Structure and Efficacy of the ISU Secondary Science Teacher Education Program

1. Structure and Efficacy of the ISU Secondary Science Teacher Education Program Michael P. Clough, Joanne K. Olson, Lori M. Ihrig and Jesse Wilcox, Iowa State University Daniel J. Bergman, Wichita State University Benjamin C. Herman, University of South Florida

2. ISU Secondary Science Teacher Education Program: Structure, sequence, credits, and contact hours Undergraduate Science Teacher Education Program Graduate Science Teacher Education Program (Master of Arts in Teaching) Ten study participants completed an elective Restructuring Science Activities course the summer after completing Science Methods II. The above is the science education specific course work preservice teachers must complete. Other education courses (e.g. Education Psychology, Multicultural Education, etc.) must also be completed.

3. The False Dichotomy: Content vs. Pedagogy? • Research makes clear that effective science teaching demands a deep understanding of both science content and science pedagogy. • The ISU Secondary Science Teacher Education Program requires a bachelors degree in the primary science content area to be taught, and 17+ credits for endorsements in other science disciplines. • The ISU Secondary Science Teacher Education Program requires a series of science methods courses, a Nature of Science and Science Education course, and extensive internship experiences prior to student teaching.

4. More than Content Knowledge:Science education goals for students • Demonstrate deep robust understanding of fundamental science ideas. • Convey an understanding of the nature of science. • Identify and solve problems effectively. • Use critical thinking skills. • Use communication and cooperative skills effectively. • Actively participate in working towards solutions to local, national, and global problems. • Be creative and curious. • Set goals, make decisions, and self-evaluate. • Convey a positive attitude about science. • Access, retrieve, and use the existing body of scientific knowledge in the process of investigating phenomena. • Convey self-confidence and a positive self-image. • Demonstrate an awareness of the importance of science in many careers.

5. The ISU SSTEP program promotes teaching as a synergetic set of decisions made to understand the learner and promote desired goals.

6. Individuals - Since its inception in 2003, the ISU Secondary Science Teacher Education Program has prepared: 149 science teachers with a bachelors degree in their primary science endorsement area. • 22 earned a bachelors degree in physics. • 15 earned a bachelors degree in chemistry. • 7 earned a M.S. in a science area. • 13 earned two or more science bachelors degrees. • 2 earned a Ph.D. in a science discipline.

7. Endorsements- Since its inception in 2003, the ISU Secondary Science Teacher Education Program has prepared: 149 science teachers with 336 science endorsements: • 96 biology endorsed teachers. • 86 chemistry endorsed teachers. • 24 physics endorsed teachers. • 38 physical science endorsed teachers. • 19 earth science endorsed teachers. • 73 general science endorsed teachers.

8. Research has addressed ISU Secondary Science Teacher Education Program graduates’: • Attention to desired science education goals. • Understanding and implementation of research-based teaching practices. • Nature of Science understanding and teaching practices • Reflection on and improvement of practice. • Response to institutional constraints and use of support networks.

9. Attention to desired science education goals • Unlike national norms, ISU SSTEP graduates report having multiple goals for students. • Students of ISU SSTEP graduates perceive multiple goals being emphasized in their classrooms. • Graduates of the ISU SSTEP promote desired goals to a greater extent than seen in national studies.

10. Understanding and implementation of research-based teaching practices • Graduates of the ISU SSTEP teach lessons having higher alignment to inquiry-based instruction and national standards (LSC-COP). • Lessons taught are typically more student-centered, include investigative science experiences, consolidation of ideas, utilization of prior knowledge, collaborative interactions, etc. • Artifacts from graduates of the ISU SSTEP typically feature more open-ended, problem-based questions and projects.

11. Understanding and implementation of research-based teaching practices • ISU SSTEP graduates are three times more likely to ask open-ended questions than national norms. Such a pattern is crucial for meaning-making in science. • ISU SSTEP graduates are four times more likely to respond in a student-centered manner than national norms. Effectively responding to students’ ideas is one of the most difficult teacher behaviors to develop. • ISU SSTEP graduates typically use non-verbal behaviors (facial expressions, body language, proximity, etc.) consistent with those required for effective teaching.

12. Nature of science understandingand teaching practices • ISU STEP graduates’ understanding of the NOS far exceeds national norms. • ISU STEP graduates consistently teach and assess the NOS at levels far exceeding national norms. • As a result, students of ISU STEP graduates receive a more accurate portrayal of science practices (as promoted in NGSS) and experience far more authentic and rich inquiry learning experiences.

13. Reflection on and improvement of practice ISU SSTEP graduates: • Read professional science and science teacher journals. • Have published 40+ articles in peer reviewed professional science teaching journals. • Have made more than 100 presentations at science education conferences. • Have extensive support networks with other program graduates. • Audio and video record their classroom teaching to improve practice. • Serve as cooperating teachers for current ISU STEP students.

14. Response to institutional constraintsand use of support networks • ISU SSTEP graduates report facing extensive institutional constraints to implementing research-based science teaching practices – primarily from colleagues, but also from administrators. • Most common constraints include pressure to do what other science teachers do (i.e., assignments, labs and tests that call for mere recall and following directions) and to be at the same place on the same day. • Assigned mentors are often problematic. • Those ISU SSTEP graduates who have left teaching report doing so after tiring of fighting institutional constraints. • To be successful, graduates report going “stealth”, staying in contact with other ISU SSTEP graduates, carefully finding like-minded colleagues and staying in contact with ISU science education faculty.

15. Program Accolades Program graduates have received: • NSTA’s Maitland P. Simmons Award for science teachers in their first five years of teaching (8). • NSTA’s New Science Teacher Academy recognizing promising new science teachers (2). • Conservation Teacher of the Year Award. • Iowa Academy of Science Excellence in Science Teaching Award (5).

16. Implications • Effective teacher education makes a difference! • Teachers can be prepared to effectively address persistent and pervasive classroom teaching problems. • Not all teacher education programs are equal. • Science-specific teacher preparation experiences that meld research and practice over multiple semesters are important. • Research makes clear that the impact of teacher education programs with a “one-shot” methods course are washed out by school experiences, thus perpetuating the status quo. • Critics of teacher education must stop assuming all teacher education programs are the same.

17. Structure and Efficacy of the ISU Secondary Science Teacher Education Program Michael P. Clough, Joanne K. Olson, Lori M. Ihrig and Jesse Wilcox, Iowa State University Daniel J. Bergman, Wichita State University Benjamin C. Herman, University of South Florida E-mail Michael Clough (mclough@iastate.edu) for published work regarding the ISU program.