Fulfilling the Promise Biology Education in the Nation's Schools (1990) / Chapter Skim
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5. Impediments to Implementing Curricular Change: Training and Support of Teachers
5. Impediments to Implementing Curricular Change: Training and Support of Teachers
Pages 53-71
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From page 53... ...
When the student completes the preservice program, state policies determine what subjects one may teach at what level and for how long. Preservice Education of High-School Biology Teachers The undergraduate biology and related science education of prospective American teachers varies greatly, depending on the type of institution they attend.
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From page 54... ...
and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) , have recommended numbers and types of courses for programs instructing future biology teachers (Appendixes B and C)
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From page 55... ...
Internships can replace student teaching (usually in 5-year programs) or be used in a special first-year position in which beginning biology teachers are under the supervision of an experienced mentor.
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From page 56... ...
-a group of industry, government, and education leaders has specified similar changes for programs that educate teachers. In addition, it has supported the establishment of a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards that would restructure the teaching force into four levels.
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From page 57... ...
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, initiated by the Carnegie Task Force on Teaching as a Profession (1986) , has made recommendations for preservice education of teachers and stresses the need to integrate subject and pedagogy throughout the preservice program.
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From page 58... ...
What scientific skills, strategies, and knowledge are most needed by biology teachers? What facilitates the acquisition and use of those skills and knowledge by novice teachers?
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From page 59... ...
A national group should consider the material that must be offered to provide adequate preservice education in the sciences. · Current movements for reform of the teaching profession argue that adequate preservice education requires more than 4 years and a bachelor's degree.
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From page 60... ...
Recently, two professional associations of teachers, the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT, 1985) and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA, 1984)
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From page 61... ...
studied whether basic skills and academic performance were related to subject knowledge and teaching performance in the classroom. According to the authors, the study failed to support three current trends that have led to the adoption of examinations for teachers: testing of basic skills before entry into teacher education does not screen out persons who will become less-able teachers; the GPA is not a predictor of a teacher's performance, so raising the GPA as a requirement for entrance into teacher-education programs is of questionable value; and it cannot be assumed that one can equate subject knowledge with ability to teach.
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From page 62... ...
The National Governors' Association and the research and development projects funded by Carnegie have supported the recent establishment of a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) that eventually plans to certify teachers who have fulfilled special preservice and induction requirements.
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From page 63... ...
· We support a thorough review of the National Teacher Examination to ensure that it is related to teaching performance, not simply to basic content knowledge and exposure to required courses. · Major changes in certification along the lines of Stanford's Teacher Assessment Project or the Connecticut Continuum project are occurring.
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From page 64... ...
Local districts have a major influence on inservice education, in that they can specify the kinds of academic credits or other activities that will advance a teacher on the salary scale. States, too, can require kinds and numbers of inservice activities for renewal of teaching licenses.
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From page 65... ...
Part of the confusion stems from the fact that the examinations that test achievement in biology were not well matched to the laboratory-based experiences offered by the institutes. Furthermore, it became clear to this committee through meeting with several hundred biology teachers that the NSF-sponsored summer institutes had a deeply positive effect on teachers' morale and sense of belonging to the wider scientific community.
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From page 66... ...
A lack of stimulating inservice activities for science teachers could be a major contributing factor in that change; however, if teachers' attitudes about the professional importance of keeping abreast of advances in science have changed, the problem is even deeper. Reform Movements and Inservice Programs After a period of severe budgetary cutbacks and elimination of programs in education, the NSF Directorate for Science and Engineering Education once again has funds in its teacher-enhancement and network programs, but there is no apparent cohesive strategy for improving the science teaching force.
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From page 67... ...
None of those recommendations, however, focuses on the specific nature of inservice education that will change how science is taught in the nation's schools. Indeed, the Holmes Group assumes that teachers who have better preservice preparation will automatically continue in their field, whereas the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards addresses inservice education only as part of a 3-year induction process.
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From page 68... ...
In particular, mentor teachers would: · Help novice science teachers to make the best use of class time, curricular materials, laboratory time, and resources. · Help novice science teachers with practical guidance on instructional techniques.
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From page 69... ...
National leadership is clearly needed in identifying and defining the kinds of inservice programs that will be most successful in fostering inquiry-based learning by students, in integrating biological information and content pedagogy effectively for teachers, and in generating mechanisms by which pedagogical skills can be propagated through the teaching profession. Reinforcement of the profession with mentor teachers who can contribute to the professional development of younger colleagues is also needed.
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From page 70... ...
(As described in Chapter 8, the loss of interest in Biological Sciences Curriculum Study materials provides a lesson about the design of inservice programs.) In addition to teaching content, new inservice programs should be meticulous in developing an array of effective pedagogical techniques that engage students in learning scientific concepts instead of scientific jargon.
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From page 71... ...
In Chapter 8, we suggest how the research community might collaborate with teachers and others to accomplish these goals. · New inservice programs should address the need to develop a larger cadre of mentor teachers.
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