Lewis N. Pino and Robbin C. Anderson' National Science Foundation Washington, D. C.
II
Review a n d future plans
Instituter in the Academic
The previous paper has reported on supplemental training activities for science and mathematics teachers encompassed in summer institutes and conferences. Beginning in 1956, this pattern of sup-. plemental training was extended to programs which occur during the regular 'academic year. These comprise two major groups: 'academic year" institutes and ',.m-service" institutes. This discussion is based on the NSF programs because they are representative of the most extensive activities a t present, and specific data on these are readily available. This does not, of course, minimize in any way the credit which is due the numerous other activities supported by individual colleges, private funds, etc., ranging back to the instihtes conducted by Huxley and Agassiz in 1871 or thereabout and including, for example, the General Electric and Shell Merit programs at p r e ~ e n t . ~ There are also other activities within the Foundation-such as certain fellowships, the visiting scientist programs, research participation, and conferences set up as special projects or "special field" institutes, and other government programs such as some of the NDEA fellowships and institutes of the US. Based on a paper presented as part of the Symposium on Institutes and Conferences before the Division of Chemical Education nt the 139th Meeting of the ACS, St. Louis, March, 1961. For other papers in the Symposium see T H I ~JOURNAL, 38, 251, 253, 448 (1961). 1 Professor of Chemistry, The University of Texas (on leave). 'Bacon, E. K., J. CHEM.Fhrc.. 38, 39 (1961).
Office of Educatio~i-which make significant contributions but which do not include large numbers of teachers. Academic Year Institutes
The Academic Year Institutes were a natural ontgrowth of the summer programs, and were instituted primarily to meet. the increasing desire for training more adequate than just one summer. The academic year institutes are organized for groups-20-30 if in a single field, 4 0 4 0 if in several fields--of teachers who can take leave of absence and spend a year in full-time stndy. Often provision is made for work to continue during the summer session also, so that 30-36 semester hours of advanced work can usually be accomplished. The programs were initiated in 1956-57 with an institute a t Oklahoma State under the direction of Dr. James Van Zant and one at Wisconsin under Dr. Harvey Sorum. Table 1 shows some data on the growth of such institutes, and data on the t,ypes of participants are given in Table 2. I t may be noted that secondary school teachers constitute about 9,5'3&of their participants a t present. Now that it is becoming possible for a teacher to carry out a longer program in summer also by study in a sequence of summers, it is important to recognize that the academic year programs complement the summer in significant qualitative aspects. In the academic year, a student has opportunity to accomplish the
Volume 38, Number 9, September 1961
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451
Table 1.
Growth of Academic Year lnstitutes
Year
proposals
No. of grants
1960-61
65
33
1961-62
66
43
No. of
No. of ~articipants
16 College 1491 HS 43 College 1494 HS 75 College'
In-Service Institutes
Total amount of amts
,
.
9,210,600 9,794,300
* 1961-62 includes for the first time three institutes for college teachers only: one each in radiation biology and mathematics and one for junior college chemistry tearhers at the University of the Pacific under direction of Dr. Emerson Cobb. Table 2.
Participants in Academic Year lnstitutes ( 1 9 6 1 -62 Estimations)
A'umber
Biology Chemistry General scienoe Earth science Mathematics Phvsiea
278 248 183 34 632 194
Per cent 17.8 15.9 1 1.7 2.2 40.0 12 4
Junior high school teachers 179 Senior high school teachers 1303 Prcserviee secondary teachers 12 College teachers 75
The In-Service Institutes are usually organized in the familiar pattern of extension work, comprising special classes scheduled in evening hours, Saturday mornings, or late afternoon, so that persons currently teaching full time may participate. Occasionally a teacher may have "released time" from his job, but usually the institute is extra work and has to be limited to one course or about six semester hours of credit in a year. This program was started with two institutes in spring 19.57: one in chemistry and four other fields at Antiorh College under the direction of Dr. James F. Corwin, and one in chemistry and mathematics a t Reed College under the direction of Mr. Gwen L. Taylor. Summaries of data on the growth of in-service institut,es are given in Tables 3 and 4. In 1959 a limited program for elementary teachers was begun. These do not usually emphasize chemistry as a separate field, but it is commonly a major component of work in. physical science for these teachers. The in-service institutes, in their turn, are different in certain qualitative aspects from other programs. Because of the time factors involved and the general working conditions, there is less concern about credit Toble 3.
Year
necessary readjustments to college life and study with ample time still remaining for much effective work then to be done. There are usually differences between the long-session and summer programs on individual campuses, which are reflected in somewhat different institute programs. There is also a difference between a program of steady study for nine months and one which is interrupted several times for intervals of nine or ten months, just as there is a difference between studying certain topics simultaneously and in sequence after such intervals. The academic year institutes take a teacher out of the classroom for one year; hut that teacher can return the next year with a master's level background-instead of four or five years later as would be required with summer work alone. Similarly, the academic year institutes permit observation of a new degree plan, etc., within one year rather than five. And there is often more contact and interchange with regular faculty-and thus more impact on programs of the institution itself-in the academic year. (One director recently noted that his 48 participantq in 195940 worked with 58 different faculty members.) Attempts to evaluate the success of the Academic Year Institutes involve all the usual complexities and uncertainties of such evaluations. It can be stated that both past participants and their colleagues and supervisors rate their experience as being beneficial. Participants are in demand on leaving and often receive premium salaries. There have been numerous instances of citation of such experience in job specifications, etc. And they do return to teaching (contrary to fears which some persons had expressed in the past) though a number may take college rather than high school places. 452
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Journal o f Chemical Education
Growth of lndervice lnstitutes
No. of proposals
1956-57 (S~rine. 3 semester-only) 1957-58 M) 1958-59 146 1959-60 225 36 (Elementary) 1960-61 250 43 (Elementary) 1961-62 (eatd.) 304
Table 4.
Total No. of Amount of participants Grants
2
90
21 85 182 11 191 13 236
635 2,985 8.6!10 309 8,888 405 10.816
11.900
$
16'2,300 610,800 1.1341.700 60;000 2,173,900 74,000 2.701.800
Participants in In-Service lnstitutes 11 961-62 Estimationsl
1)isciolin~ h.lsthern&cics Biology Chemistry Phvsics Eakh science General science Physical science Oceanography Radiation biology Totals
No. of grants
Number of oarticinants
578 230 385
25 55
10,816
Per cent
5.4 2.1 R.5 0.2 0 5 100
hours and, often, quite frankly less concern about quantity of material covered. The work can, however, he correlated quite closely and effectively with teaching problems because of the close juxtaposition with actual classroom work. These institutes also reach, frequently, a teacher population quite different from those who ran attend summer and academic year institutrs. Again the rcports on effectiveness of the programs are encouraging. There need be little concern here about the sincerity of participants because they receive only
minimal allowances for travel, and the working conditions are hardly such as to attract the lazy! Future Role of Institutes
Summer, academic year, in-service--each has made its contribution; together they have become and should continue to be effectivemethods for science and mathematics departments to contribute to the training of science and mathematics teachers. With due allowance for the problems of evaluation already noted, we have nonetheless uniformly encouraging evidence that the basic pattern of scientists and teachers working together is a successful one. But our major concern here should not be to recount past success so much as t o consider future developments-to try to determine whether there is continuing need for these programs and, if so, how they may be improved. The obvious starting point for determining current needs for institute-type training wonld be to know the qualifications of our present group of science and mathematics teachers; but only limited data are available on these. The U.S. Office of Education and the AAAS and KSF are trying to learn more; but in the meantime, it is necessary to adopt the engineering viewpoint of doing the best one can with present data, and with due caution that these estimates must be revised as new figures become available. In Table5 are summarized data(based on figures made available through the courtesy of the U.S. Office of Education based on a preliminary summary of studies for 1957 and 1958) on secondary school teachers and the source and extent of their training, with estimates of the amount of training they still need to reach the levels of professional background recommended by groups such as the Garrett subcommittee of the AAAS Cooperative Committee on Science and Mathematics Teaching and similar committees of other professional societies. These all follow a basic pattern which requires essentially a five-year program reaching the level of a master's degree for full professional status. Figures for the present. NSF programs are given for
Table 5. Teacher Population and Training Needs Secondary School Teachers (Grades 9-12) Science and Mathematics -
Current population by training Lacking bachelor's Bachelor's degree only Master's depree. without siienre major Master's de-wee.
1959
New teachers certified "Converted" teachers
8,000 aye
4,000 90,000
90,000
52,000
26,000
By Experience Carried over from
Estimated further training needed
Present Programs
comparison. (A "man-year" of study or an "academic year equivalent" (aye) is essentially one full academic year of work, about 30 semester hours. It takes about 4 summer or 5 in-service institutes to give one such equivalent of work.) We have tried to project this need for basic training over a ten-year period, with allowances for population increases, etc., and have got a figure of some 30,000 aye per year. Even if we neglect the older group and try jnst to train the new teachers each year-the newly certified and those converted from other f i e l d ~ s o m e 20,000 aye per year wonld be needed. Most important of all, we must continue to give most serious attention to the problem of keeping up to date in science, a problem which is continuous even for the best trained of teachers. It is in this area that the cooperation of active scientists and classroom teachers, which has been the key feature of institutes programs, is uniquely necessary. I n time we can eliminate the need for remedial programs for basic training by improving undergraduate teacher training; but the "sabbatical-year" type of study needed to maintain a teacher's competence in science will represent a continuing need for supplemental work and training. The experience of practice in many school systems plus the rate of growth of scientific knowledge (variously estimated as doubling every 8-12 years) indicates that one summer every four years is a fair estimate of the study needed to keep good teachers from losing touch, and thus to avoid drifting back into a situation we are jnst now beginning to alleviate. For 159,000 teachers this would require some 10,000 aye per year. I n a 10-year period, 12,000 aye may be needed each year to allow for the increasing teacher population. Thus 32,000 to 42,000 total aye per year are needed, depending upon whether we try to give basic training estimated on the needs for new teachers only or for all. These estimates are conservativeJ; despite the evident uncertainties in them, comparison with some 8500 aye now available shows that there is no question of a continuing need for institutes and other supplementary training for teachers. If any real gain is to be accomplished, it seems evident that we must have sharply increased efforts and that increased support should be sought from all possible sources. In spite of the major efforts which are now being made and the very real progress which has resulted, we are in danger of actually losing ground again, in these days of rapidly growing school and teacher populations, unless expanded and more effective programs can be developed. If there is to he further growth and expansion in institutes programs, several points must be considered. First of all, it is evident from the figures above that we must emphasize whenever possible the importance of giving good basic training initially so as to eliminate the heavy remedial factor in present programs. The needs are so extensive that we cannot afford the waste
Academic yr. inst. 1494 aye 134,300 Summer inst. 4421) In-service inst. 1778 8,200 7701
NSF fellowships, ---NDEA fellou15R,000 ships, MAT, etr. 16,500
Total
800 (rstd.) -
8500
A report just issued by the National Education Association, "Teacher Supply and Demand in Public Schools," 1961, indicates that the annual rate of loss of teachers decreased somewhat last year and the supply of new teachers increased. However, even if this favorable trend continues for the next five years, the need noted above will be decreased less than 10yo. Volume 38, Number 9, September 1961
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453
of poor professional training. Increased efforts and new ideas are needed for the further revision of teacher education programs over the country and, even more, for attracting good students into strong programs now available. Furthermore, our efforts qnite evidently cannot be restricted to any one agency alone. Support of state agencies or local school systems or industry are all needed as much as ever, in addition to that of the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies. I t is evident also that, now that we have had a reasonable period of experience which has demonstrated the basic general effectiveness of institutes, we need to reexamine carefully the contributions which each type can make so that the investment in the total program can attain maximum net efficiency in improving education in science and mathematics. Particular attention should be given to developing more the shorter, lower cost programs, particularly inservice. There has been a strong tendency to gear programs to a 3-semester-hour course because of the common use of these for degree credits. But how important is this, for example, in the programs for %ahbaticals," i.e., those planned to keep teachers up to date? Here frequency of opportunity may be more critical than length and credit is not important. Could not shorter in-service programs be used to much advantage? New patterns of approach are needed which may "multiply" the impact of institute t,raining-for example, by work with supervisors or "key" teachers who may in turn assist other teachers in the local school systems. The importance of increased attention to institutes for college teachers must be recognized. College faculties have been rightly concerned with the quality of high school programs, but now, with the flood tide of enrollments coming on, they must really work to keep their own houses in good order. Usually the needs of college teachen for advanced training have been met by individual programs supported by numerous fellowships; hut in recent years many college teachers are starting out with bachelor's degrees only. For these, institutes leading to master's degrees are worth while because the work needed includes much group work in courses, and these are commonly not offered in summers. Furthermore, increased numbers of trained college teachers will be needed for the expansion of secondary school teacher programs noted above. (Last year 52% of the institutions giving degrees in science and mathematics filed proposals for institutes and 36% received grants.) The burgeoning interest in science and mathematics for junior high school and the elementary schools is an indirect but nonetheless highly significant factor also. This will result in needs for supplementary training of teachers4 which will require some of the available resources of participant support and help from college science faculties. Individual institutes must be carefully re+xamined to
'See "Science Teaching in Elementary and Junior High SchooLs," report of a study by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, May, 1961.
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Journal o f Chemical Education
make sure that each may do the best job possible. In earlier years institutes could be planned on the simple assumption that all participants would need training in fundamentals of science or mathematics. This is still needed for many; but there are numerous other teachers who are now interested in progressing beyond beginning levels. Some institutes are needed for teachers specializing in a field and capable of advanced study therein, as well as for beginners; and it is critical that these be clearly differentiated in advance for the sake of potential applicants so as to avoid the waste (in time of the participants and of the faculty and in funds for their support) which is entailed when a teacher enrolls in an unsuitable program. In this respect there is much to be done in the field of chemistry. So far there has been relatively little planning for teachers a t various levels or for any sequence of work. Directors' reports from current institutes have noted this as one of the most common sources of difficulty. There are numerous programs in "Recent Advances" or "Modern Chemistry," but how many teachers may find these to be "deadends?" Where, for example, does the teacher turn after he has had an institute planned for general science teachers and finds he is interested in further study of chemistry? Careful planning, and some coordination among chemists over the country, are needed so that each institution may operate a t levels where it can be most effective and so that a t the same time reasonable distribution of effort may he maintained to meet the needs of teachers for advanced work or a sequence of courses as well as for study of fundamental^.^ In retrospect and prospect, therefore, it may be seen that the experiment of the institutes programs-one which has involved efforts of many people and many agencies and which has, most important of all, been based upon cooperation of scientists and teachershas proved notably successful in past years. There is a very real need for continuing these efforts, but with some major problems to be faced. These problems are clearly cn'tical today: first, the continuous strengthening of the training of new teachers; second, wider and more effective use of lowcost programs such as in-service activities; third, new patterns which may reach more teachers: fourth, the development of really strong programs for college teachers; and fifth, eliminating undue overlapping and establishing clear-cut sequence and purposes in all the institutes programs; plus of course the continuing need for trying new ideas and new experimental programs such as those for elementary teachers. The combination of the situation still existing in our schools and colleges plus the waves of student population coming on makes the immediate future years a time when we must now strive to make even more extensive and effective use of the various patterns which have proved successful. Full cooperation and support from private sources, from local school systems, and from state and federal agencies will be needed.
See, for example, "A Conference on Mathematics Curricula in Institutes," American Math. Monthly, 68, 33 (1961), and "Recommendations for the Training of Teachers of Mrtthematicties," report published by CUPM Committee, Mathematics Association of America, January, 1961.
