The Alternative Certification of Science Teachers: Findings From the NSF-Funded STEM ACT Conference

1. The Alternative Certification of Science Teachers: Findings From the NSF-FundedSTEM ACT Conference

2. STEM ACT Conference Science, Technology, Engineering and Math - Alternative Certification for Teachers Funded by NSF - Teacher Professional Continuum Program May 5th-7th, 2006, Arlington, VA Presenters included: • academic researchers and administrators • policy makers in states and large cities • alternative certification providers and teachers who have gone through these programs

3. STEM Alternative Certification Issues for Researchers Allan Feldman, UMass Amherst Jodie Galosy, Michigan State U Carole Mitchener, U of Illinois Chicago

4. Abdulkadir Demir, University of Missouri, Columbia Allan Feldman, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Chair Jodie Galosy, Michigan State University, Co-Chair Richard Iuli, SUNY Empire State College Carole Mitchener, University of Illinois at Chicago, Co-Chair HsingChi Wang, University of Calgary Bruce Herbert, Texas A&M University Research White Paper Writing Committee

5. Guiding question of STEM ACT conference: "What do we know and what more do we need to learn about how to incorporate the results of more than 30 years of research on science teaching and learning into alternative certification programs?"

6. Research on Alternative Certification • Mostly policy documents • Need for, production, retention of teachers • Generic, not subject or level specific • Other main body of literature is evaluation of specific Alt cert programs • Third type of studies are comparative between “traditional” and “alternative”

7. Research on Alternative Certification • Focus on structural, rather than educational, differences • Pays little attention to teacher/student learning as an outcome • Does not take science subject matter into account • Draws little from research on science teaching and learning

8. Research on Alternative Certification Comparative studies that lump alt cert and traditional programs into two undifferentiated groups are not productive: • Alternative certification is ill-defined. • There is at least as much variation within programs as between (Wechsler, Humphey & Hough, 2006; Abell et al., 2006; Galosy, 2006; Lee, Olson & Scribner, 2006)

9. Unhelpful Divides • Dividing teacher preparation into alternative and traditional is an example of unproductive divides that hamstring research on teacher education as a field: • Science ed/general ed • Preservice/inservice • Licensing/education

10. Rephrasing of guiding question: "What do we know and what more do we need to learn about science teacher education that takes into account the results of more than 30 years of research on science teaching and learning?”

11. Reform Vision of good science teaching (NSES, AAAS, etc.) Science classrooms are active and exciting places in which: • The science taught and learned is relevant and interesting to students’ lives; • Students’ curiosity for their world beyond their own experience is awakened; • Students are engaged in inquiry; and • Students develop a commitment to responsible citizenship.

12. What, and how, do science teachers need to learn to enact reform-based science teaching in their classrooms?

13. What teacher beliefs, knowledge and skills support the Reform Vision? • Science teachers need to know their subject. • Science teachers need to have science subject specific pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) • Science teachers need to have knowledge about science curriculum/instructional approaches • Science teachers need to have practical knowledge of running a lab, lab safety, etc. • Science teachers need to have knowledge of the students they teach and how students learn science

14. What do science teachers need to know and be able to do to construct Reform Vision classrooms?

15. Science teacher content knowledge: • Britton (2006): Science teaching is domain specific to the particular science discipline and to to the work of teaching that discipline. • Abell et al. (2006): Content knowledge for teaching science may be qualitatively different from academic science. • Wang (2006): College-level science courses may be major contributors to science teachers’ “fragmented and shallow” knowledge structures. • Nature of science – Knowledge of the discipline (McDonald, 2006)

16. Science teacher pedagogical content knowledge • Understanding specific content within disciplinary and curricular contexts • Multiple ways of representing content • How to design appropriate instructional tasks • Ways of identifying students’ prior knowledge and drawing on students’ experience/ideas • Anticipating/identifying student errors and addressing student misconceptions • Assessing student understanding (Abell et al., 2006; Britton, 2006; Greenwood et al., 2006; Kern et al., 2006)

17. What pedagogies and pedagogical tools would help teachers develop reform-based teaching in classrooms?

18. Pedagogies: Induction and mentoring • Importance of the second year for action research (Mitchener, 2006). • Science specific district- or school-based mentoring (Galosy, 2006). • Both school-based and university-based mentors have important roles (Greenwood et al., 2006). • The novice teacher’s and mentor’s prior experience and knowledge should be taken into account in establishing mentoring relationships (Koballa et al., 2006).

19. Mentoring Effective programs have • Trained mentors • Provided mentors with time and resources • Plan lessons and share curricula with mentees • Demonstrate lessons to mentees; and • Provide feedback from classroom observations. (Humphrey, Wechsler, & Hough, 2006).

20. Pedagogies • Ongoing, sustained interactions • Collaborative work • Practitioner inquiry - action research, lesson study • Field experiences • Scientific research partnerships

21. Recommendation - Research Agenda Conceptual Student learning Teacher learning Content and pedagogies of teacher education Empirical Methodological

22. Research questions • What science and in what form do science teachers need to know? • How do we bridge traditional separations of preservice and inservice teacher education to create a professional continuum of science teacher education that includes the induction phase?

23. Research questions • How do diverse teachers acquire beliefs, knowledge and skills across a variety of educational settings and opportunities? • What coursework and field experiences lead to the development of knowledge and skills that help teachers, at various points in their professional development, bring reform visions into science classrooms (action research, institutional partnerships)? • What roles can teacher collaboratives—groups of science teachers learning together—play in the continued education and production of professional knowledge? (e.g. mentoring, communities of practice) • What are the implication of what teachers learn for their students?

24. Research questions • Who are the science teacher candidates? How do the following influence candidates’ development as science teachers? • Age, race, ethnicity, gender • Prior experience • Science knowledge • Context and societal influences

25. STEM Alternative Certification Issues for Practitioners Barbara A Austin Northern Arizona University Barbara.A.Austin@nau.edu

26. Barbara Austin, Northern Arizona University Wendy Frazier, George Mason University Anita Greenwood, UMass Lowell Judith Hayes, Wichita State University Charmaine Hickey, UMass Lowell Kathy Shea, UMass Lowell Morton Sternheim, UMass Amherst Yijie Zhao, UMass Amherst Report Authors

27. What is alternative certification? • Antoinette Mitchell (NCATE): These programs range from 5th year programs for students without education backgrounds, to programs especially designed for career-switchers, to programs designed for specific sectors of the community such as military personnel and para-professionals.

28. What is alternative certification? Program differences include • Target recruitment audience • Goals • Structure • Field-placement and field-placement support • Mentoring support for interns

29. What is alternative certification? Alternative certification teacher candidate differences include: • Prior classroom experience • Career experience • Life experience • Education coursework experience Because of these differences, “alternative certification” forms a continuum of teacher preparation to support varied needs of teacher candidates and schools or school districts

30. National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) holds alternative certification programs to the same standards required of all programs in NCATE-accredited institutions as a way of making institutions accountable for the quality of their programs and for the quality of the educators they prepare. Program Standards

31. Alternative Certification Candidates Judith Hayes, Wichita: There’s been a dramatic shift in the profile of people studying to be teachers through alternative routes. • A greater percentage of older, life-experienced people wanting to enter the teacher profession when compared with traditional preparation models. • More of these mid-career switchers are male and/or are minorities interested in teaching in high-demand areas, in positions generally not sought by young, white females coming out of traditional schools of education.

32. Partnerships Research indicates that teacher candidates working in alternative licensure programs with strong district – university partnerships perform better and stay in the profession longer.

33. Partners • Primary partners • Hiring school districts, state licensing authority, higher ed institution • Other partners – funding/recruiting • Corporations, e.g., Raytheon Teaching Fellows Program • Federal agencies: NSF (Noyce Scholars), DOE, … • Troops to Teachers, Teach for America, …

34. Recruiting and Selecting Candidates • Depend on nature of the program • Selecting and recruiting the right candidates for admission to a particular program is important for the program’s success, because “investing resources in candidates unlikely to succeed is a lose-lose situation.”

35. Selection • Usually require at least bachelor’s degree • Screening process – tests, interviews, evidence of content mastery, short demonstration lesson • Often highly selective • Some programs are committed to serving all provisionally certified teachers in an area • Humphrey et al: most alternative certification programs bet on education background, work experience, previous classroom experience, or some combination of the three

36. Recruiting • Many approaches, reflecting the programs • Texas A&M: scholarships, job fares, recruiting in grad programs • UT: All students in the College of Natural Sciences are recruited. They receive a letter about it upon admission, hear about it during orientation, receive mailings each year. Student group presentations, media reports …

37. Recruiting • Teach for America: Representatives visit many campuses, focus on selective colleges, accept only a small fraction of applicants • NYC Teaching Fellows program targets mid-career professionals as well as recent college graduates • Troops to Teachers program provides information and support to retiring military personnel, with offices in 32 states

38. Candidates • Four groups of candidates • Undergrads where there in no traditional certification option • Recent grads who opt to teach • Career switchers or retired military • Teachers who need courses to become “highly qualified” in another subject • These groups have different needs • Must match candidates and structure of the program

39. Need: Practical Teaching Knowledge • All need practical knowledge about navigating the current school environment: information about legal and ethical responsibilities, teaching to diverse populations, inclusion issues, and classroom management • Less important for group 4, those already teaching

40. Need: Pedagogical Content Knowledge • Teachers not only need to understand science but teach in a manner that is consistent with what is known about how people learn science and reflects significant insights from recent educational research • Discipline-specific pedagogy issues – how to teach difficult concepts in a particular subject • Laboratory safety knowledge – chemicals, biomaterials, etc. – is critical for teachers to do hands-on science

41. Need: Content Knowledge • Federal law mandates that teachers must have sufficient content knowledge as the major provision of being “highly qualified” • Mainly a need for group 4, teachers who need courses to become highly qualified

42. Needs: Income, Non-traditional Delivery Career changers and recent grads often need income during their training • Stipends, scholarships • Non-traditional course delivery • Summer immersion before placement • Subsequent summer courses • Evenings • Distance learning

43. Mentoring AC teacher candidates need mentoring support while they are in training • Mentoring for AC candidates is part of new teacher induction • Research: good induction programs cut attrition • Mentoring should reflect lack of education courses • Mentors involved in AC programs need different training from those in traditional certification programs so that they can address the subject specific needs of these individuals • When there is consistency between mentor and mentee in the conception of the mentor’s role, the mentoring relationship is productive

44. The Challenge • Teaching and teacher education are inherently complex and are not reducible to simple prescriptions for practice. • Much of what is believed to be associated with program excellence with regard to particular goals cannot currently be supported with empirical evidence Ken Zeichner, Wisconsin:

45. Oversimplified Views of Excellence (Zeichner) • Attempting to connect the surface features of teacher education programs (e.g., their length) to various teacher and student outcomes without accounting for the characteristics that candidates bring to their preparation • Attempting to define the characteristics of good teacher education programs by the mere presence or absence of certain program elements without addressing how these elements are defined and used and for what purposes

46. Characteristics of Effective STEM ACT Programs • Needs-based design of the program • Tailored to needs of district or region • Tailored to needs of participants, backgrounds, etc. • High entrance standards • Screening, appropriate STEM backgrounds, match between program design and background • Intensive training focusing on professional expertise • Subject content, pedagogical knowledge and skill training • Pedagogical content knowledge • Multicultural and special education issues

47. Characteristics of Effective STEM ACT Programs • On-site support during training • Comprehensive system of support from experienced, trained mentors once the candidate begins working in a school. • Candidates go through their training in cohorts at school so they have peer support • Candidates have the opportunity of guided practice in lesson planning and teaching prior to taking full responsibility as a teacher

48. Characteristics of Effective STEM ACT Programs • Frequent program evaluation • Continuous monitoring, evaluation, and feedback of individual and group performance to allow for program adjustment • Candidates receive frequent evaluation of their teaching from well-trained mentors and faculty with strong STEM education backgrounds • Faculty receives continual formal and informal evaluation of their instruction from the teacher candidates

49. Characteristics of Effective STEM ACT Programs • High exit standards • Standards tied to state standards for teaching • Candidates demonstrate that they have mastered the knowledge, skills, and dispositions identified in state standards and can have a positive impact on student learning • Ongoing support of graduates after the program. • Structured, well-supervised induction period when the novice receives observation and assistance in the classroom by an experienced teacher • Ongoing professional development and reflection is supported by the school and/or the university through seminars, workshops, courses

50. School – College Collaboration • Colleges, schools and the candidates have constant communication to ensure that teaching theory and practice are effectively integrated to address classroom and pedagogical issues. • School districts provide the teacher candidates in alternative certification programs with a supportive school environment to help them with effective transition to teaching. • The program prepares individuals for specific positions in specific schools, and should place participants in those positions early in the training.