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W. Frank Gilmore, President, Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society
Chancellor, Montana Tech, The University of Montana
BACKGROUND
Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, is the international honor
society of research scientists and engineers. Founded in 1886, Sigma Xi is
a nonprofit membership society of nearly 75,000 scientists and engineers
who were elected to the Society because of their research achievements or
potential. The Society has more than 500 chapters at universities and col-
leges, government laboratories, and industry research centers. In addition
to publishing the award-winning magazine, American Scientist, Sigma Xi
bestows more than 600 grants annually to promising young researchers,
holds forums on critical issues at the intersection of science and society,
and sponsors a variety of programs supporting excellence in science and
engineering, science education, science policy, and the public understand-
. . .
ng or science.
Many of the recommendations in this position paper have been ab-
stracted from Sigma Xi documents, while others represent a synthesis of
Sigma Xi positions and recommendations from other governmental and
nongovernmental organizations. Taken together, these documents, pro-
duced by the full range of stakeholders, present a compelling message.
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in
the United States needs to be thoroughly reformed from elementary school
through graduate school if we are to meet this country's workforce needs.
Moreover, these reforms must center on improving STEM teaching, dra-
iSigma Xi publications on science education are listed at http://www.sigmaxi.org/re-
sources/publications/index.shtml#sciencee
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SIGMA Xt THE SC~C RESEARCH SOC~Y
matically improving access to STEM education for all young people, and
providing understandable science information for all Americans.
Recently, there have been many promising initiatives designed to re-
spond to concerns about STEM education.2 However, we have seen many
other programs of similar promise come and go over the past 20 years.
None of these efforts has had a systemwide effect. Student performance
in STEM fields has continued to decline, as has interest in STEM careers.
From this experience it is clear that sustained restructuring of both K-12
and college level instruction is necessary.
Scientists and engineers must play a central role in this reform pro-
cess. We know that many of the best researchers are also excellent and
committed undergraduate teachers, and that there are colleges and uni-
versities that encourage and support high-quality teaching among their
STEM faculty. Balance between education and research must be the stan-
dard career expectation for STEM faculty. Over the years, the very forces
that have made research universities so successful have drawn vital en-
ergy away from teaching. Yet, excellence in both teaching and research is
clearly compatible and they are often mutually supportive activities. Our
goal must be to develop new approaches to STEM education that build on
the remarkable success of our research programs. Undergraduate STEM
instruction is potentially the most effective leverage point for improve-
ment in the quality of education in STEM fields at all levels. Many in the
workforce, including K-12 teachers, are formally exposed to STEM courses
for the last time in their undergraduate coursework, and research univer-
sities are the largest producers of STEM-trained college graduates. Those
who teach at the undergraduate level have rich academic backgrounds
and close ties with current research. They understand modern science,
mathematics, and engineering. Effective teaching by STEM faculty can
meet the needs of students preparing for careers in nonscientific fields as
well as those students who are preparing for graduate and professional
2The Burroughs-Wellcome Fund has announced the creation of the North Carolina Sci-
ence, Mathematics and Technology Education Center. The Center is based on the recom-
mendations in Before It's Too Late. NSF has announced grants to the University of Georgia,
Washington University in St. Louis, and the American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS) ($9.9 million) to develop new centers for improving K-12 education in sci-
ence and mathematics. Chronicle of Higher Education 10/25/02 "NSF Awards $50-Million to
Support 5 New Centers for Science and Mathematics Education." http://chronicle.
com/daily/2002/10 /2002102504n.htm and http: / /www.aaas.org/news/releases/2002/
1024nsf.shtml
The NSF Criterion 2, an evaluation requirement for research grant proposals has received
considerable attention as a vehicle for encouraging research scientists to actively convert
research discoveries to educational tools. A summary of the Criterion 2 can be found at
http: / /www.nsf.gov/od/opp/opp_advisory/oaccrit2.htm
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PAN-~CANIZAHONAL SUMMIT
programs in STEM fields. For endeavors of such significance, the magni-
tude of the task cannot be an excuse for inaction.
Fortunately, current circumstances present a variety of opportunities
to improve STEM education at all levels. Over the last decades, we have
gathered a great deal of valuable information about what works in math
and science education. Enormous demographic changes anticipated over
the next decade will dramatically alter the ranks of teachers and univer-
sity faculties. The substantial replacement of the workforce presents a
unique opportunity to inject new energy into mathematics and science
teaching in the form of new recruitment, training and supportive struc-
tures that can strengthen teaching at all levels.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Improving K-12 Science Education
In their 2000 report Before It's Too Late, the National Commission on
Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century identified three
major goals and associated strategies for bringing about the changes that
are necessary. Sigma Xi recommends the approach taken in Before It's Too
Late and endorses the three principal goals of their program.
· To establish an ongoing system to improve the quality of math-
ematics and science teaching in grades K-12
· To increase significantly the number of mathematics and science
teachers and improve the quality of their preparation
· To improve the working environment and make the teaching pro-
fession more attractive to K-12 mathematics and science teachers. STEM-
trained teachers have ample options elsewhere in the labor force. Quite
simply, to attract and retain these teachers the teaching environment needs
to be made more appealing.
In the short term, programs are urgently needed to address the
pressing current needs created by shortages in mathematics and science
teachers.
· Science-trained individuals should be actively recruited for teach-
ing careers. This recruitment effort should be supported with a well-
crafted media campaign to attract teachers and a range of incentive-based
strategies like teaching fellowships and scholarship programs.
· The link between research and education training should be flex-
ible and fluid. New graduates and graduate students with an interest in
teaching should be able to participate in relatively short-term commit-
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SIGMA Xt THE SC~C RESEARCH SOC~Y
meets to teach through programs like Teach for America (TFA)3 that place
college graduates with content-rich training in underserved schools. Many
TEA corps members make a long-term commitment to teaching. Those
who do not typically return to graduate or professional careers with a
deeper appreciation for issues in education.
· These programs must be supported through government and in-
dustry funding, but STEM departments must also endorse them so that
their graduates consider teaching as a genuinely rewarding career option.
Possible mechanisms for targeted support include scholarship and fel-
lowship programs for new graduates.
· Similarly, programs that ease the transition from midcareer and
postretirement years to teaching, like the army's Troops-to-Teachers Pro-
gram,4 should be expanded to recruit seasoned scientists and engineers to
work in classrooms and provide professional training and support. These
programs offer an excellent opportunity for businesses and industries to fund
short-term awards for employees and new retirees to enter the teaching field.
· Action must be taken to support and encourage teachers in order to
stem their loss to other professions. Teachers must be given the time they
need within the school day to keep up with new developments in their
fields, teaching aids, and materials. They must have the opportunity to
collect the feedback necessary to reflect on their teaching. Teachers must
receive the respect they deserve and be rewarded accordingly, including
salaries that appropriately value science and mathematics training.
2. Undergraduate Education
Sigma Xi fully endorses the 10 recommendations contained in the
Boyer Commission Report. The following recommendations emphasize
points made by the Boyer Commission and in other reports:5
· The reward system for excellence in undergraduate teaching should
be commensurate with reward systems for excellence in other STEM fac-
ulty activities, including research.
· Funding sources should be arranged so that tenure-track faculty po-
sitions have a clear teaching component and a clear research component.
3Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates, of all
academic majors, who commit two years to teach in public schools in low-income communi-
ties. http: / /www.teachforamerica.org/
4http: / /voled.doded.mil/dantes/ttt/index2.htm
5These recommendations were adapted from the Sigma Xi Report, An Exploration of the
Nature and Quality of Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics and Engineering.
A Report of the National Advisory Group of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. (1989)
(The Wingspread Report)
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PAN-~CANIZAHONAL SUMMIT
· Successful reinvention experiments, curricula, and other related
projects should be collected and disseminated so as to provide a blueprint
for other universities and departments.
· Congress and the National Science Foundation (NSF) should con-
tinue to support and facilitate scholarly research related to learning at the
undergraduate level.
· Funding agencies must continue to encourage and expand the par-
ticipation of STEM majors in undergraduate research.
· Funding agencies, universities, and professional societies must ac-
tively support, facilitate, and provide incentives for the entry and sus-
tained professional development of women, underrepresented minorities,
and the physically disabled in STEM programs.
Government agencies, foundations, industries, and professional organiza-
tions can provide essential help. It is, however, university faculties that must
initiate and bring about change. Achieving fundamental change is a slow, diffi-
cult, and expensive process. Our nation's future justifies the investment.
3. Diversity in the Science and Engineering Workforce
While equal opportunity for participation in higher education for all
citizens is a long-term social goal achievable only with consistent national
commitment and investments, current demographic changes are affect-
ing our ability to produce scientists and engineers now. Based on a review
of successful programs,6 Sigma Xi recommends the following:
· Programs that encourage human interactions between more expe-
rienced STEM professionals and women and minority students through
mentorship, internships, and research experience, should be expanded
and widely supported via government funding, professional association
programs, and private funding. All STEM departments at colleges and
universities should consider peer and mentor support programs for mi-
nority and women majors at undergraduate and graduate levels aimed at
retaining a larger proportion of these students through graduation.
· Educational reforms at the K-12 and undergraduate levels must
address the difficulties that lack of access to good academic preparation
poses for poor and underrepresented minority students.
· Access to information about college-level training needs to be im-
proved. There is early evidence that "coaching" on how to apply for col-
lege admission and financial support for students in high schools, espe-
6A good source of information on successful programs is Building Engineering and Sci-
ence Talent (BEST) http: / /www.bestworkforce.org
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SIGMA Xt THE SC~C RESEARCH SOC~Y
cially those schools where few graduates normally attend college, can in-
crease the number of students who apply for postsecondary training.7
· The cultural experience in many poor and minority communities
does not support the common practice of incurring thousands of dollars
of loan debt for college training. Access to information about financial aid
and the process of obtaining aid needs to be streamlined to retain minor-
ity students in college programs.8
· Educational institutions need to reassess how the general climate
in STEM fields discourages the participation of women and minorities at
their institutions and introduce appropriate changes.9
· Policymakers and funders must direct more attention to assisting
two-year colleges. These institutions have large numbers of students from
underrepresented groups. Programs are needed that encourage students
to move on to teaching or science research careers, and help them to make
the transition to four-year institutions.
4. Graduate Training and Beyond
The most reliable way to attract a diverse and talented range of people
to STEM research careers is to make those fields attractive relative to oth-
ers that involve similar time commitments and educational costs. At the
moment, there is very little reward for the uncertainty and long commit-
ment that we require of STEM graduate students, and not surprisingly,
graduate school attrition rates are high.~°
Sigma Xi endorses the recommendations related to improving gradu-
ate student experience in science and engineering contained in the con-
gressional report, Unlocking Our Future. These recommendations focus
on the following:
Bridging the Gap: Two Experts on Higher-Education Policy Go to a Low-Income High
School to Test Their Ideas on How to Get More Students Into College." Chronicle of Higher
Education, August 9, 2002; p. A22.
For example, a recent study by the Pew Hispanic Center found that financial difficulties
are a significant factor in the poor retention rates of Hispanic students. Initially, Hispanics
are actually enrolling in postsecondary education at higher rates than are their white coun-
terparts. Financial support rather than academic preparation is the likely explanation for the
trend. http: / /www.pewhispanic.org/site/docs/pdf/finaljoint_college_release-suro_edit.
pdf
9The Association of Women in Science has developed a Web site that offers guidance
and assistance in the process of evaluating campus "climate" issues. http://www.
chillyclimate.org/
i°http: / /www.aBup.org/publications/Academe/OOnd/NDOOLOVI.HTM
Unlocking Our Future: Toward a New National Science Policy. A report to Congress by
the House Committee on Science, September 24, 1998 http://www.house.gov/science/
science_policy_report.htm
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PAN-~CANIZAHONAL SUMMIT
· Increasing the size of individual grants for doctoral and
postdoctoral training. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has sub-
stantially increased postdoctoral salaries in recent years. This increase
should be expanded to students in the physical sciences and engineering.
In general, federal funding for research in all scientific fields should be
more balanced among broad disciplinary areas.
· Expanding funding opportunities targeted at scientists early in
their careers to offset funding shifts away from young researchers that
have developed over the past two decades. In the present climate, young
researchers see no viable career structure between postdoctoral and ten-
ured professor appointments.
· Developing appropriate university policies to control the length of
time spent in graduate and postdoctoral program study.
· Continuing to expand on initiatives to make STEM graduate train-
ing programs more flexible. Specifically, graduate students should be per-
mitted to pursue coursework and gain relevant experience outside of their
specific area of research.
The significance of the supply of talented STEM researchers to the health
of the economy warrants coordinated and well-funded research into the dy-
namics of the scientific labor market. This research should be directed at the
collection of data and the design of models that can be used to predict more
accurately the future demand for, and supply of, STEM-trained individuals.
The climate for women and underrepresented minorities in STEM
graduate programs has improved at many colleges and universities. There
is considerable research on this topic, and many institutions have begun
to experiment with programs explicitly designed to address this situa-
tion. Progress that has begun to improve the climate needs to be sup-
ported. Ultimately, the ability of institutions to attract and retain women
and minority students will be the test of their success.
· Continued funding should be made available to universities, di-
versity-oriented organizations, and professional organizations that dis-
seminate new information, facilitate dialogue on the climate issues, and
evaluate their success.
5. Communicating Science Public Understanding and Participation
There is a large gap with respect to understanding of scientific issues
between the scientific community and the general public, and it is the
i2"NTH Grantees: Where Have all the Young Ones Gone?" Science, 298:4041, October 4,
2002.
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SIGMA Xt THE SC~C RESEARCH SOC~Y
responsibility of the scientific community to bridge that gap.l3 The better
the citizens and the officials on whom researchers rely for their essential
support are educated and trained to understand the nature of process and
progress in scientific research, the better the prospects will be for restor-
ing a more productive partnership with science, society, and government.
Not only should scientific literacy for informed democratic participation
be encouraged, but also the scientific community should improve its ca-
pacity to listen to and incorporate public concerns.
· Institutions that encourage the interactions of scientists and the
public in making technical decisions should be encouraged and actively
supported by professional organizations, universities, and funders.
· Programs that advance the public understanding of science through
popular culture, books, plays, films, and radio programs, like the pro-
grams of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, should be encouraged and ex-
panded.
· Joint journalism STEM academic programs and coursework
should be encouraged through grants and other incentives.
· Sigma Xi and other professional organizations should expand their
existing services to journalists to provide information and contact with
scientists so that news stories can be covered with greater accuracy.~4
· Scientists and engineers at any level, including tenure-track fac-
ulty, with an aptitude and an interest in public speaking, should be en-
couraged to take time away from academic work to participate in pro-
grams designed to communicate science to the public, without penalty to
their careers. Funding agencies, journals, and the media can sunnort these
scientists through grants and fellowships.
13National Science Foundation, Science and Engineering Indicators 2002, Chapter 7: '~Science
and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding," reports on a variety of poll-
ing information about attitudes to science. http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seindO2/c7/
c7h.htm
i4Sigma Xi's Media Resource Service (MediaResource) is the oldest referral service for
journalists in existence. It is a public understanding of science program that helps journalists
to strengthen their science-related stories by providing independent expert sources. The
sources are good communicators of science who provide journalists with the context and
commentary necessary for clear and balanced reporting of science and technology. Experts
range from researchers at academic institutions and corporations to government scientists
and policymakers to those ethicists and historians of science based in our nation's broad
collection of think tanks and associations.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
college graduates
