Teaching Science Teachers to be Leaders

A big part of teaching is about knowing how to ask the right questions.

But what if the subject you’re teaching revolves around just that, the pursuit of more and more questions?

Welcome to science class, a period some of us may remember as an adventure into the innards of frogs, the Milky Way and everything in between. Science class today still requires students to know facts and formulas but they are also increasingly asked to seek their own answers to fundamental questions about how the world around them works.

“It is a much more active process of learning with teachers serving as highly skilled guides through a rigorous process of scientific inquiry. To do it well requires teachers that are passionate and incredibly knowledgeable and comfortable with the science content,” said Carolyn Landel, project director for the North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership (NCOSP) at Western Washington University.

Nationally and locally, science education has long languished due to inadequate instructional materials, ineffective teaching strategies, and particularly at the elementary level, insufficient preparation in science to teach it well. Exacerbating these challenges, national and state standards include far more topics than students can learn over the course of their school experience, according to Landel (the State Board of Education and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction are currently involved in revising Washington’s science standards and will complete their work in December of 2008).

So Landel and others brought together 28 school districts and five institutions of higher education in an innovative partnership to develop a network of “teacher leaders” with deep knowledge of science, how children learn, and how to plan effective instruction to support student learning. These teacher leaders are also coached on how to more effectively collaborate with their peers as well as serve as catalysts for change in science teaching throughout their school and district.

Thanks to Landel, NCOSP, and the hard work of the teacher leaders and their administrators, student learning in Northwestern Washington has increased dramatically.

According to Landel, the entire program is firmly grounded in the research surrounding “How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice”—a scientific, research-based approach to teaching and learning. “What distinguishes the partnership is its relentless commitment to translating research findings into practical strategies and tools that teachers and administrators can use to support their daily work -- helping every child learn.”

Founded in 2002 by former NASA Astronaut and Western Washington University science professor Pinky Nelson, NCOSP was conceived as a partnership between higher education and school districts to simultaneously improve the preparation of future teachers and the quality of the science programs and science instruction in schools.

A grant from the National Science Foundation awarded in September 2003 provided external resources to help the partnership take form and to conduct careful studies to monitor its impact. Nelson and Landel assembled a staff and launched the first Summer Academy with 160 local science teachers in 2004.

The teachers were offered a variety of tailored incentives for their participation in the NCOSP program. All were awarded a stipend for taking the classes, and many elected to receive graduate credits that could be used to complete a master’s degree. Still others applied portions of their NCOSP experience to their pursuit of national board certification.

“Each partner district had to decide which of their teachers would participate,” said Landel. “They know their staff; they know the needs and concerns of their school. We relied on their expertise to select those that would become teacher leaders.” The result was a broad sampling of teachers with diverse backgrounds; a very representative slice of the state.

Using expertise from different groups is another hallmark of NCOSP. “The teachers bring a wealth of knowledge about teaching, schools, and children. The higher education faculty has expertise in science content and research. When these groups work together, everyone learns,” said Nelson.

The first 160 local teachers (90 from elementary, 40 from middle and 30 from high school), met for a two-week immersion during the summer and experienced a deep-dive into the current research on learning and effective science instruction. Through structured scientific investigations, teachers were confronted with many questions. The facilitators of those discussions provided few answers -- the teachers did the hard work of constructing the answers themselves.

“Across all grade levels we need teachers to recognize science as a dynamic body of knowledge that changes based on the best available evidence. There is no better way to understand that idea than to experience it first hand. Teachers quickly realize that it’s the evidence their students generate and the questions they explore that will help them learn science.”

“My students have had to get comfortable with seeking answers to questions they generate,” said Roger Hasper, an NCOSP teacher leader at North Bellingham Elementary. “As I increased my use of questioning strategies and inquiry students started to take more responsibility for their thinking across all areas of the curriculum.”

After participating in the Summer Academy, the teacher leaders received continued support through regional Learning Community Forums, which met monthly for the first three years of the program. NCOSP’s teacher leaders also receive additional support from Teachers on Special Assignment (or TOSAs; teacher leaders who take a one-year sabbatical to support partnership activities across all districts). TOSAs help observe and facilitate ongoing meetings between teacher leaders, their teaching colleagues, and their school principal.

Squalicum High School Principal David Engle in the Bellingham School District has developed a deeper respect for the challenge of good science teaching and has seen significant improvement in his school’s science instruction since one of his staff became a teacher leader. This teacher leader has worked with other teachers in her building to share what she’s learning, increasing the impact on instruction across multiple classrooms.

“Students are more highly engaged in our science curriculum because of these instructional changes,” said Engle. “I've seen my teachers really address the misconceptions that students bring to class with them about basic science ideas and I've seen a much more reflective approach to science instruction from the teachers most involved in the NCOSP work.”

Engle’s school isn’t the only one that has benefited. Two years ago, only 36 percent of eighth-grade students at Nooksack Valley Middle School in Everson were proficient on the science WASL. In 2007, that number rose to 73 percent in classrooms taught by NCOSP teachers. The results at Nooksack Valley Elementary School were equally striking. The scores for fifth graders in NCOSP classrooms jumped from near the state average of 36 percent two years ago to almost 90 percent this year.

“All of our schools’ test results are now significantly higher than state averages – despite demographics that would predict otherwise. We are confident that we will continue to improve,” said Mark Johnson, Nooksack Valley Superintendent.

With the success of the first 160 teachers in 2007, NCOSP added an additional 250 teachers. This time, however, the new teachers were provided professional development guidance by the teacher leaders (all past NCOSP participants) at their school. This sort of collaborative model that uses the expertise of teacher leaders is exactly what Landel hopes will catch on in each of the participating districts and perhaps beyond.

“There are many more teachers across the state that could benefit from this type of program,” said Landel. “The next question we need to sit down, study, and ask ourselves is, ‘What does it take to build other partnerships like this that benefit teachers and students and how do we implement them to support broader statewide changes?’”

In the science of teaching science, the questions never really end.

To learn more about the North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership, visit www.ncosp.wwu.edu or email Carolyn Landel at Carolyn.Landel@wwu.edu.

For updates on Washington’s revision of state science standards visit the State Board of Education’s website.

To learn more about a complimentary statewide effort to improve science education in Washington State visit LASER’s website.

Holding Back Vital Change

House Bill would deny students the math necessary to be college ready

Representative Dave Quall has introduced and will hold a hearing Monday, Feb. 4 on HB 3299, a bill to reverse the state's requirement for a third year of high school math. This would be a major step backward. The requirement is already not likely to be implemented until 2013. Reversing the requirement would diminish important momentum and extend the pattern of awarding diplomas to students who are not prepared for a two-year community or technical college or other higher education.

Two Legislators Focus on Ending Washington's Math Teacher Shortage

Why can’t we offer more math to high school students? What’s holding us back from doing away with remediation—those costly pre-college classes half of community college students need even though they’ve just received a high school diploma? The answer, more often than not, is that we simply don’t have enough qualified math teachers.

Two legislators are stepping up this session to squarely address the challenge. Rep. Pat Sullivan and Sen. Rodney Tom have both introduced bills that would set in motion a process to quantify the shortage of math and science teachers; unify, strengthen and accelerate recruitment efforts; and introduce financial incentives to attract new math and science teachers into the profession. The House bill (HB 2809) was broadly supported in last week’s public hearing. The Senate bill (SB 6781) is slated to be heard February 6.

The Professional Educators Standards Board (PESB) has shown a strong commitment to work on this issue, as well. PESB recently released the preliminary results of a statewide survey of school districts that reported impending teacher shortages in meeting the new third year of math requirement. This was an encouraging step forward but gathering accurate data on this topic remains challenging. And when it comes to things such as pay incentives—only the legislature can pave the way. Recent public opinion research has shown strong support for using pay incentives as a way to attract qualified math and science teachers, even if it means they will be paid more than teachers of other important subjects.

We applaud these two legislators for stepping up and offering proactive solutions to the statewide shortage of math teachers.

For other updates on important education-related legislation please visit our blog, The Hall Monitor.