We sat down with Darren Brown, who returned to Westridge in fall 2023 as an 8th grade science teacher, a job he held during the 2021-2022 school year as a long-term substitute. Darren has taught marine and environmental science at Viewpoint School, Milken Community School, Pennsylvania State University, California State University Northridge, and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. A former Fulbright Scholar with an M.S. in biology, he recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation and continues to conduct research in the field of marine biology.

Why did you get into science? And then why teaching?

I have been interested in science since high school, but didn’t actually get around to going to college until I was 28. It was during my undergraduate studies that I met Dr. Peter Edmunds, who taught an Invertebrate class I was taking, and asked if I could be an undergraduate volunteer in his lab. Though I didn’t fully know what Dr. Edmunds’ field of study was at the time, I just liked the way he taught. I came to discover his lab focuses on the biology and long-term dynamics of tropical coral, so thus began my research career into the effects of global climate change on coral reefs. 

After over a decade of that work, I found myself doing research and teaching at Penn State University, and realized I was enjoying teaching my undergraduate courses more than I was conducting my research.  I also realized current research science was not being presented to the public in an understandable way… in fact, most research scientists didn’t even want to deal with the public—a key part of the research process that I actually enjoy and find very rewarding. I decided that I should focus my efforts into teaching, so I quit Penn State and drove home to LA.

How has teaching middle schoolers differed from teaching college students?

I actually teach my Westridge classes very similar to the way I taught at the collegiate level. Middle School is great because of all the new discoveries in science that I’m able to introduce students to, especially sharing stories of how real scientific research is conducted. Many students believe science is conducted by middle-aged white men in lab coats, working in some pristine lab setting—my favorite thing about teaching is getting to show my students a world of living in wet suits, diving 6-8 hours a day from a boat, and conducting research in outdoor labs in bare feet, all the while feeding lab dogs and getting to know the locals.

What about Westridge made you want to come back to a permanent position after working as a long-term substitute?

I came back to Westridge because of our community, which is incredible and, so far, unparalleled. I have taught at many schools, in many different places and at many different educational levels, but none of them felt like the community we have here at Westridge.

During my first year, while working as a long-term substitute, my 8th grade students used their “Christmas Tiger Wish” to keep me at Westridge after my substitute contract was ending. I can’t remember another time when I was so grateful and humbled by my students.

I am also a huge advocate for Westridge’s Middle School philosophy of having a single teacher for each subject for the entire grade. When multiple instructors are teaching the same course, you lose the expertise of each individual teacher, which often leads to a decrease in the enthusiasm for teachers and students alike. The model we use at Westridge allows us to increase the level of specificity in teaching, based on our real-life experience.

If you had to choose, what project or lesson is your favorite to teach?

My favorite lesson in Concepts in Earth & Physical Science [Brown’s main science class, which all 8th graders take] is the global climate change unit, where we set up tanks of various intertidal organisms (mostly hermit crabs, snails, algae, and urchins) to measure how changes to their environment affect their homeostasis. The students really get into the hands-on research with living organisms. This experiment teaches students not only the thrills of scientific research, but also the difficulties and struggles that come along with it, like obtaining permits and maintaining the tanks over time. They come to class thinking you do an experiment, record results, and it’s over, which is rarely the case—sometimes things go wrong, and sometimes things don’t cooperate 

This semester, you’re also teaching the STEAM Ocean elective. Can you share how this connects to your research background in marine biology?

Teaching STEAM Ocean is a great opportunity for me because it allows me to introduce students to my research publications and personal experiences in the field of global climate change and dive into how climate change affects the marine environment. We also get to discuss how current scientific research is utilizing science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) to understand the impacts of global climate change on the marine realm, and how this affects the physical, chemical, and biological cycles of earth.  

Tell us a bit more about your current research grant and how it connects to the classroom.

The grant I received from the National Science Foundation is called a Research Experience for Teachers grant, which aims to increase the knowledge and experience of students by sending their teacher into the field to conduct research experiments that can then be studied by the students in the classroom. This gives students the perspective to say “wow, we’re going to do real things and not just read from a book.” It opens them up to the idea that they might want to do their own research, especially if they know science doesn’t only happen in a lab. 
Currently, I am collaborating with California State University Northridge, University of California Santa Barbara, and Florida State University on a project attempting to explain the disparity in responses of coral genera to global climate change. We’re looking at three of the ways we see coral dying at different depths: genetics, calcification, and photophysiology (or how they use sunlight for energy, which is what I’ll be working on). 

My STEAM Ocean students and I will look at years of historical research leading up to this collaboration, and then I will go to Mo’orea, French Polynesia over spring break to collect new data, which I’ll bring back so we can analyze it in class together. I’ll assign them different environments around the island to focus on, and they’ll use the data to draw their own conclusions about what is affecting the coral. It piques their interest because it’s real.

Do you have a favorite unbelievable science fun fact? 

I think one of the more unbelievable things I teach is that global climate change has not only happened before, but it has been over 10 times more extreme in the past. So, the idea that climate change is going to cause a mass extinction killing most life on earth just isn’t true. While climate change is moving faster now than ever before, we still have to think about evolutionary biology. In reality, some species will be able to adapt and some won’t (like coral). 

Many students have come to me after I introduce them to the topic and its cause and effects, and they tell me they’re relieved to know that the world isn’t going to end this century. 

You are so beloved across campus—what’s your secret?

I appreciate the compliment, but I’m not sure I am beloved across campus*. I’m also not sure most people know who I am, which I’m completely cool with. It may sound strange, but I most enjoy time spent with my students—whether that means teaching curriculum or just talking about current events (which they help me with greatly, since I am an old man who has never been on social media and I’m not up to speed with most of the things that are important to today’s grade school students. They told me about the Octonauts, a group of marine problem-solvers who go all around the world, and I didn’t realize until 20 minutes in that they were talking about a cartoon! I was thinking, “what university are they with and how do I not know these people?” Now it’s a running joke in class.)

When Thursday rolls around and I hear “It’s almost Friday!”, I don’t understand the need to look toward the days when we are not at Westridge. I really do enjoy my time here, so I spend Thursday looking forward to 2 more days with my students, a couple days of rest, and getting excited about working together again on Monday. I’m hopeful that this is why I get along well with most of my students: I want to be at Westridge, and I want them to enjoy our time together exploring the world of science together.

*EDITOR’S NOTE: He is. When Brown’s name was announced as a new permanent faculty member at Convocation 2023, the crowd erupted in cheer.