AAPT Summer Meeting
21 July 2008Edmonton, Alberta
Physics Teacher Preparation: Problems,Perspectives, and Solutions
Theodore HodappDirector of Education and Diversity
American Physical Society
4PTEC.org ©2008, T. Hodapp PhysTEC.org
Physics PhD Nationality
66 70 74 78 82 86 90 94 98
Class of
Citizenship of Physics PhDs, 1966 - 2005
US citizens
Foreign citizens*
Sources: NSF(1966-1991), AIP (1992-2005)
Percent
05
80
90
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
021966 2005
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Calls to Action
• Rising Above the Gathering Storm:
Action A-1: Annually recruit 10,000 science andmathematics teachers by awarding 4-year scholarshipsand thereby educating 10 million minds.
Action C-1: Increase the number and proportion of UScitizens who earn physical-sciences, life-sciences,engineering, and mathematics bachelor’s degrees byproviding 25,000 new 4-year competitive undergraduatescholarships each year to US citizens attending USinstitutions.
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Other Statements
America COMPETES Act of 2007• Double funding for the National Science Foundation to $11.2
billion by 2011• Expand the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program• Develop and implement programs for bachelor’s degrees in
math, science, and engineering with concurrent teachingcredentials and part-time master’s in education programs formath, and science teachers to enhance both contentknowledge and teaching skills.
Tapping America’s Potential: The Education forInnovation Initiative, Business Roundtable, July 2005
• Double the number of STEM graduates by the year 2015
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APS / AAPTStatement on Doubling
We advocate doubling the number of bachelordegrees in physics to address critical nationalneeds including K-12 education, economiccompetitiveness, energy, security, and aninformed electorate
• An essential area of increase is in the number of highly-qualified high school physics teachers
• An essential area of increase is in the fraction of bothwomen and under-represented minorities who major inphysics
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Congress: SupplementalAppropriations (June 2008)
$40 million additional:• $20 million additional for Noyce Scholarships
(current FY08 appropriation is $10.6 million)• $20 million for Noyce: “Sec. 10A: NSF Teaching
Fellowships and Master Teaching Fellowships”• Minimum $10k/year salary supplement during service• 4-5 years of service required
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Need for High SchoolPhysics Teachers
Relative Demand by FieldFields with Considerable Shortage (5.00 - 4.21)
Severe/Profound Disabilities (Spec. Ed.) 4.42Multi-categorical (Spec. Ed.) 4.36Emotional/Behavioral Disorders (Spec. Ed.) 4.32Mild/Moderate Disabilities 4.32Physics 4.31Mental Retardation (Spec. Ed.) 4.23Learning Disability (Spec. Ed.) 4.22Mathematics Education 4.21
Fields with Some Shortage (4.20 - 3.41)Visually Impaired 4.20Chemistry 4.16
2004 AAEE (American Association of Employment in Education)Educator Supply and Demand in the United States Report
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Preparation of High SchoolPhysics Teachers
One third of all STEM teachers have no STEM degree
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Demographics of HighSchool Physics Teachers
• 23,000 Physics Teachers Nationwide• 1,200 new physics teachers each year• ~400 of these have physics major or minor
• Number takingphysics growing by1% per year
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Why Teachers LeaveWhy they leave:• Many teachers leave schools because of inadequate system supports, e.g. too little time for
planning, too few textbooks, and unreliable assistance from the district office.• Bureaucratic impediments (e.g., excessive paperwork, unnecessary meetings) were cited
frequently by leavers. The data also showed that teachers were not asking to be left alonebut instead wanted efficient and responsive bureaucracy that supported their teaching.
• Better compensation matters to teachers, but unless their classroom and school environmentis conducive to good teaching, better compensation is not likely to improve teacher retention.
Why they teach:• 81% of teachers who participated in our survey said they entered the profession because they
wanted to make a difference for children and society. This overwhelming numberindicates that teachers want above all to be effective teachers.
• Teachers willingly stay because of strong collegial supports and because they have animportant say in the operation of the school; they also seek strong input in what and howthey are allowed to teach.
K. Futernick, “Retaining California Teachers,”www.calstate.edu/teacherquality/documents/possible_dream.pdf
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Teacher Impacton Student Learning
Empirical studies employing different units ofanalysis that have examined the influence of teachereducation and certification on student achievementhave often found significant relationships betweenthese measures of teacher expertise and studentachievement.
L. Darling-Hammond and P. Youngs, Defining “Highly Qualified Teachers”: What Does“Scientifically-Based Research” Actually Tell Us?, Educational Researcher 31, 13-25 (2002)
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PhysTEC Project ParticipantsProject sites:
Ball State UniversityCal Poly San Luis Obispo
Cornell University Florida International
UniversityOregon State University
Seattle Pacific UniversityTowson University
University of ArkansasUniversity of Arizona
University of ColoradoUniversity of Minnesota
University of North Carolina -Chapel Hill
Western Michigan UniversityXavier University of Louisiana
Anderson UniversityAndrews UniversityAngelo State UniversityArizona State UniversityBall State UniversityBemidji State UniversityBoise State UniversityBoston UniversityBridgewater State CollegeBrigham Young UniversityBrigham Young University IdahoBuffalo StateCalifornia Polytechnic State University, PomonaCalifornia Polytechnic State University, San LuisObispoCalifornia State University, ChicoCalifornia State University, SacramentoCalifornia University of PennsylvaniaCasper CollegeColgate UniversityCornell UniversityDePaul UniversityEast Central UniversityEastern Illinois UniversityElon UniversityEmporia State UniversityFairmont State UniversityFlorida International UniversityFort Hays State UniversityFrancis Marion UniversityGeorge Washington UniversityHillsdale CollegeHiram CollegeHofstra UniversityHope CollegeIllinois State UniversityIndiana University of PennsylvaniaJacksonville State UniversityJames Madison UniversityKansas State UniversityKennesaw StateKing CollegeLone Star College-North HarrisLoyola College in MarylandMcNeese State UniversityMiddle Tennessee State UniversityMillersville UniversityMisericordia UniversityMorningside CollegeNational Superconducting Cyclotron LaboratoryNorth Carolina State UnivNorthwestern Oklahoma State UniversityOklahoma State UniversityOranim Academic CollegeOregon State University
Pacific UniversityRadford UniversityRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteRutgers, the State University of New JerseySaint Joseph's UniversitySaint Mary's CollegeSan Jacinto College CentralSeattle Pacific UniversitySlippery Rock UniversitySouthern Oregon UniversitySpelman CollegeTennessee Technological UniversityTexas A&M University-CommerceTexas Southern UniversityTexas State University-San MarcosTowson UniversityTufts UniversityUniversity of AlabamaUniversity of Alabama BirminghamUniversity of ArizonaUniversity of ArkansasUniversity of California, DavisUniversity of Colorado at BoulderUniversity of ConnecticutUniversity of HoustonUniversity of KentuckyUniversity of LouisvilleUniversity of MaineUniversity of Maryland Baltimore CountyUniversity of Michigan- DearbornUniversity of MinnesotaUniversity of Missouri-ColumbiaUniversity of Missouri-RollaUniversity of Nevada Las VegasUniversity of Nevada RenoUniversity of North Carolina-AshevilleUniversity of North Carolina-Chapel HillUniversity of Northern ColoradoUniversity of Northern IowaUniversity of Notre DameUniversity of PittsburghUniversity of Pittsburgh at GreensburgUniversity of San DiegoUniversity of Texas at AustinUniversity of Texas at El PasoUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of Wisconsin-MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin-Stevens PointUniversity of Wisconsin-WhitewaterWeizmann Institute of ScienceWestern Kentucky UniversityWestern Michigan UniversityWinona State UniversityWinston-Salem State UniversityWright State UniversityXavier University of Louisiana
PTEC Members:
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Solving the Problem:High School Teacher Education
ComplexCollaborationCulture Shift
• Recruitment• Early field experience• Interactive engagement in intro
course• Mentoring (at all stages)
• Bridges between key groups (physics department,education school, school districts)
• Master Teachers / Staff support• Physics Education Research (PER) faculty• Financial support for prospective teachers
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Comprehensive Program:Examples
Learning Assistants:• Undergraduate teaching assistants• Express an interest in teaching• Concurrent 1-credit, free, pedagogy course
• Recruitment• Early field experience• LA’s match grad student
performance• Class perf. goes up too
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Connecting to Teachers
• Teacher Advisory Groups• Provide mentoring role to new teachers• Help teachers understand assessment tools• Provide linkage to university• Get “street” advice on teacher’s needs• Help tailor university’s preparation program• Enlist local teachers to help with “field” experiences• Provide resources for local teachers
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Faculty Engagement
• Introductory course reform• Teacher recruitment• Physics education major track• Connection with education• Departmental priorities / initiatives
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Increase in Physics TeachersEducated at PhysTEC Institutions
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PTEC Member Institutions…committed to improving the education of physics and physical science teachers
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Coalition Activities• National Conference on Physics and Physical Science Teacher
Education:Mar 2008 Theme: Master Teachers (Austin)Mar 2009 Theme: Institutional Transformation (Pittsburgh)
• Physics Teacher Education Digital Library www.PTEC.org• National workshops of exemplar programs (LAs, RTOP)• Regional workshops (PTEC-NC, August 07)• Best-practice book to bring together information on Physics
Teacher Education (2009 expected publication)• Sponsoring a national taskforce on teacher education• Building coalitions with other professional societies (ACS,
NASULGC)