Chemical Education Today
Editorial Educating Teachers Recently I noted that the public places a very high value on teachers and good teaching (1). The wisdom of this view is confirmed by research. Druva and Anderson (2) found that science teachers with more content knowledge were more likely to ask questions that required higher-level thought, were more attuned to seeking information from students through questioning and discussion, and were better at enabling students to understand the scientific method. The more science courses these teachers had taken, the larger was the fraction of their students who reported that they “liked science”. Another study (3) found that students whose teachers had participated in a summer research program received higher scores and pass rates on the New York State Regents Examination. You are probably not surprised by these findings. Most of us know from personal experience how important it is to have a thorough understanding of the content we expect students to learn. Such understanding becomes even more crucial when we try to implement the discovery-oriented, inquiry-based pedagogy that is called for in the National Science Education Standards (4). How can we possibly expect teachers to ask questions and design learning environments that will help students to discover and understand scientific principles and facts, if the teachers themselves lack such knowledge and understanding? Because good teaching is essential to the quality of our country’s educational enterprise, it is sobering to consider how many well-trained teachers will be needed in the next decade. The number of students is growing, but a recent NSTA survey (5) showed that nearly 40% of science teachers are considering leaving their jobs. One reason is retirement—nearly a quarter of all teachers are over the age of 55. However, there were other reasons: poor salaries, poor administrative support, and student discipline problems were often reported. Over the next decade the need for good teachers of chemistry and science in middle schools and high schools will be acute. How to deal with this problem is the subject of a timely report from the Committee on Science and Mathematics Teacher Preparation of the Center for Education of the National Research Council (NRC) (6). In the Foreword to the report, Bruce Alberts, President of the National Academy of Sciences, states, “In the current maelstrom of the education debate, the need to improve the quality of our teachers’ preparation and professional development deserves a central place.” I agree wholeheartedly. We can do high-stakes testing, change curricula, or develop new teaching methods and materials, yet none of these will be as effective as an education enterprise that attracts, supports, and maintains long-term a large number of good teachers who are well-grounded in subject matter and pedagogy. The NRC report recommends that local governments should recruit and retain science teachers with appropriate science backgrounds by offering “salaries that are commensurate and competitive with those in other professions in science, mathematics, and technology.” Most of us are in a position to support this recommendation in local elections,
school board meetings, and other pubResolve to do lic venues. If we who know that competitive salaries are not the same in all more than ever subject areas don’t say so, who will? The NRC report also recombefore to help mends that there should be much more collaboration among all groups involved in the education commu- improve teacher nity: teachers, administrators, college education… and university faculty in education and other disciplines, industrial scientists and engineers, and the public. To achieve this goal the report’s authors propose forming Professional Development Schools (PDSs) that would make education of teachers “a complex, career-long learning process that involves continual intellectual growth”. Each PDS would be a partnership between a college or university and a K–12 school system in support of continuing teacher education and improvement of learning in the schools. All of us in post-secondary institutions, whether via a teacher-education program or otherwise, must get involved. Through the kinds of courses we offer, the pedagogy we employ, the advising we provide to students, and our collegial interactions with K–12 faculty and administrators, we all influence whether students consider careers in teaching and how well those careers contribute to the national need for better education in science, mathematics, and technology. Resolve to do more than ever before to help improve teacher education and enhance science education.
Literature Cited 1. Moore, J. W. J. Chem. Educ. 2001, 78, 1141. 2. Druva, C. A.; Anderson, R. D. J. Res. Sci. Teach. 1983, 20, 467–479. 3. Silverstein, S. C. Impact of Teacher Participation in Columbia University’s Summer Research Program for Science Teachers on Interest and Achievement of their Students in Science: A Preliminary Report; presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology, Washington, DC, December 15, 1999. 4. National Research Council, National Science Education Standards. National Academy Press: Washington, DC, 1996; (http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/html/contents.html) (accessed Apr 2002). 5. National Science Teachers Association, “Nationwide Survey of Science Teacher Credentials, Assignments, and Job Satisfaction,” April 7, 2000. Data are available at http:// www.nsta.org/about/survey2000data.html (accessed Apr 2002). 6. Committee on Science and Mathematics Teacher Preparation Educating Teachers of Science, Mathematics, and Technology: New Practices for the New Millennium. National Academy Press: Washington, DC, 2002; http://www.nap.edu/openbook/ 0309070333/html/R1.html (accessed Apr 2002).
JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 79 No. 6 June 2002 • Journal of Chemical Education
647
