
Bettis, M. (2023). Implementing SEL in STEM: Challenges and opportunities. Connected Science Learning. 5(3).
Bettis, M. (2023). Beyond the use of academic language. California Classroom Science. 35(3).
Poster Sessions
Bettis, M. (2023). Integrating SEL & STEM – Challenges & Opportunities. SEL Exchange. Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, November 2023.
Bettis, M. (2023). Supporting Social and Emotional Learning in STEM Spaces. Fall Regional Meeting. Association for Science Teacher Education, October 2023.
Presentations
Bettis, M. (2023). Mentoring New Teachers. Workshop presented at the California Association of Science Educators conference, October 2023.
Bettis, M. (2022). Productive Talk in the Classroom. Workshop presented at the California Association of Science Educators conference, October 2022.
Professional Organization Membership & Service
California Association of Science Educators (CASE)
- 4-Year College Director 2024 – present
- Mentoring and Leadership Committee
Chair 2024 – present, Committee Member 2023 – 2024 - Publications Committee Member 2024 – present
- Membership Committee Member 2018 – 2023
National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Conference Proposal Reviewer 2022 – 2023
Association of Science Teacher Educators (ASTE)
American Educational Research Association (AERA)
Courses Taught at UC Davis
EDU/GEL 081 – Learning in Science & Mathematics
EDU 206B,C,D – Inquiry into Classroom Practice
EDU 292 – Science Teaching Methods
EDU 306 – Teaching in Secondary Schools
EDU 310 – Teaching as a Reflective Practice
