What Is the Influence of the National Science Education Standards? Reviewing the Evidence, A Workshop Summary (2003) / Chapter Skim
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5. The Influence of the National Science Education Standards on Teachers and Teaching Practice
5. The Influence of the National Science Education Standards on Teachers and Teaching Practice
Pages 91-107
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From page 91... ...
4. VVhat pedagogy are science teachers using, anc3 how floes this compare with the vision of science instruction embocliec3 in the NSES?
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From page 92... ...
The 2000 National Survey of Science anc3 Mathematics Education found that micic3le anc3 high school science teachers were much more likely than elementary teachers to report being aware of the NSES; one-thirc3 of elementary teachers, compared to about 60 percent of micic3le- anc3 high-school science teachers reported being at least somewhat familiar with the document. However, among those who inclicatec3 familiarity, there was no difference by gracle range in extent of agreement with the NSES; approximately two-thircis of science teachers across the board report agreeing or strongly agreeing with the vision of science education clescribec3 by the NSES (Weiss, Banilower, McMahon, anc3 Smith, 2001~.
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From page 93... ...
Teachers also reported that the stanclarcis-basec3 curriculum "held both teachers anc3 students more accountable forIearning." In abolition, teachers reported that the correlation of the curriculum with state anc3 national stanclarcis "better prepares our students to meet the clemancis of their future" (Keiffer-Barone et al., 1999, p.4~. Stanclarcis-basec3 science curriculum has been the centerpiece of another set of reform projects, NSF's Local Systemic Change through Teacher Enhancement Initiative (LSC)
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From page 94... ...
The researchers found that teachers clic3 not consider traditional anc3 stanclarcis-basec3 assessment practices to be mutually exclusive, as they inclicatec3 support for practices of both kinds. However, the authors noted that contradictory responses on some items, including agreement with several items that were in fact mutually exclusive, may indicate some uncertainty about how to integrate the two.
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From page 95... ...
At the secondary level, teachers vary in how qualified they feel clepencling on the subjects they teach. For example, 89 percent of chemistry teachers reported feeling very well qualified to teach about the structure of matter; in contrast, only 60 percent of physical science teachers reported feeling very well qualified to teach about force anc3 motion.
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From page 96... ...
anc3 "Low PD." The researchers found that High PD teachers were more confident than Low PD teachers in their ability to "provide science instruction that meets the science stanclarcis, manage a class of students using hancis-on or laboratory equipment, anc3 use a variety of assessment strategies" (p.35~. However, the authors note that at both the elementary anc3 micic3le school level, High PD teachers reported having taken a significantly higher number of science courses in college than Low PD teachers, making it difficult to attribute differences in teachers' perceptions of their preparedness to the professional development.
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From page 97... ...
However, while intensive professional development focused around stanclarcis-basec3 instructional materials/peclagogy appears to be successful in increasing teachers' preparedness, the typical teacher participates in only minimal amounts of professional development, less than a few clays per year. WHAT SCIENCE IS BEING TAUGHT Although the NSES document includes science teaching stanclarcis, professional development stanclarcis, assessment stanclarcis, anc3 science education program anc3 system stanclarcis, the largest number of pages by far is clevotec3 to science content stanclarcis, outlining "what students shouIc3 know, unclerstanc3, anc3 be able to JO in natural science" (NRC, 1996, p.
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From page 98... ...
At gracle 8, the percentage of teachers emphasizing each of these areas has not changed since 1996, with about half the teachers giving heavy emphasis to earth anc3 physical science, anc3 one-fifth reporting "a lot" of time spent on life science ~ttp://nces.ec3.gov/ nationsreportcarc3/~. With the exception of NAEP, there are no national data on the content of the enacted science curriculum, anc3 what data are available from NAEP are difficult to interpret.
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From page 99... ...
Many teachers reported increasing the time spent on all topics listed. The authors suggest that these results collie be valid if teachers integrated subjects, thereby increasing the time spent on several simultaneously, or if they increased the overall amount of time available by reducing non-acaclemic activities in the classroom.
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From page 100... ...
Depending on whether students or teachers are reporting, the data indicate either no change or a small decrease in the use of hancis-on activities since the NSES were published ~ttp://nces.ec3.gov/nationsreportcarc3/~. In abolition, the use of computers in science instruction is striking in its constancy, with fewer than 10 percent of science lessons including student computer use in both 1993 anc3 2000 (Smith et al., 2002~.
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From page 101... ...
Questionnaire data, interviews, anc3 observations were used to evaluate the success of this project. Science teachers who participated in the SSI professional development reported increases in reform-relatec3 teaching practices in the first year following the treatment, anc3 these reported practices were sustained in the second anc3 third years.
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From page 102... ...
In assessing the impact of the Merck Institute for Science Education, researchers observed lessons taught by a random sample of teachers who hac3 participated in these curriculum-basec3 workshops (CPRE, 2000~. Mean observed ratings increased from 3.44 on a seven-point scale, to 4.08 in the second year, to 4.24 in the third year, suggesting that participation in the Merck workshops leacis to improvements in classroom practice.
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From page 103... ...
(2001) reported that studies focusing on the implementation of reform approaches in classroom practice reveal, "when teachers are asked to put an innovation into practice, problems are reported in all studies" (p.
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From page 104... ...
For example, many mathematics teachers used manipulatives to help students unclerstanc3 algorithms. Teachers reported that they asked students to write about how to solve mathematics problems fairly frequently, but computation anc3 memorization remained much more common practices.
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From page 105... ...
The researchers found that across the SSIs, there was general agreement on the problems in mathematics and science instruction, and the reforms in curriculum and instructional strategies that would move students from a passive to a more interactive role in learning were desired. While SSIs differed in their approaches to achieving these reforms, most worked on short-term strategies of improving a select cadre of teachers and schools through intense professional THE INFLUENCE OF THE NSES ON TEACHERS AND TEACHING PRACTICE 105
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From page 106... ...
The researchers concluclec3 that the difference in impacts of the SSIs on classroom practice had less to c30 with the overall strategy than with the characteristics of the design anc3 implementation of that strategy. They noted that reform efforts were more likely to create a positive influence on classrooms when teachers received high-quality professional development, long-term support, anc3 access to quality instructional materials.
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From page 107... ...
Inconsistent implementation of the reform is refiectec3 in contradictions within teachers' self-reports of their beliefs anc3 practices, as well as between teacher self-reports anc3 inclepenclent observations of classroom practice. In abolition to a lack of adequate professional development, factors within anc3 external to the NSES can make it difficult for teachers to align their practice to the vision of the reform.
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