Upload
alice-sutton
View
215
Download
1
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
The Alternative Certification of Science Teachers: Findings From the NSF-Funded
STEM ACT Conference
Morton M. SternheimUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst
NSF #0514620
2
STEM ACT Conference
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math - Alternative Certification for Teachers
Funded by NSF - Teacher Professional Continuum Program May 5th-7th, 2006, Arlington, VA
Participants represented three communities: academic researchers and administrators policy makers in states and large cities alternative certification providers and teachers who have
gone through these programs
3
Conference Organizers
Principal Investigators (all UMass)• Morton M. Sternheim, STEM Education Institute, Physics• Allan Feldman, Teacher Education and Curriculum
Studies• Joseph Berger, Educational Policy Research and
Administration
Staff Assistant• Yijie Zhao
Advisory Board
4
Outline
Introduction• Conference Goals• Conference Format• Key point and question• Dissemination
Research Report Highlights Policy Report Highlights Practice Report Highlights Summary of Recommendations
5
Conference Goals In-depth look at some existing programs and
models, including NSF funded alternative certification programs, plus district-based programs (e.g., Teach New York) and national programs (e.g., Teach For America).
Identify an agenda for future research questions on alternative certification to guide development and implementation of new programs.
6
Conference Goals (cont.) Provide an overview of the existing policy on
alternative certification of secondary science teachers in the US, including key assumptions and questions.
Begin a synthesis of existing research on needs, methods, and outcomes of alternative certification for science teachers. Areas include• science learning• nature of science• context of schools• diversity and gender issues• teacher supply and demand• initial teacher education and development.
7
Conference Format
Every attendee was a participant – a presenter and/or a responder to a paper read in advance
Friday night keynote (Ken Zeichner) Saturday plenaries, parallel sessions, posters Sunday morning, working sessions to define key
points Sunday afternoon, 3 writing committees plan the
research, policy, practice white papers
8
Key Point: Ken Zeichner, keynote speaker
Teaching and teacher education are inherently complex and are not reducible to simple prescriptions for practice.
Much of what is believed to be associated with program excellence with regard to particular goals cannot currently be supported with empirical evidence
9
Key Question: What is alternative certification?
Programs to put “career changers” in classrooms quickly?
Anything other than 4 year undergrad program?
Antoinette Mitchell (NCATE): Programs range from 5th year programs for students without education backgrounds, to programs designed for career-switchers, to programs designed for specific sectors of the community such as military personnel and para-professionals.
10
Key Question: What is alternative certification?
Conclusion: We need a continuum of teacher preparation and support programs to support varied needs.
11
Dissemination Plan
Produce 3 “white papers” plus overall summary Conference presentations
• Association for Teacher Education (ASTE)• National Association for Research in Science Teaching
(NARST)• American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education
(AACTE)• This meeting
Paper• Massachusetts Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development Perspectives (September ’07) Web site www.stemtec.org/act
Issues for Researchers
STEM Alternative Certification
13
Research White Paper Writing Committee
Abdulkadir Demir, University of Missouri, Columbia
Allan Feldman, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Chair
Jodie Galosy, Michigan State University, Co-Chair
Richard Iuli, SUNY Empire State College
Carole Mitchener, University of Illinois at Chicago, Co-Chair
HsingChi Wang, University of Calgary
Bruce Herbert, Texas A&M University
14
Guiding question of STEM ACT conference:
"What do we know and what more do we need to learn about how to incorporate the results of more than 30 years of research on science teaching and learning into alternative certification programs?"
15
Research on Alternative Certification
Mostly policy documents
• Need for, production, retention of teachers
• Generic, not subject or level specific
Other main body of literature is evaluation of specific AC programs
Third type of studies are comparative between “traditional” and “alternative”
16
Research on Alternative Certification
Focus on structural, rather than educational, differences
Pays little attention to teacher/student learning as an outcome
Does not take science subject matter into account
Draws little from research on science teaching and learning
17
Research on Alternative Certification
Comparative studies that lump AC and traditional programs into two undifferentiated groups are not productive:
• Alternative certification is ill-defined.
• There is at least as much variation within programs as between the two types (Wechsler, Humphey & Hough, 2006; Abell et al., 2006; Galosy, 2006; Lee, Olson & Scribner, 2006)
18
Unhelpful Divides
Dividing teacher preparation into alternative and traditional is an example of unproductive divides that hamstring research on teacher education as
a field:• Science ed/general ed• Preservice/inservice• Licensing/education
19
Rephrasing of guiding question for researchers
"What do we know and what more do we need to learn about science teacher education that takes into account the results of more than 30 years of research on science teaching and learning?”
20
Reform Vision of good science teaching (NSES, AAAS, etc.)
Science classrooms are active and exciting places in which:
The science taught and learned is relevant and interesting to students’ lives;
Students’ curiosity for their world beyond their own experience is awakened;
Students are engaged in inquiry; and Students develop a commitment to responsible
citizenship.
21
What, and how, do science teachers need to learn to enact reform-based science teaching in their classrooms?
The big question for practitioners
22
What teacher beliefs, knowledge and skills support the Reform Vision? Science teachers need to know their subject. Science teachers need to have science subject
specific pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) Science teachers need to have knowledge about
science curriculum/instructional approaches Science teachers need to have practical
knowledge of running a lab, lab safety, etc. Science teachers need to have knowledge of the
students they teach and how students learn science
23
What do science teachers need to know and be able to do to construct Reform Vision classrooms?
Lead author Beliefs/knowledge/skills/practices
Abell Content knowledge for teaching (CKT) and Pedagogical content knowledge for teaching (PCK)
Demir Inquiry-based teaching practices
Dern Teacher beliefs about student-centered teaching practices
Galosy Teachers’ expectations for their students’ science learning
Greenwood Teacher efficacy--belief that they can have positive impacts on student learning
Lee Active learning, collaborative learning, connecting science with students’ experience, misconceptions and learning difficulties, assessment
Mitchener Inquiry-based teaching beliefs and practices
Sterling Classroom management, planning, and instructional capacities
24
Science teacher content knowledge:
Britton (2006): Science teaching is domain specific to the particular science discipline and to to the work of teaching that discipline.
Abell et al. (2006): Content knowledge for teaching science may be qualitatively different from academic science.
Wang (2006): College-level science courses may be major contributors to science teachers’ “fragmented and shallow” knowledge structures.
Nature of science – Knowledge of the discipline (McDonald, 2006)
25
Science teacher pedagogical content knowledge
Understanding specific content within disciplinary and curricular contexts
Multiple ways of representing content How to design appropriate instructional tasks Ways of identifying students’ prior knowledge
and drawing on students’ experience/ideas Anticipating/identifying student errors and
addressing student misconceptions Assessing student understanding
(Abell et al., 2006; Britton, 2006; Greenwood et al., 2006; Kern et al., 2006)
26
What pedagogies and pedagogical tools would help teachers develop reform-based teaching in classrooms?
Lead author Pedagogy/pedagogical tools
Abell Guided and independent internship models
Britton Science-specific mentoring and field experiences
Demir Inquiry-based experiences
Galosy Mentoring, coaching, workshops, literacy strategies
Greenwood Mentoring, field supervision
Mitchener Action research
Sterling Coursework, classroom coaching
Wang Coursework, field experiences, inquiry-based instruction
27
Pedagogies: Induction and mentoring
Importance of the second year for action research (Mitchener, 2006).
Science specific district- or school-based mentoring (Galosy, 2006).
Both school-based and university-based mentors have important roles (Greenwood et al., 2006).
The novice teacher’s and mentor’s prior experience and knowledge should be taken into account in establishing mentoring relationships (Koballa et al., 2006).
28
Mentoring
Effective programs have Trained mentors Provided mentors with time and resources Plan lessons and share curricula with mentees Demonstrate lessons to mentees; and Provide feedback from classroom observations.
(Humphrey, Wechsler, & Hough, 2006).
29
Pedagogies
Ongoing, sustained interactions Collaborative work Practitioner inquiry - action research,
lesson study Field experiences Scientific research partnerships
30
Recommendation - Research Agenda
Content and pedagogies of
teacher education
Teacher learning
Conceptual
Methodological Empirical
Student learning
31
Research questions
What science and in what form do science teachers need to know?
How do we bridge traditional separations of preservice and inservice teacher education to create a professional continuum of science teacher education that includes the induction phase?
32
Research questions
How do diverse teachers acquire beliefs, knowledge and skills across a variety of educational settings and opportunities?
• What coursework and field experiences lead to the development of knowledge and skills that help teachers, at various points in their professional development, bring reform visions into science classrooms (action research, institutional partnerships)?
• What roles can teacher collaboratives—groups of science teachers learning together—play in the continued education and production of professional knowledge? (e.g. mentoring, communities of practice)
What are the implication of what teachers learn for their students?
33
Research questions
Who are the science teacher candidates? How do the following influence candidates’ development as science teachers?
• Age, race, ethnicity, gender• Prior experience• Science knowledge• Context and societal influences
Issues for Practitioners
STEM Alternative Certification
35
Report Authors
Barbara Austin, Northern Arizona University
Wendy Frazier, George Mason University
Anita Greenwood, UMass Lowell
Judith Hayes, Wichita State University
Charmaine Hickey, UMass Lowell
Kathy Shea, UMass Lowell
Morton Sternheim, UMass Amherst
Yijie Zhao, UMass Amherst
36
What is alternative certification?
Antoinette Mitchell (NCATE): These programs range from 5th year programs for students without education backgrounds, to programs especially designed for career-switchers, to programs designed for specific sectors of the community such as military personnel and para-professionals.
37
What is alternative certification?
Program differences include Target recruitment audience Goals Structure Field-placement and field-placement support Mentoring support for interns
38
What is alternative certification?
Alternative certification teacher candidate differences include:
Prior classroom experience Career experience Life experience Education coursework experience
Because of these differences, “alternative certification” forms a continuum of teacher preparation to support varied needs of teacher candidates and schools or school districts
39
Program Standards
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) holds alternative certification programs to the same standards required of all programs in NCATE-accredited institutions as a way of making institutions accountable for the quality of their programs and for the quality of the educators they prepare.
40
Alternative Certification Candidates
A greater percentage of older, life-experienced people wanting to enter the teacher profession when compared with traditional preparation models.
More of these mid-career switchers are male and/or are minorities interested in teaching in high-demand areas, in positions generally not sought by young, white females coming out of traditional schools of education.
Judith Hayes, Wichita: There’s been a dramatic shift in the profile of people studying to be teachers through alternative routes.
41
Partnerships
Research indicates that teacher candidates working in alternative licensure programs with strong district – university partnerships perform better and stay in the profession longer.
42
Partners
Primary partners• Hiring school districts, state licensing
authority, higher ed institution
Other partners – funding/recruiting • Corporations, e.g., Raytheon Teaching Fellows
Program• Federal agencies: NSF (Noyce Scholars), DOE,
…• Troops to Teachers, Teach for America, …
43
Recruiting and Selecting Candidates
Depend on nature of the program Selecting and recruiting the right candidates for
admission to a particular program is important for the program’s success, because “investing resources in candidates unlikely to succeed is a lose-lose situation.”
44
Selection
Usually require at least bachelor’s degree Screening process – tests, interviews, evidence of
content mastery, short demonstration lesson Often highly selective Some programs are committed to serving all
provisionally certified teachers in an area Humphrey et al: most alternative certification
programs bet on education background, work experience, previous classroom experience, or some combination of the three
45
Recruiting
Many approaches, reflecting the programs Texas A&M: scholarships, job fairs, recruiting in
grad programs UT: All students in the College of Natural
Sciences are recruited. They receive a letter about it upon admission, hear about it during orientation, receive mailings each year. Student group presentations, media reports …
46
Recruiting
Teach for America: Representatives visit many campuses, focus on selective colleges, accept only a small fraction of applicants
NYC Teaching Fellows program targets mid-career professionals as well as recent college graduates
Troops to Teachers program provides information and support to retiring military personnel, with offices in 32 states
47
Candidates
Four groups of candidates1. Undergrads where there in no traditional certification
option2. Recent grads who opt to teach3. Career switchers or retired military4. Teachers who need courses to become “highly
qualified” in another subject
These groups have different needs Must match candidates and structure of the
program
48
Need: Practical Teaching Knowledge
All need practical knowledge about navigating the current school environment: information about legal and ethical responsibilities, teaching to diverse populations, inclusion issues, and classroom management
Less important for group 4, those already teaching
49
Need: Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Teachers not only need to understand science but teach in a manner that is consistent with what is known about how people learn science and reflects significant insights from recent educational research
Discipline-specific pedagogy issues – how to teach difficult concepts in a particular subject
Laboratory safety knowledge – chemicals, biomaterials, etc. – is critical for teachers to do hands-on science
50
Need: Content Knowledge
Federal law mandates that teachers must have sufficient content knowledge as the major provision of being “highly qualified”
Mainly a need for group 4, teachers who need courses to become highly qualified
51
Needs: Income, Non-traditional Delivery
Career changers and recent grads often need income during their training
Stipends, scholarships Non-traditional course delivery
• Summer immersion before placement• Subsequent summer courses• Evenings• Distance learning
52
Mentoring
AC teacher candidates need mentoring support while they are in training
Mentoring for AC candidates is part of new teacher induction• Research: good induction programs cut attrition
Mentoring should reflect lack of education courses Mentors involved in AC programs need different
training from those in traditional certification programs so that they can address the subject specific needs of these individuals
When there is consistency between mentor and mentee in the conception of the mentor’s role, the mentoring relationship is productive
53
The Challenge
Teaching and teacher education are inherently complex and are not reducible to simple prescriptions for practice.
Much of what is believed to be associated with program excellence with regard to particular goals cannot currently be supported with empirical evidence
Ken Zeichner, WisconsinKen Zeichner, Wisconsin::
54
Oversimplified Views of Excellence (Zeichner)
Attempting to connect the surface features of teacher education programs (e.g., their length) to various teacher and student outcomes without accounting for the characteristics that candidates bring to their preparation
Attempting to define the characteristics of good teacher education programs by the mere presence or absence of certain program elements without addressing how these elements are defined and used and for what purposes
55
Characteristics of Effective STEM ACT Programs
Needs-based design of the program • Tailored to needs of district or region• Tailored to needs of participants, backgrounds, etc.
High entrance standards• Screening, appropriate STEM backgrounds, match between
program design and background Intensive training focusing on professional expertise
• Subject content, pedagogical knowledge and skill training• Pedagogical content knowledge • Multicultural and special education issues
56
Characteristics of Effective STEM ACT Programs
On-site support during training• Comprehensive system of support from experienced,
trained mentors once the candidate begins working in a school.
• Candidates go through their training in cohorts at school so they have peer support
• Candidates have the opportunity of guided practice in lesson planning and teaching prior to taking full responsibility as a teacher
57
Characteristics of Effective STEM ACT Programs
Frequent program evaluation • Continuous monitoring, evaluation, and feedback of
individual and group performance to allow for program adjustment
• Candidates receive frequent evaluation of their teaching from well-trained mentors and faculty with strong STEM education backgrounds
• Faculty receives continual formal and informal evaluation of their instruction from the teacher candidates
58
Characteristics of Effective STEM ACT Programs
High exit standards• Standards tied to state standards for teaching• Candidates demonstrate that they have mastered the
knowledge, skills, and dispositions identified in state standards and can have a positive impact on student learning
Ongoing support of graduates after the program.• Structured, well-supervised induction period when the
novice receives observation and assistance in the classroom by an experienced teacher
• Ongoing professional development and reflection is supported by the school and/or the university through seminars, workshops, courses
59
School – College Collaboration
Colleges, schools and the candidates have constant communication to ensure that teaching theory and practice are effectively integrated to address classroom and pedagogical issues.
School districts provide the teacher candidates in alternative certification programs with a supportive school environment to help them with effective transition to teaching.
The program prepares individuals for specific positions in specific schools, and should place participants in those positions early in the training.
60
Effective STEM ACT Programs: Summary
• A program encompassing all these components may be an ideal, but these benchmarks provide a frame of reference for an effective AC program.
• These components are not an oversimplified checklist to measure the program quality. Rather, they serve as research directions for an in depth inquiry into the implementation and efficacy of these elements in achieving excellence in AC teacher preparation.
STEM Alternative Certification
Issues for Policy-makers
62
Writing Committee
Joseph B. Berger, UMass Amherst
Ted Britton, WestEd
Cassie Guarino, RAND
Jennifer Jackson, University of North Texas
Michael Marder, University of Texas at Austin
63
Purpose of White Paper
Identification of key policies issues and strategies related to improving the alternative certification of science teachers.
Descriptive summary of the supply and demand issues associated with the certification of science teachers.
64
Rising Above the Gathering Storm (2006)
“In a world where advanced knowledge is widespread and low-cost labor is readily available, U.S. advantages in the marketplace and in science and technology have begun to erode. A comprehensive and coordinated federal effort is urgently needed to bolster U.S. competitiveness and pre-eminence in these areas.”
RAGS recommends: Increase America's talent pool by vastly improving K-12
mathematics and science education; and With action steps that include improving the quantity and
quality of math and science teachers.
65
Alternative Teacher Certification and Public Policy Historically the routes available for teacher
certification have been expanded beyond “traditional” on-campus postsecondary teacher training programs to a wider range of options.
State policies have increasingly moved towards providing a greater range of certification program options in order to address issues of quantity and quality in the production of new teachers.
66
Defining Quantity and Quality
Quantity – the need for enough teachers – particularly in hard to staff:• Geographic areas (urban and rural) • Content areas (science, math, special ed)
Quality – need to ensure that science teachers are prepared and qualified to provide a high standard of teaching
Policy makers believe that there must be enough quantity before quality can be addressed.
67
Framing the Quantity and Quality Problem
Public policy is concerned with addressing incentives and standards to ensure that there is a large enough supply of qualified teachers to meet the demands for quantity and quality
• Policies of Incentives to increase the quantity of teachers necessary to meet demand
• Policies of Standards to increase the quality of teachers
68
Balancing Priorities in Policy Dilemmas
Quantity <–-> QualityIncentives <–-> StandardsShort-term <–-> Long-termHigh-need <–-> “Low-need” DistrictsPre-service <–-> In-service
Limited resources have been (and will be?) available to serve multiple (and sometimes competing) needs
69
Shaping Policy - Sources of Influence on Supply and Demand Supply – what factors influence the
attractiveness of science teaching to potential workforce entrants?
Demand – what factors influence districts and schools to support certain numbers and types (e.g. certified, career-changers, etc) of science teacher positions?
70
Supply and Demand Factors
Supply Entry Requirements Licensure Testing
Requirements Income/Compensation Working Conditions
Demand Accountability
Systems Screening and
Selection Career-changer Bias
71
Supply - Requirements for entry to the profession
Teacher Education
• Pre-requisites (e.g. content knowledge, previous
experience, contextual congruence)• Length (number of courses, years, etc.)
• Cost (including foregone earnings and opportunity
costs)
• Degree of difficulty of program
• Value or quality (Perceived benefit in relation to cost)
72
Supply – Licensure Testing Requirements
Cost of exams, applications, etc.
Difficulty of exams
73
Supply – Income/Compensation
Entry Salary
Future Earnings
Salary Increments Gained Through Experience
Salary Increments Gained Through Career Advancement
Opportunities (e.g. master teacher, head of department,
etc.)
Retirement
74
Supply – Working Conditions
Number of Preps
Supplies and Equipment
Curriculum Resources
Student Behavior
Parental/Community Support
Balance of Autonomy and Collegiality
Administrative Support
Mentoring, Induction Programs (etc.)
75
Supply – Working Conditions (continued)
Class Size
Schedule Flexibility
Intrinsic Rewards
Professional Prestige
Community-to-community and State-to-state
differentials
76
Demand – Accountability Systems
Difficulty of entry standards
Rigidity of subject-specific certification
requirements
77
Demand – Resource Allocation
Funds allocated to:
• Public education
• Recruitment and retention
• Science teaching positions
78
Demand – Screening and Selection
Resources allocated to screening and selection
processes
Higher entry standards reduce the quantity of
available teachers
79
Demand – Context for Career-changers
Use of policies to recruit career-changers
In-school bias against career-changers
80
Demand –Retention
In-profession
In-school
High Needs Districts
Retirements
Competing Opportunities
81
Findings of STEM ACT Policy strand
In the process of balancing all these factors to determine demand, schools can make several tradeoffs.
There can be a quantity-quality tradeoff. A district can choose to employ fewer teachers but maintain high quality standards (e.g., increase class sizes and/or offer fewer courses but of higher quality).
Or the the district can sacrifice quality by employing as many teachers as possible in the district.
Or the district can sacrifice quality in science teaching to promote quality in other subject areas.
Or the district can sacrifice both quantity and quality just to stay solvent.
82
Findings of STEM ACT Policy strand (continued)
Science is a relatively costly subject to teach. Laboratory or other types of experientially-
oriented teaching settings (e.g., field trips) require more resources than, say, English classes.
High quality science teachers may cost more, compared to other subjects (e.g., history)
83
Findings of STEM ACT Policy strand
The quality of the science teacher employed in a school will depend largely on the total compensation package (by total compensation, we mean salaries, benefits, working conditions, and intrinsic rewards) that the school offers.
84
Findings of STEM ACT Policy strand (continued)
Both the cost of high quality science teaching and the relatively low incentive to produce new science teachers can combine to exacerbate the shortage of good science teachers in the classroom.
Hard-to-staff schools are doubly challenged, needing to funnel scarce resources into the areas upon which their survival depends most heavily and being less likely to attract high quality science teachers than schools with more desirable working conditions for the same cost.
85
Recommendations summarized
For researchers For practitioners For policy-makers
86
Recommendations for policy makers
Need to balance attention to issues of supply and demand
Recognize trade-offs associated with quantity and quality
Science teaching must be a funded priority for states, districts and schools – resources need to be directed at improving demand (the number of positions offered)
Science teaching must be attractive enough for individuals to be willing to teach at a given level of overall compensation
87
Recommendations for practitioners
Needs-based design of programs High entrance standards Intensive training focusing on professional
expertise On-site support during training Frequent program evaluation High exit standards Ongoing support of graduates after the program. School college collaboration
88
Recommendations for practitioners, cont.
• A program encompassing all these components may be an ideal, but these benchmarks provide a frame of reference for an effective AC program.
• These components are not an oversimplified checklist to measure the program quality. Rather, they serve as research directions for an in depth inquiry into the implementation and efficacy of these elements in achieving excellence in AC teacher preparation.
89
Recommendations for researchers
These questions need to be answered by research: What science and in what form do science
teachers need to know? How do we bridge traditional separations of
preservice and in-service teacher education to create a professional continuum of science teacher education that includes the induction phase?
How do diverse teachers acquire the beliefs, knowledge and skills across a variety of educational settings and opportunities?
90
Recommendations for researchers, cont.
Who are the science teacher candidates? How do age, race, ethnicity, and gender; prior experience; science knowledge; and context and societal influences effect relate to candidates’ learning to be science teachers?
How do we transform credentialing programs into research-informed educational programs?
91
More Information
www.stemtec.org/act• Proceedings (papers, PPT’s) online
This PowerPoint White papers (coming soon…)