Stimulating Minds: A Collaborative Approach to Science Education

1. STIMULATING MINDS TO COMPETE AND INNOVATE A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE EDUCATION A. ANIL KUMAR, PH.D. ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING & PHYSICS ORION CIFTJA, PH.D PHYSICS LINDA L. GARNER, ED.D. LEADERSHIP & COUNSELING PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY CHANCELLOR’S CONFERENCE HOUSTON, JUNE 24-26, 2004

2. WHAT WE WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU • Summary of previous work at PVAMU • Advances at PVAMU since the last conference • Science Education Center - A Report Card • Approaches in other parts of the world • Actions Needed

3. OUR BOTTOMLINE MESSAGE We need to stop burying ourselves in statistics and start addressing the science education issue - implementation and globalization. We have enough research results to tell us that we must address this issue in a truly systemic fashion. In particular, since our existing approaches are not yielding the desired outcomes, we need new, viable and global strategies. If we do not act quickly, we may lose our competitive edge globally since other developed and developing countries are making bold moves in their educational systems.

4. THE PROBLEM - MULTI-DIMENSIONAL • High school students are graduating with an unacceptably low level of science and mathematics skills. • There is generally a declining interest in the study of science. • Teachers are being blamed for having inadequate preparation and lack of competence in content and pedagogy. • Students do not learn physics concepts very well under traditional classroom instruction. • They memorize “plug and chug” techniques, get 80% on a physics exam, but only score 50% on a multiple choice concept survey. • The general perception is that scientists are odd and peculiar people, scientists have few other interests but their work, scientific work is dangerous, and that physics is old-fashioned, outdated, irrelevant to modern society.

5. The ongoing and overwhelming need for In-service teacher enhancement programs in physics at the most basic level points to the to the failure of programs at the university level to adequately prepare students for classroom teaching. - Shaping the Future, NSF, 1996

6. REFORMS VS. RESULTS A new study asks why, despite decades of reform, massive infusions of funds, aggressive efforts by policymakers, and the strong commitment of educators, there is no significant improvement in academic proficiency of high school graduates, closure of the achievement gap, and increase in high school graduation rates. From the study, Paying For Education, Texas Public Policy Foundation co-published with the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation. http://www.texaspolicy.com/, May 5, 2004

7. SEEING SCIENCE EDUCATION ANEW • The traditional science education needs to be re-thought. • Teachers have to be able to promote the student’s problem solving skills, autonomy and ability to reflect, conceptual thinking. • It is important to create new teaching and learning styles supported by new media and technology, and to accommodate different learning styles. • Teachers should teach at the concept level, not at a minimal level. • Teachers need to see their roles more as consultants a la Peter Drucker than information conveyors. • That is, schools should help students identify their potential, develop that potential and determine their potential directions of growth.

8. THIS IS NOT REALLY A NEW CONCEPT! “It is necessary for the teacher to guide the child without letting him feel her presence too much, so that she may always be ready to supply the desired help, but may never be the obstacle between the child and his experience.” - Maria Montessori

9. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION (SBOE) PROPOSED HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE REQUIREMENTS BEGINNING IN 2005-06 One credit must be a biology credit (Biology, Advanced Placement (AP) Biology, or International Baccalaureate (IB) Biology). Two credits from (no more than one credit from each of the areas): (i) Integrated Physics and Chemistry (IPC), (ii) Chemistry, AP Chemistry, or IB Chemistry, and (iii) Physics, Principles of Technology I, AP Physics, or IB Physics. One credit from one of the following areas: Geology, Meteorology, and Oceanography (GMO); Environmental Systems; Aquatic Science; Astronomy; Anatomy and Physiology of Human Systems; AP/IB Biology; AP/IB Chemistry; AP/IB Physics; AP/IB Environmental Science; and Scientific Research and Design.

10. Attained Intended Implemented FRAGMENTATION What policymakers decide should be done. What teachers do. What students learn. (teach to the test) (how to pass tests) (minimal standards/ benchmarks) Questions: Is this adequate? Does this meet the state’s and nation’s workforce needs? P-16 alignment between various stages of the educational process is not enough.

11. WHAT IS NEEDED? • Appreciation of arenas of influence • Coherence in the curriculum - courses/ sequences too fragmented • Awareness/interest on part of faculty to update teaching techniques, incorporate assessment • Emphasis on transferable skills • Feedback followed by continual quality improvement • Scalability and sustainability of successful efforts

12. PVAMU’S APPROACH - A SYSTEMIC SOLUTION • Components of our approach: • Interactive Learning Environment - Science Education Center • Student projects - relevant to learning and real world • Teacher-Faculty collaboration - Teacher In Residence, Faculty In Residence, continual feedback and assessment • Involvement of parents and community leaders in student development • Sustainability via throughout-the-year mentoring, periodic interaction with university and industry personnel, and building communities of practice.

13. SCIENCE EDUCATION CENTER

14. SCIENCE EDUCATION CENTER -A BRIEF REPORT CARD PROJECTS • Inventor-Wild-Wind • Ferris Wheel • Electronic Arcade • RoboLab • Aircraft Carriers - Arrested Landing and Catapulting • Magnetic Levitation • Solar Physics - Solar House, Heat Pump • Structures - Bridges, Roller Coasters • Weather Analysis and Forecasting • AND MANY, MANY MORE!

15. ROLE OF SEC IN TEACHER PREPARATION • Students from the college of education and in-service teachers will be exposed to field-based classroom activities in addition to the laboratory sections they enroll in physical science courses. • The SEC also allows students from the colleges of education start their field-based classroom activities earlier via their involvement in student projects. • The SEC provides a practical perspective rather than just a theoretical approach to pedagogy. • It will provide an excellent framework for teacher-faculty collaborations to explore new techniques of teaching and for publications in physics education research. • It will provide an excellent venue for linking teachers with industry personnel.

16. TEACHER-FACULTY COLLABORATION • A Science Teacher In Residence (STIR) Program to recommend to the physics faculty curricular revisions. • STIR can serve as a reality check for pre-service teachers and university faculty. • STIR can use this experience to develop professionally, in particular obtain graduate degrees. • A mentoring program conducted by STIRs can provide induction experience for pre-service and novice science teachers. • Create and disseminate a list of appropriate Internet sites appropriate to age groups. • Create an Internet community for each student group - history, cultures, sharing of information, etc.

17. "The things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them." - Aristotle

18. TYPICAL RANGE OF ACTIVITIES • Briefing to the students on goals, laboratory practices, safety issues, responsibilities • Team assignments • Project Activity – computer simulations, hands-on model construction, comparative features between the simulations, models and real live situations • Reports on status - before lunch and end-of-day • Final product demonstrations • Debriefing for the day • Follow up activities – report submission, revisit the laboratory, electronic communication, show and tell in classes

19. SEC PROJECTS - LOGISTICS • Groups of 12 - 20 students drawn from same or different schools • Two to Three day-long practical sessions in the SEC • Open-ended investigations involving experimental design and computer simulations • Integrated Project Teams led by a senior student with participation from middle and high school students.

20. SEC - OUR FIRST FORAY TYLER JAMAUL TREVOR NICOLAS

21. THE FERRIS WHEEL

22. THE ROLLERCOASTER

23. THE CYBER SWARM

24. THE ELECTRONIC ARCADE

25. THE ROLLERCOASTER

26. THE PITCHER

27. PVAMU’S APPROACH SUPPORTS THE TEXAS SCIENCE INITIATIVE Still under development by the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Science Initiative aims to eliminate student performance gaps in science by developing and implementing training for science educators, improving the quality of science instructional materials and creating higher standards for science education. http://www.governor.state.tx.us/priorities/education/perryrecord

28. ACTIONS AROUND THE WORLD - EUROPE • The Bologna declaration, made in June 1999 in Bologna by the higher-education ministers from 29 European nations (now signed by 40 nations), commits their governments to reforming their university systems to create a so-called European Higher Education Area by 2010. • The declaration has four ambitions. • Improve the quality and effectiveness of the education provided by Europe's universities, particularly so that graduates are more employable. • Promote mobility of students, especially graduates. • Make European universities more attractive in the emerging global market for students. • Extend the notion of a European "identity" from politics and economics into the cultural and educational spheres.

29. "Any country with an old-fashioned or peculiar degree structure will run the risk of having problems in relation to other countries, and its students may suffer when their degrees are not understood by foreign employers. If we want to create a competitive common European labor market, a common degree structure will be essential.” - Torsten Kälvemark, International Developments in higher education for the Swedish government

30. TO RECAPITULATE

31. A LOT IS EXPECTED OF TEACHERS! • Have thorough knowledge of the subjects they teach • Demonstrate the ability to assess and increase student learning • Manage classrooms effectively • Care about the academic, social, civic, and personal success of all students • Use technology effectively to promote student learning • Collaborate with colleagues, parents, & community members to advance positive learning environments • Demonstrate relevance of material to real world • Are active and reflective learners

32. TODAY’S STUDENT IS DIFFERENT (So Called Generation Y—Millenials) 25%+ of Americans70 Million People • Value Diversity/Change • Techno-savvy • Want Work to be Meaningful Key Word: Realistic

33. NATURAL BUT DIFFERENT OUTLOOKS

34. PARTING THOUGHTS “There are young people out there cutting raw cocaine with chemicals from the local hardware store. They are manufacturing new highs and new products by soaking marijuana in ever changing agents, and each of these new drugs is more addictive, more deadly, and less costly than the last. How is it that we have failed to tap that ingenuity, that sense of experimentation? How is it that these kids who can measure grams and kilos and can figure out complex monetary transactions cannot pass a simple math or chemistry test?” - Senator Kohl, from the U.S. Senate Hearing: "Crisis in Math and Science Education"

35. PARTING THOUGHT “Children are young, but they are not naïve. And they are honest. They are not going to keep wide awake if the story is boring. When they get excited you can see it in their eyes.” - Chinua Achebe

36. THANK YOU ANY QUESTIONS? We invite you to collaborate with us. Please visit us at http://www.i2i.pvamu.edu/physics/index.htm and/or send us an e-mail at anil_kumar@pvamu.edu.