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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10433.
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ATTRACTING PhDs TO K-12 EDUCATION

A DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM FOR SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND TECHNOLOGY

Committee on Attracting Science and Mathematics PhDs to K-12 Education: From Analysis to Implementation

Center for Education

Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
and

Division of Policy and Global Affairs

National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, DC

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10433.
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NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by Grant No. 1000316 from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Grant No. 99-4245 from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Grant No. D00001 from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Grant No. SG-99-134 from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation to the National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number 0-309-08427-X

Additional copies of this report are available from
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Suggested citation: National Research Council. (2002). Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Committee on Attracting Science and Mathematics PhDs to K-12 Education. Center for Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education and Division on Global and Policy Affairs. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Printed in the United States of America

Copyright 2002 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10433.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

National Academy of Sciences

National Academy of Engineering

Institute of Medicine

National Research Council

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10433.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10433.
×

COMMITTEE ON ATTRACTING SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS PHDS TO K-12 EDUCATION: FROM ANALYSIS TO IMPLEMENTATION

M. PATRICIA MORSE, Chair,

University of Washington, Seattle

MARGARET COZZENS,

University of Colorado at Denver

ARTHUR EISENKRAFT,

Bedford Public Schools, Bedford, NY

DANINE EZELL,

San Diego City Schools

EMILY FEISTRITZER,

Center for Education Information, Washington, DC

MARIA LOPEZ FREEMAN,

California Science Project, Monterey Park, CA

MYLES GORDON,

American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY

VICKI JACOBS,

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

DAVID A. KENNEDY,

Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Washington (retired)

MARY LONG,

University of Texas, Austin

JOHN A. MOORE,

University of California at Riverside (Emeritus)*

N. RONALD MORRIS,

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey

MAYNARD V. OLSON,

University of Washington, Seattle (until February, 2001)

KRISTINA PETERSON,

Lakeside School, Seattle, WA

ERIC ROBINSON,

Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY

JAMES H. STITH,

American Institute of Physics, College Park, MD

KIMBERLY TANNER,

University of California, San Francisco

JAY B. LABOV, Deputy Director,

Center for Education

KEVIN D. AYLESWORTH, Study Director,

Center for Education

GEORGE REINHART, Senior Program Officer,

Division of Policy and Global Affairs

TERRY HOLMER, Senior Project Assistant,

Center for Education

*  

Deceased May 2002.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10433.
×

Dedication

John A. Moore

(1915–2002)

John A. Moore was Professor of Biology Emeritus at the University of California, Riverside and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. His long and active scientific career spanned seven decades, beginning when he published his first research paper as a teenager and continuing until his death. His last book, From Genesis to Genetics, was published in 2001. He is perhaps best known for his unending devotion to science education, which he served at all levels from classroom instruction to textbook writing (including the highly regarded Biological Sciences Curriculum Study texts for high school—still in print after 40+ years—and the Science as a Way of Knowing series for university-level instruction). He also served the National Academies and other professional and educational organizations on committees and study groups too numerous to detail. Dr. Moore was especially devoted to defending the teaching of evolution as an essential component of any complete modern curriculum. His ideas and high standards had a major influence on the deliberations of this committee and the ideas advanced in this report. He will be sorely missed.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10433.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10433.
×

Preface

A significant number of new PhDs in science, mathematics, and engineering are seeking careers that make good use of their hard-earned skills, but are outside of the traditional ones at universities or in industry. Some of them wish nothing more than to teach, to pass on the passion of their research, to share their connections to the wonders of discovery, and to use their talents to bring an understanding of the prom-ises and limitations of science, mathematics, and engineering to others. That desire sometimes turns to schools—from kindergarten through high school (K-12)—perhaps because their parents or siblings are teachers or because they realize that university life or life in industry does not appeal to them. The special talents and learning they have accumulated in their doctoral studies make them a potentially marvelous resource for the nation’s K-12 system of education.

It is not new for science, mathematics, and engineering PhDs to enter careers in K-12 education or otherwise become involved with children’s education. Most who became teachers, however, did so at private schools. By taking this path they avoided the onerous task of going back to college to earn the education credentials necessary for teaching in public schools. Thus, they often entered K-12 education without public school teaching credentials and usually without ever spending time in the classroom. To-day, as the nation focuses anew on K-12 education, it is timely to consider ways to encourage PhDs to use their skills more widely in our schools.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10433.
×

The PhDs who are sprinkled around the nation’s schools in teaching and other K-12 education positions often made their choice in spite of a system whose rewards seem to be reserved only for those who follow in the footsteps of their research advisers. Indeed, good researchers will always be needed, but that single-minded approach to a successful career can and should be changed. What is new about the National Postdoctoral Fellowship Program outlined in this report is that it draws attention to PhDs’ interest in school careers by offering a path for using their talents to deepen K-12 education—a path that has the strong support of local, state, and national leaders. It demands collaboration and partnerships among academic institutions that produce teachers, the districts and state systems that oversee our schools, and our national science, mathematics, and education leadership. Its success will also depend on recognizing the diversity of our nation’s schoolchildren and the centrality of that diversity in every level of implementation.

What are the expectations for such a program? As the committee rightly concluded, it will not solve the nation’s teacher shortage or be a proper career choice for all PhDs. We hold high expectations for the fellows: We expect them to help improve and reform the K-12 learning environment, and in turn, must provide an exciting prospect for them as educators.

Education has always played a special role in this country. We have shared the belief that a good education leads children not only to have many choices as productive workers in the economy, but also to formulate their own meaning to life. A good education is the foundation for a lifetime of learning about both the natural and the engineered world, and it allows us to deal effectively with the problems associated with our everyday existence.

The fellows in the National Postdoctoral Fellowship Program will have a passion for discovery; they will respect the cultures of science, mathematics and technology, as well as the world of K-12 education; and they will be committed to achieving change through collaboration, while basing change on research on learning and teaching. This commitment represents an exciting challenge, and the implementation of this program will provide a new way for both scientists and society to view our nation’s schools.

The committee’s work would not have been possible without the help of individuals who shared their visions for what this project could accomplish and their insights on the intricacies of designing a program that first and foremost meets the needs of K-12 education. A number of colleagues

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10433.
×

helped with the writing, research, and editing and provided wise counsel at our meetings, including: Herman Alvarado, Amaliya Jurta, Judy Nyquist, and Stacey Piccirilli, National Research Council’s Division of Policy and Global Affairs; Joe Alper, Consultant, Louisville, CO; Judith D’Amore, University of Washington; Ingrith Deyrup-Olsen, Professor of Zoology (emeritus), University of Washington; Margaret Hilton, Center for Education; Mary Grace Snyder, Coordinator, Resident Teacher Program, Montgomery County Public Schools; and Claudia Sturges, Director of Fellowship Programs, American Association for the Advancement of Science. We are also grateful for the guidance provided by Marilyn Baker and Charlotte Kuh of the National Research Council’s Division of Policy and Global Affairs.

In the course of this study we held a workshop in Seattle, and we extend our gratitude to Dennis Schatz and the Pacific Science Center and Gerald M. Stokes and the Battelle Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for their hospitality. We also thankfully acknowledge the space provided for two other meetings at the Whiteley Center at the Friday Harbor Laboratories at the University of Washington and the University of Texas at Austin.

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Joan Baratz-Snowden, American Federation of Teachers, Washington, DC; Liesl Chatman, Science and Health Education Partnership, University of California, San Francisco; Noah Finkelstein, Jacobs School of Engineering and Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition, University of California, San Diego; Sherrie Hans, Consultant, Alexandria, Virginia; Toby M. Horn, DC Public Schools Office of Academic Services; Erin Peckol, BIOTECH Project, University of Arizona; Julie Strong, Menlo School, Athjerton, California; John D. Wiley, Office of the Chancellor, University of Wisconsin, Madison; and Lauren J. Young, Spencer Foundation, Chicago, Illinois.

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10433.
×

comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Richard A. McCray, Department of Astrophysics, University of Colorado, and Henry Riecken, Professor of Behavioral Sciences, Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania. Appointed by the National Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

M. Patricia Morse, Chair

Committee on Attracting Science and Mathematics PhDs to K-12 Education

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10433.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10433.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10433.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10433.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10433.
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The National Research Council (NRC) has undertaken a three-phase project to explore the possibility of a program to attract science, mathematics and engineering PhDs to careers in K-12 education. The first phase of the project surveyed the interests of recent PhDs in science and mathematics in pursuing careers in secondary education. Analysis of the Phase I data suggests that a significant percentage of PhDs might be interested in pursuing careers in secondary education under some circumstances. This report from the second phase of the project presents a proposal for a national demonstration program to determine how one might prepare PhDs to be productive members of the K-12 education community. The proposed program is designed to help meet the needs of the nation's schools, while providing further career opportunities for recent PhDs in science, mathematics and engineering.

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