the role of colleges and universities in the preparation ... ©2008, t. hodapp. . 5. teacher...

PTEC-Northwest Conference

October 10, 2008Seattle Pacific University

The Role of Colleges and Universities in the Preparation of Future Teachers

Dr. Monica PlischAssistant Director of Education

American Physical Society

www.PTEC.org ©2008, T. Hodapp www.PhysTEC.org 2

Need for High SchoolPhysics Teachers

Relative Demand by Field Fields 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


Need for High SchoolPhysics Teachers

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Year

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

En

rollm

en

t (1

00

0's

)

PhysicsEnrollmentAP or HonorsPhysics

Source: AIP Statistical Research Center


Quotes

“..that's all well and good, but who is going to provide the 75 physics teachers I need next year?”

--Judy Jeffrey, Director, Iowa Department of Education

“Think about this: in the past four years, our 15 schools of education at the University of North Carolina turned out a grand total of three physics teachers. Three.”

--Erskine Bowles, President, University of North Carolina


Teacher RetentionTeacher turnover in 5 years (N = 11,787) among teachers who entered

the profession in four midwestern states in 1995-1996

23

18

21

19

17

18

21

13

28

26

29

19

32

32

31

40

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

All Teachers

Elementary

Secondary

Biology

General Science

Chemistry

Math

Physics

Percent

MoversLeavers

Source: NCREL, Policy Issues, Januay 2002


Students in US Public Schools Taught by Teachers with No Major or Minor, and no Certification in the Subject Taught, 1999-2000

Discipline Grades 5-8 Grade 9-12

English 17% 6%Mathematics 22% 9%Physical Science 41% 16%Biology-Life science 29% 10%Chemistry 9%Physics 17%

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. Qualifications of the Public School Teacher Workforce: Prevalence of Out-of-Field Teaching 1987-1988 to 1999-2000. Washington, DC: US Department of Education, 2003.

Physics and Physical Science Certification


Content Preparation of Physics Teachers

39% of all physics teachers took 4 or fewer semesters of physics


Elementary Teachers:Under-prepared to Teach Science

• Only 15% of elementary math and science lessons judged to be high quality

Horizon Research, “Looking Inside the Classroom: A study of K-12 Mathematics and Science Education in the United States”, 2003

Examples include:• A primary grade science lesson in

which students drew their favorite animal, but never focused on science concepts

• A science class where students followed the steps through laboratory procedures, but did not seem to understand why they were doing what they were doing.


Calls to Action

Rising Above the Gathering Storm:

Action A-1: Annually recruit 10,000 science and mathematics teachers by awarding 4-year scholarships and thereby educating 10 million minds.

Action C-1: Increase the number and proportion of US citizens who earn physical-sciences, life-sciences, engineering, and mathematics bachelor’s degrees by providing 25,000 new 4-year competitive undergraduate scholarships each year to US citizens attending US institutions.


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 teaching credentials and part-time master’s in education programs for math, and science teachers to enhance both content knowledge and teaching skills.

Tapping America’s Potential: The Education for Innovation Initiative, Business Roundtable, July 2005

• Double the number of STEM graduates by the year 2015


Congress: Supplemental Appropriations (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


Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC)

APS (Theodore Hodapp, PI)AAPT (Warren Hein, co-PI)

AIP (Jack Hehn, co-PI)

Monica Plisch, PTEC LeadershipGabe Popkin, Project Management

Paul Hickman, Teacher-in-Residence ProgramDavid Meltzer, Assessment Consultant

Ed Lee, APS Staff Support


Project Funding

• National Science Foundation (PHY, DUE, ESIE, DMR)• Department of Education (FIPSE)• APS Campaign for the 21st Century (Gordon Moore)


PhysTEC Project

Demonstration Project(PhysTEC)

• 12 National Sites• Comprehensive Program• Teacher-in-Residence• Physics, Education

Collaboration

National Coalition(PTEC)

• National Conference • Recognized Programs• Community Leaders• Sharing Innovative

Ideas• Broad Dissemination


PhysTEC Project:Diverse Institutional Types

Established PhysTEC Sites• University of Colorado• University of Arkansas• University of Arizona• Cal Poly San Luis Obispo• Ball State University• Western Michigan University• Towson University• Seattle Pacific University

New PhysTEC Sites (2007)• Cornell University• Florida International

University• University of Minnesota• University of North Carolina -

Chapel Hill


Recruiting More Physics Teachers

0

5

10

15

20

25

Arizona Arkansas Cal Poly* Colorado* WesternMichigan

NonPhysTEC**

Institution

Before PhysTECYears 1 - 3Years 4 - 6

*Became a PhysTEC site 2003 or later**Number of physics certifications averaged over instituions from 10 states

2002-2004

2005-2007


Introductory Course Reform

Implement curricula that improve student learning• Modeling (ASU)• Tutorials (U Washington)• Clicker questions in lecture

Model effective teaching practices


Improved Learning Gains in Transformed PhysTEC Courses


Learning Assistants

LA program• Undergraduate TAs• Concurrent pedagogy course• Early teaching experience

Impact• Teacher recruitment• Class performance improves• LA’s conceptual knowledge

increases


Teachers in ResidenceTIR Activities• Serve as liaison to K-12 schools, education departments• Interact one-on-one with prospective teachers

• Teach or co-teach methods and other courses

• Assist with classroom placement and observation

• Mentor pre-service and in-service physics teachers


Physical Science for Elementary and Middle School

Research-tested curricula• PET (Physics for Elementary Teachers, SDSU)• PbI (Physics by Inquiry, U Washington) • PIPS (Powerful Ideas in Physical Science, AAPT)

Adopting curriculum• Fits science requirement in most

schools• Faculty development workshops

Impact• 420 Elementary teachers per year

(Towson, Cal Poly, Ball State, Colorado, Arkansas)


Solving the Problem: High School Teacher Education

ComplexCollaborationCulture Shift

• Recruitment• Interactive engagement in intro

course • Early field experience• Mentoring (at all stages)

• Bridges between key groups (physics department, education school, school districts)

• Physics Education Research (PER) faculty• PTEC is a resource


PTEC Member Institutions…committed to improving the education of physics and

physical science teachers


PTEC Coalition Activities• National Conference on Physics and Physical Science Teacher

Education: 2008 Theme: Master Teachers (Feb 28-Mar 1, Austin)2009 Theme: Institutional Change (Mar 13-14, Pittsburgh)

• Topical workshops (LAs, RTOP)• Regional workshops (PTEC-NC)• Physics Teacher Education Digital Library

www.PTEC.org

• Scholarly book on physics teacher education (June 09 expected publication)

• Building coalitions with other professional societies (ACS, NASULGC)


Physics / STEMBachelor Degrees

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

1966 1976 1986 1996 2006

Year

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

PhysicsAll STEM

Source: NSF WebCASPAR


Workforce Growth


APS / AAPT 2007 Statement on Doubling

We advocate doubling the number of bachelor degrees in physics to address critical national needs including K-12 education, economic competitiveness, energy, security, and an informed 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 both women and under-represented minorities who major in physics


Arkansas Success Story


Physics Majors... Physics TeachersPhysics Teachers... Physics Majors

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