http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/ The latest material additions to the PTEC. en-US Copyright 2008, ComPADRE.org managingEditor@compadre.org editor@ptec.org Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:36:25 EST http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.compadre.org/portal/services/images/LogoSmallPTEC.gif http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/ 125 35 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8376 In America’s secondary schools, low-income students and students of color are about twice as likely as other students to be enrolled in core academic classes taught by out-of-field teachers, according to a report released by The Education Trust. While out-of-field teaching is particularly acute in mathematics and in high-poverty and high-minority schools, the problem is pervasive. Nationwide, more than 17 percent of all core academic courses (English, math, social studies, and science) in grades 7-12 are taught by an out-of-field teacher. In the middle grades alone, the rate jumps to 40 percent. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8376 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:36:25 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8376 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8375 MSPnet is an electronic learning community for the Math and Science Partnership Program. With the MSP program, the National Science Foundation implemented an important facet of the President's No Child Left Behind (NCLB) vision for K-12 education. A major research and development effort, the MSP program responds to concern over the performance of the nation's children in mathematics and science. Institutions of higher education - their disciplinary faculty in departments of mathematics, the sciences and/or engineering, education faculty and administrators - partner with K-12 districts and others to effect deep, lasting improvement in K-12 mathematics and science education through five key features: Partnership-Driven, Teacher Quality, Quantity and Diversity, Challenging Courses and Curricula, Evidence-Based Design, and Institutional Change and Sustainability. Education Practices/Professional Development http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8375 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:25:40 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8375 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8267 As part of an NSF funded Math and Science Partnership grant, we have developed and implemented a yearlong series of science content courses for future elementary teachers based on Physics and Everyday Thinking (PET). The geology and biology courses continue the theme of energy and interactions developed through PET and the pedagogical model mimics PET. The courses are taught on five campuses, three community colleges that feed Western Washington University, and the Northwest Indian College. Student learning results for both inservice and preservice teachers are positive. We have documented positive changes in elementary classroom science instruction and student achievement as well as differences in preservice students in science teaching methods courses. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8267 Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:18:25 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8267 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8036 Science teacher attrition is a topic of frequent discussion among teacher educators, administrators, university educators, and policy makers. While attrition could be described as leaving the workforce for any number of reasons (e.g., retirement, moving to a new location, contract not renewed), those in education often link attrition to teachers who are leaving the work force in their first five years. These expressed concerns for the thinning science teacher work force often entail a statistical reference that is from the work of Ingersoll or data from the National Center for Educational Statistics. As a result, it is not unusual to read that "after just five years, between 40 and 50 percent of all beginning teachers have left teaching altogether," or that the newest and the oldest teachers are leaving the workforce. While these large data sets are important for understanding educational trends, there are limits to their interpretation. Most importantly, they don't provide details that give insights into why newly qualified teachers are leaving the profession. For the last three years, the authors have been involved in a study that follows beginning secondary science teachers during their first, second, and third years of teaching. This study, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, ultimately aims to explore the development of beginning secondary science teachers. While the authors are just beginning the analysis of this data, they have data that depicts and describes science teachers who are in their first year of teaching and who are staying in the profession (stayers), moving to different locations (movers), or leaving the field altogether (leavers). This research report ultimately gives more insight into first-year science teachers and their job situations. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8036 Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:49:55 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8036 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8269 he University of Colorado Learning Assistant model (http://stem.colorado.edu and http://phystec.colorado.edu) uses the transformation of large-enrollment science courses as a mechanism for achieving four goals: (1) to recruit and prepare talented science majors for careers in teaching, (2) to improve the quality of math and science education for all undergraduates, (3) to engage math and science faculty in the recruitment and preparation of future teachers and to engage education faculty in the transformation of undergraduate courses, and (4) to transform the culture in university math and science departments to value research-based teaching as a legitimate endeavor for ourselves and for our students. We report on the successes and challenges of last five years of this program in the physics department. Results include: (i) a roughly doubling of the national average learning gains in our transformed classes, (ii) improved recruitment (by more than a factor of 3) and preparation of the next generation of future physics teachers, (iii) a dramatic increase in the number of involved physics faculty (by a factor of four or more), and (iv) institutional commitment to these efforts. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8269 Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:10:40 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8269 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8268 As part of an NSF funded Math and Science Partnership grant, we have developed and implemented a yearlong series of science content courses for future elementary teachers based on Physics and Everyday Thinking (PET). The geology and biology courses continue the theme of energy and interactions developed through PET and the pedagogical model mimics PET. The courses are taught on five campuses, three community colleges that feed Western Washington University, and the Northwest Indian College. Student learning results for both inservice and preservice teachers are positive. We have documented positive changes in elementary classroom science instruction and student achievement as well as differences in preservice students in science teaching methods courses. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8268 Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:07:31 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8268 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8037 Many science educators, in the US and elsewhere, support the idea that all students should have fair and equal opportunities to become scientifically literate through authentic, real problem-based science education. However, this challenge requires teachers to find ways to help all students feel comfortable with, and connected to, science. Despite the general consensus around the ideal of science for all, science teacher education programmes have had little or no impact on preservice teachers' philosophies of teaching and learning, especially as it relates to serving underserved populations in science. In this paper, I explore community service-learning as one way of addressing the multicultural dimension of preservice education with the following three questions: In what ways does involving pre-service science teachers in community service-learning influence their views on multicultural science education, in theory and practice? What qualities of community service-learning make multicultural science education a realistic objective? How might service-learning be used to push our collective understanding of what an inclusive and liberatory multicultural science teaching practice could be? I explore these questions and propose further areas of research by using a case study involving service-learning from my own teaching-research with preservice students. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8037 Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:54:56 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8037 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8246 As part of an NSF funded Math and Science Partnership grant, we have developed and implemented a yearlong series of science content courses for future elementary teachers based on Physics and Everyday Thinking (PET). The geology and biology courses continue the theme of energy and interactions developed through PET and the pedagogical model mimics PET. The courses are taught on five campuses, three community colleges that feed Western Washington University, and the Northwest Indian College. Student learning results for both inservice and preservice teachers are positive. We have documented positive changes in elementary classroom science instruction and student achievement as well as differences in preservice students in science teaching methods courses. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8246 Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:51:35 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8246 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8038 The purpose of this study is to (1) identify some of the major problems confronting first-year secondary science teachers; (2) list supportive practices supplied by the school-based administration and district-wide programs for first-year secondary science teachers; and (3) describe problems of socialization confronting first-year secondary science teachers. The study analyzes perceptions of eight first-year secondary science teachers under contract at the start of the 1996-1997 school year. The study viewed these teachers as novice by definition and perceptions of specific support activities which assisted them in moving from initially licensed to career tenure status. The literature review examines research on teacher based on self-reporting data. Although several of the cited research studies consider first-year teachers in general, few qualitative studies contain specific information on first-year secondary science teachers, e. g., what is involved in the new environment or what developmental skills are needed to survive the year. The research procedure used in this study is the individual case study method. Data were collected primarily through ethnographic interviews and surveys of eight first-year secondary science teachers and six administrators responsible for evaluation of these teachers. (Two administrators did not respond to the survey.) A thematic conceptual matrix was used to display the problems and issues faced by and support offered to these teachers. The findings clearly reveal the top two problems of first-year secondary science teachers to be discipline and classroom/time management exacerbated by a perceived lack of administrative support and assistance. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8038 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:05:59 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8038 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8039 Drawing on the research, literature, and wisdom of experienced professional developers, Designing Professional Development presents best practices to help professional developers, administrators, and teacher leaders design learning experiences for mathematics and science teachers that are directly linked to improving student learning. This second edition incorporates new ideas, tools, and resources. It offers composite vignettes of what the authors have learned and case illustrations of real programs or program features. A bridge between theory and practice, this book is a comprehensive tool for professional developers. Content includes key elements for planning and leading professional development: a framework for planning professional development, a summary of key knowledge, guidance on how to assess one’s context to prepare to design professional development, a lens on critical issues, a variety of strategies for professional learning, examples of how elements of the design framework were used to create real-life professional development initiatives for teachers of mathematics and science, and references and resources. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8039 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:04:00 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8039 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8040 This three-year longitudinal study explores the evolving beliefs and practices of five prospective secondary science teachers in a university preparation program from recruitment through their first year in the classroom. As an interpretive qualitative study, the format for data collection and analysis utilizes a case-study methodology with crosscase analysis. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, collected artifacts, and classroom observations. There are a number of important conclusions from this study. First, the teachers’ beliefs about teaching initially shift to a contemporary focus during the program, but ultimately return to a didactic orientation by their first year in the classroom. At the same time, the teachers’ beliefs about learning remain consistently more contemporary in nature. Second, the participants believe that they practice teaching science as inquiry at a higher level than are indicated by researcher observations. Third, while participants value advanced content and educational theory coursework, they do not always see the link between these experiences and their development as science teachers. Fourth, the findings from this study reveal that internal and external contextual factors impacted, to varying degrees, the development of the science teachers. The findings from this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the development of science teachers from preservice education to the induction years, which indicates a pattern that is not linear. The findings from this study also reinforce the importance of internal and external contextual factors on the development of science teachers. Ultimately, this study is important to the field of secondary science teacher education as it depicts the complex interactions between the individual, the preparation program, and the school placements that impact the beliefs and practices of preservice and beginning teachers. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8040 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:01:20 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8040 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8200 This edition of the PhysTEC News describes the new PhysTEC Noyce Scholarship Program and reports on the increasing number of teachers graduating from PhysTEC institutions. It also details the PhysTEC teacher gathering at the AAPT Summer Meeting and discusses an exemplary Teacher-in-Residence. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8200 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:50:40 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8200 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8133 This report of the State Educational Technology Directors Association addresses needs in STEM eduction. The report recommends that states and school districts should develop a strategic plan to implement STEM education for all kids beginning in kindergarten, and develop specific targets for achieving these goals. As part of this strategic plan, states and school districts need to demonstrate to the community, especially parents, that STEM education is necessary for all students. States and school districts can look to broad-based initiatives developed in others states and districts for guidance. In order to provide ALL students with a solid background in STEM, the report recommends: obtaining societal support for STEM education, exposing students to STEM careers, providing on-going and sustainable STEM professional development, providing STEM pre-service teacher training and recruiting, and retaining STEM teachers. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8133 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:38:18 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8133 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8041 This report examines the patterns of teacher attrition among full-time teachers in Indiana from 1965 to 1987. The study's objectives were to assess the current state of teacher supply and demand in Indiana, recommend policies to ensure an adequate supply of certified teachers, and provide the Indiana State Department of Education with the capability to monitor and perform future assessments of teacher supply and demand. The introduction outlines a rationale for the study and provides definitions of attrition. The report goes on to present and discuss a theory of teacher attrition, to examine trends in attrition in Indiana and patterns of attrition among new teacher cohorts, and to analyze attrition over the career and over the first four years after entry using multivariate analysis. Study findings include, among others: (1) both annual and permanent teacher attrition rates have fallen steadily over time with the exception of a period in the late 1970s characterized by involuntary reductions in staff; (2) attrition in entering cohorts of new teachers is at its lowest level in 25 years; and (3) lower attrition of women teachers during early to mid-career accounts for a significant portion of the overall attrition decline. An appendix provides regression estimates for Cox models of teacher attrition. The main report is preceded by a substantial summary of its contents. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8041 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:55:32 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8041 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8042 From the perspective of this analysis, schools are not simply victims of inexorable demographic trends, and there is a significant role for the management of schools in both the genesis of and solution to school staffing problems. Rather than increase the quantity of teacher supply, an alternative solution to school staffing problems, documented by this analysis, is to decrease the demand for new teachers by decreasing turnover. The data suggest that the way to improve teacher retention is to improve the conditions of the teaching job. Schools across the country where there is more support from the school administration for new teachers, such as induction and mentoring programs have significantly lower levels of teacher turnover. The same holds for schools with higher salaries, fewer student discipline problems, and enhanced faculty input into school decision-making. The data document that changing these things would all contribute to lower rates of turnover, in turn, diminish school staffing problems and, hence, ultimately, aid the performance of schools. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8042 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:50:39 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8042 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8043 Each new headline about American students' poor performance in math and science leads to new calls for reform in teaching. Education Teachers of Science, Mathematics, and Technology puts the whole picture together by synthesizing what we know about the quality of math and science teaching, drawing conclusions about why teacher preparation needs reform, and then outlining recommendations for accomplishing the most important goals before us. As a framework for addressing the task, the book advocates partnerships among school districts, colleges, and universities, with contributions from scientists, mathematicians, teacher educators, and teachers. It then looks carefully at the status of the education reform movement and explores the motives for raising the bar for how well teachers teach and how well students learn. Also examined are important issues in teacher professionalism: what teachers should be taught about their subjects, the utility of in-service education, the challenge of program funding, and the merits of credentialing. Professional Development Schools are reviewed and vignettes presented that describe exemplary teacher development practices. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8043 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:45:44 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8043 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8047 Access to quality mathematics and science instruction is a key factor in preparing all students to compete in post-secondary education. Highly qualified pre-college math and science teachers are essential for preparing students who aspire to careers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine. As part of the efforts of major state universities to enhance the supply of secondary math and science teachers, the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) has developed the Science and Mathematics Teacher Imperative. Objectives of the Teacher Imperative are to leverage the growing interest in science teacher preparation by universities and build collaborations with key education and government leaders in states to collectively address this critical national problem. The Imperative has begun compiling substantial information on model university teacher preparation programs that involve science faculty. The program seeks to engage faculty further through efforts with professional societies such as the American Chemical Society and the American Physical Society. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8047 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:26:39 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8047 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8017 The national shortage of highly qualified math and science teachers points to a need to focus more attention and resources on teacher preparation. However, physics faculty often have little time to spare for activities outside of traditional research and teaching. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has strongly supported teacher preparation efforts, primarily through the Directorate of Education and Human Resources. What may be lesser known is that the NSF "broader impacts" criterion opens the door for more conventional research proposals to include teacher preparation activities as well. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8017 Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:22:43 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8017 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8016 Florida International University (FIU) is changing the face of physics education in South Florida, with the goal of increasing the quality and quantity of physics teachers, including traditionally underrepresented minorities and woman, through an integrated research and learning community. Leading the effort is the FIU PhysTEC Project, one of four new PhysTEC (Physics Teacher Education Coalition) Primary Program Institutions that began operation in summer 2007. The FIU PhysTEC Project is embedded within a physics research and learning community centered in sustained educational reform, adoption and adaption of successful national programs, and community development via partnership. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8016 Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:16:13 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8016 http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8015 An institution classified by the Carnegie Foundation as "RU/VH" (research university, very high research activity) rarely considers the preparation of high school teachers to be a central part of its mission. Its faculty members tend to concentrate instead on producing new knowledge and preparing the future professoriate. The University of North Carolina's mission statement highlights undergraduate and doctoral education and discovering knowledge, but only at the very end (almost as an afterthought) are they charged to "address, as appropriate, regional, national and international needs." Laurie McNeil, physics department chair at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, discusses their successful effort to implement a teacher preparation program. Education Practices/Teacher Preparation http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8015 Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:06:26 EST http://www.compadre.org/PTEC/items/detail.cfm?ID=8015