Ed Geary and Roxane Ronca (WWU), Anne Egger (CWU), Stamatis Vokos (SPU)
Sara Julin (WCC), Ellen Ebert (OSPI), Jacob Clark Blickenstaff (WA-LASER)
July 15, 2015---Earth Educators Rendezvous, University of Colorado, Boulder
A COLLABORATIVE MODEL FOR ALIGNING TEACHER PREPARATION
PROGRAMS WITH THE NGSS AND CCSS
QUICK QUIZ----HOW MUCH WILL STEM TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAMS CHANGE IN THE NEXT 10-15 YEARS?
• 1) Not at all
• 2) A bit around the edges
• 3) Significantly, at a few institutions, but not much at other institutions
• 4) Significantly, and at many institutions
OVERARCHING GOAL
• Improve science learning and Earth literacy for all Washington State students by creating a collaborative model for STEM teacher preparation in Washington State aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the Common Core State Standards, and utilizing InTeGrate materials.
WHO WE ARE
• 11 Four-Year Colleges & Universities--producing >90% of STEM teacher graduates in Washington State
• Two-Year College STEM Faculty
• K-12 Educators---Teachers, Principals, District Administrators
• Govt. Agencies---OSPI, PESB, ESDs
• Businesses---Goggle, Code.org
• NGO’s—MESA, Pacific Science Center, Washington LASER, WA-STEM, WSTA, TOTOS, TOTOM
WHAT WE’VE DONE SO FAR:• Held Two Workshops (Jan and May 2015)
• (Third workshop to be held in Oct 2015)
• Conducted an NGSS STEM Teacher Preparation Course/Program Gap Analysis
• Developed Virtual Working Groups to research and make recommendations about specific aspects of STEM Teacher Preparation. For example
• Integration of CS, Engineering, and Sustainability concepts and practices into courses and curricula
• Using Education for Sustainability as a model for implementing the NGSS and CCSS in K-12 schools
• Developing stronger Clinical Practice and Induction models
WHAT WE PLAN TO DO
• Agree on a Shared Vision for STEM Teacher Preparation in Washington State
• Create and implement individual Institutional Action Plans to achieve this vision at each of our 11 institutions
• Continue to share resources, models, and ideas for improving STEM Teacher Preparation--- at our own institutions---Statewide--- and Nationally
• Evaluate and continually improve our Next Generation STEM Teacher Preparation model through feedback from our graduates and partners
THE WORLD OF 2030Environment
Economy Society
(STEM) TEACHERS IN 2030• Elementary Teachers
• Generalists with strong understanding of STEM, project-based learning, and real world STEM experience
• Middle and High School Teachers • Strong content and pedagogical content knowledge in the subject(s) they
teach on a regular basis• Research and/or Work Experiences in one or more aspects of STEM
• All Teachers• Effective collaborators, able to co-teach and promote learning across
disciplines• 3-D teachers, able to effectively integrate NGSS and CCSS Core Ideas,
Practices, and Cross-cutting themes in their classrooms for all students• Able to understand and connect with diverse families and communities
How will science education change with the NGSS?
SCIENCE EDUCATION WILL INVOLVE LESS: SCIENCE EDUCATION WILL INVOLVE MORE:Rote memorization of facts and terminology Facts and terminology learned as needed while
developing explanations and designing solutions supported by evidence-based arguments and reasoning.
Learning of ideas disconnected from questions about phenomena
Systems thinking and modeling to explain phenomena and to give a context for the ideas to be learned
Teachers providing information to the whole class Students conducting investigations, solving problems, and engaging in discussions with teachers’ guidance
Teachers posing questions with only one right answer
Students discussing open-ended questions that focus on the strength of the evidence used to generate claims
Students reading textbooks and answering questions at the end of the chapter
Students reading multiple sources, including science-related magazine and journal articles and web-based resources; students developing summaries of information.
Pre-planned outcome for “cookbook” laboratories or hands-on activities
Multiple investigations driven by students’ questions with a range of possible outcomes that collectively lead to a deep understanding of established core scientific ideas
Worksheets Student writing of journals, reports, posters, and media presentations that explain and argue
Oversimplification of activities for students who are perceived to be less able to do science and engineering
Provision of supports so that all students can engage in sophisticated science and engineering practices
Source: National Research Council. (2015). Guide to Implementing the Next Generation Science Standards (pp. 8-9). Washington, DC: National Academies Press. http://www.nap.edu/catalog/18802/guide-to- implementing-the-next-generation-science-standards
PRELIMINARY SUMMARY OF “NEXT GENERATION” TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM COMPONENTS:• Teacher prep. programs have extensive clinical (field-based)
components and are collaborative, working with in-service teachers and schools that practice in ways we want to reproduce
• Teacher preparation programs have a strong induction component including placement with expert mentors, training for mentors, and initiation into professional learning communities
• Disciplinary departments and Teacher Prep. Programs have strong, synergistic recruitment efforts. STEM teaching is promoted as an exciting and fulfilling career opportunity, rather than a good back up plan.
STEM TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM COMPONENTS (CONT.)
• Future teachers' experience of undergraduate STEM courses models experiences they are expected to re-create (particularly important for Secondary Ed. STEM teachers)
• Programs are structured to foster continuous improvement via feedback and collaboration with inductees, schools, industry, government, and other community stakeholders
• Courses, curricula, pedagogy are evidence-based and tightly connected (STEM, not science, math and engineering in different silos)
OTHER TEACHER PREPARATION NEEDS IN WASHINGTON STATE:
• New Endorsements in Computer Science, Engineering, STEM Education
• Performance/Competence Based Assessments
• Recruitment of more/more diverse students to (STEM) teaching majors and careers
• Flexible, Adaptable, Responsive Teacher Prep. Programs
• NGSS and CCSS Aligned and Accredited Programs
• STEM Research and Work experiences for K-12 teachers with business, community, and government organizations
A FEW PARTING THOUGHTS:• Opportunity… what the NGSS and CCSS have given us
• Shared Vision… what we need to create to take advantage of this Opportunity
• Systems Thinking and Planning… a necessary approach to achieving our Vision
• Collaborations… within and across institutions and disciplines to turn Systems Thinking and Planning into concrete actions and products that support the Next Generation of STEM Teachers
• Commitment… a long-term requirement for sustaining Collaborations and continually improving STEM Teacher Preparation
QUESTIONS
Issues Relating to Collaboration/Culture/
Communication (Knowledge of students' cultures,
community resources, collaborating within and across
institutions)
Issues relating to Teaching
(Pedagogy, and Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Teaching
Diverse Learners, Integration across
disciplines, Assessment)
Issues Relating to Subject Matter and Curriculum Goals(Knowledge of NGSS,
CCSS---DCIs, Practices, Cross-cutting Concepts,
including computer science, engineering)
Components of STEM Teacher Preparation
Adapted from Linda Darling-Hammond, 2006
NGSS SURVEY RESULTS
How well do our TP classes prepare preservice teachers for the NGSS?
WHAT THE SURVEY
Did Do
• Measured 5 latent variables (Science & Engineering Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, Teaching Disciplinary Core Ideas, Integration of the Three Dimensions, and Best Practices in Science Education) found to express the key constructs of the NGSS framework
• Measured our level of confidence in how well our primary STEM TP course prepares preservice teachers for the NGSS
Did Not Do
• Measure how our STEM TP courses prepare preservice teachers for the CCSS
• Measure the totality of STEM TP needs
WHAT DID THE SURVEY TELL US?
• Strong in Teaching Disciplinary Core Ideas – overall we feel pretty good about how well our courses are preparing preservice educators to teach the Disciplinary Core Ideas
• Weak in Crosscutting Concepts – overall we feel the least confidence with the Crosscutting Concepts
• Correlation between Familiarity & Application – there appears to be a relationship between how strongly we rate our personal understanding of the NGSS with how strongly we believe our classes prepare preservice educators to teach from them
Large-scale Themes Relating to Strong Content Knowledge, Subject Matter and Curriculum Goals: • Teachers understand and use the Next Generation
of Science Standards and Common Core State Standards to guide instructiona) DCIs, Practices, Cross-cutting themesb) and how to integrate these components
• Teachers are knowledgeable about Engineering and Computer Science and how to integrate these subjects with other STEM subjects.
Large-scale Themes Relating to Teaching: • Teachers have strong pedagogical content
knowledge• Teachers are able to facilitate learning across
disciplines• Teachers are able to create inclusive learning
environments
Large-Scale Themes Relating to Culture/Communication/Collaboration: • Teachers are knowledgeable about how schools
work• Teachers are able to work effectively with diverse
students, colleagues, families, and community organizations.
• Teachers are active participants in Professional Learning Communities
