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4 Conditions That Promote STEM Success in Schools
Pages 43-54

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From page 43...
... SUPPORTS FOR TEACHERS There is a significant body of work on questions about teacher preparation, induction into the profession, and continued development for STEM teachers, Suzanne Wilson noted. However, much of it is grounded in a vision of a particular kind of teaching (Wilson, 2011)
From page 44...
... . Fewer studies directly address questions about what makes particular teacher supports effective.
From page 45...
... The best practices include the following: • focusing on developing teachers' knowledge and capacity to teach specific subject matter; • addressing problems and issues that teachers experience in their classrooms; • structuring the program around concrete tasks in which teachers teach, assess their students, observe them, and reflect on their practice; and • allowing sufficient time for teachers to engage in a teacher devel opment program. Wilson characterized the current state of teacher preparation, induction, and professional development as "a carnival." She chose this metaphor to capture a reality in which there are excellent programs, terrible programs, and many in between, and in which there are many vendors and many sorts of goals.
From page 46...
... For example, state policies can address the structure and content of and funding for teacher preparation and supports, as well as the characteristics of students who enter teacher education programs. District policies may affect teacher assignments and the curricula and texts teachers will use.
From page 47...
... For example, an empiri cally based finding that professional development is most effective when a significant amount of time is allocated to it is often translated simply into a minimum number of hours, regardless of program quality. Addi tional research on the particular features that make extensive programs effective could provide insights that might allow others to improve the quality of their programs.
From page 48...
... with engaging, student-centered pedagogy. More specifically, the researchers found that among schools with a well-aligned curriculum and a strong professional community of teachers, 48-57 percent improved substantially in both reading and mathematics.
From page 49...
... The more advantaged schools could better afford to have weaknesses in a few of the elements, but, in general, the essential supports were also more likely to develop in schools in areas where there was strong community cohesion -- where people participated in local organizations such as churches and community groups -- and where there were lower crime rates. It may seem obvious that these five elements are important, Allensworth observed, but most improvement strategies are generally much narrower: "Just get the right curriculum.
From page 50...
... They found that while teacher qualifications were associated with value-added scores in reading and mathematics, organizational structures in the schools actually mattered more. More specifically, schools with highly qualified teachers had much higher learning gains than schools with weaker teachers, but schools that had weak climates -- defined by the level of order and safety -- did not make gains, even if they had highly qualified teachers.
From page 51...
... For example, Confrey called atten tion to the value of collaborations among researchers and practitioners to develop improvements for particular educational contexts. Wilson and Schmidt both called attention to the opportunities that are lost when there is insufficient coordination among the elements that influence STEM education, including curriculum for students and for teacher candidates, textbooks, and professional development.
From page 52...
... But to be effective it has to be implemented on a micro scale: it only works if every individual in a target population is vaccinated, which requires persistent efforts to reach and educate people community by community. PARTNERSHIPS TO ENHANCE STEM EDUCATION In a panel discussion of partnerships between schools and external organizations to enhance their capacity to offer quality STEM education and learning experiences, Martin Gartzman, Vanessa Lujan, and Linda Rosen discussed aspects of the education system that can be positively influenced by different sorts of partnerships.
From page 53...
... , she suggested, that are focused on afterschool programs, curriculum implementation, and professional development can be designed in part to build networks of leaders -- superintendents, science coordinators, curriculum leaders, and lead science teachers and out-of-school-educators -- who can bring new skills to their work. Districts and schools may encounter policy barriers, however.
From page 54...
... In the context of the Lawrence Hall of Science's BaySci project, she noted, teach ers worried that they could not teach science effectively, given the constraints on classroom time because of testing requirements for mathemat ics and English language arts. BaySci staff worked with the districts and school leaders to help them convey to teachers that they had "permission" to spend time on science and help them reconcile competing demands from the district, the school, and the classroom.


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