Targeted Poster Session: TP-C

The Changing Face of Teacher Training: Creating Well-Qualified Physics and Astronomy Educators in the Age of No Child Left Behind

Organizers:
     Rebecca Lindell (rlindel@siue.edu), Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Where:  OSH 235

When:  1:45 – 3:15 & 3:45 – 5:15, Thursday, August 11

Theme:  With the advent of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), states are now held to higher accountability standards for improving their elementary and secondary schools, as well as ensuring that no child is trapped within a failing school system. States have been mandated to implement statewide accountability systems based on challenging standards in mathematics and reading in addition to mandated statewide testing. States are also required to ensure that there is a highly qualified teacher in every public school classroom by the end of the 2005-2006 school year. By law a highly qualified teacher is now one who not only possesses a teaching certificate, but also has demonstrated competence in any subject area taught. To meet these new mandates, many states have had to make radical changes to their physics/ science certification programs. These changes have many implications for current and future physics and astronomy teachers, as well as challenges for the programs that train them. One of the greatest challenges of this legislature is the short timeline with which these changes must be implemented. In this targeted poster session, we will highlight the changes some programs have taken to adjust for NCLB, specifically ones that have utilized the results of PER to inform the best practices demonstrated to future and in-service teachers.

Goals:  This session hopes to inform participants of the changing nature of physics teacher training as a result of NCLB. As many individuals hired in PER positions are also responsible for their schools physics teacher training programs, this poster session hopes to not only inform the community of the changes to teaching certification, but also highlight how several programs have utilized PER results to meet the needs of both future and in-service teachers. Because many of the changes have occurred within the last few years, many members of the community may also not be aware of the changing needs of these teachers and many programs may have been left at a loss on how to make these changes.

Individual Poster Abstracts

TP-C1
Development of a Standards-based Integrated Science Course for Elementary Teachers
Eric Malina (emalina@siue.edu), Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Denise Plunk, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Rebecca Lindell, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Abstract: With the national mandates that science be an integral component of all levels of education, the importance of having courses for future elementary teachers designed to meet state and national standards is critical. This poster describes how three SIUE faculty, one from biology, chemistry, and physics, initiated, coordinated, and implemented curricular changes to our Foundations of Science course. The goals of this project were 1) to enhance the current content curriculum, 2) to revise current curricular modules and develop new modules to be inquiry-based, 3) to improve and expand upon the use of technology, and 4) to further articulate the interrelatedness of the sciences in the curriculum. Meeting these goals required the complete revision or creation of 25 hands-on inquiry-based modules. Evaluation of the project involved 1) determining the impact of the modules on student learning, 2) gathering students perspective of the modules, and 3) collecting faculty feedback.

Supported by SIUE Excellence in Undergraduate Education Fund.

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TP-C2
Professional Development for Standards-Based Physical Science Education Using Modeling Physics
Jason Cervenac (jason_cerv@earthlink.net), Worthington City School
Kathleen Harper, The Ohio State University
Andrew Heckler, The Ohio State University
Abstract: Ohio curricula have changed to address the new Ohio Graduation Test and state physical science standards. Consequently, teachers are looking for professional development opportunities that address the new standards. Ohio State partnered with two school districts and the state to provide Modeling workshops in physical science. Participants represented a variety of teaching experiences. Teachers have learned content and methods to effectively prepare students for the relevant state standards and, working in small groups, designed Modeling-consistent units for other topics. Each unit explicitly indicates the state science standards it addresses. These units were disseminated to all participants in an effort to promote instructional practices that promote long-term retention, in-depth understanding, and knowledge transfer to novel situations. One message that is clear from current participants is that explicitly targeting the standards is valuable.

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TP-C3
Meeting the Needs of Our Future and In-Service Teachers: The Development and Implementation of a PER-based Course to Teach Instructional Strategies in Astronomy
Rebecca Lindell (rlindel@siue.edu), Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Douglas Franke, Knox College
Elizabeth Peak, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Thomas Withee, Collinsville High School & Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Thomas Foster, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Abstract: To meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind legislature, the State of Illinois radically changed its Science certification programs.  This change resulted in the creation of a new certification in Earth and Space Science.  To meet the requirements of this new program, the SIUE Department of Physics and Office of Science and Mathematics Education created a new course entitled “Instructional Techniques in Astronomy”.  Required for all students seeking Earth and Space Science certification, it is also ideal for meeting the needs of in-service teachers, who need additional astronomy courses to become “well-qualified”.  This poster will report on this unique course, which combines content and pedagogy along with both teacher-participant and instructor views on the effectiveness of this new course.  In addition, teacher-participant lesson plans will be provided.

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TP-C4
The Impact of Teacher Quality Grants (NCLB-based) on Long-Term Professional Development of Physical Science Teachers at the University of Texas at Dallas
Mary L. Urquhart (urquhart@utdallas.edu), University of Texas at Dallas
Kendra M. Bober, Evaluation Consultant
Abstract: The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Teacher Quality Grants (TQ Grants), supported in part through No Child Left Behind, are intended to ensure that secondary teachers of specific subjects are ³highly qualified². Now in their 3rd year, these grants have done much to shape long-term professional development for teachers in the physical sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). The grants have also created a suite of challenges and benefits for the UTD Science Education M.A.T. program. TQ Grants are based on the No Child Left Behind framework that requires teachers to be ³highly qualified² as defined by the state. Recruitment is required to be targeted at teachers who are uncertified or teach one or more classes out of content area, and who work in high needs local school districts. Many of the students brought into are program through these grants have incoming content knowledge in physics similar to that typical of undergraduate non-majors, and a large percentage are uncomfortable with basic mathematics as well. How and what we teach has been dramatically impacted by the TQ Grants, as have our assessments and evaluations. An ongoing challenge has been to implement a PER-based course design while meeting the specific requirements of the TQ Grant program. The TQ Grants have also provided a great deal of opportunity to new and existing teachers in our program. A barrier to our teachers, rising tuition costs, has been removed, and as a result a mandate has become a doorway of opportunity for physical science teachers..

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