Connecticut received the lowest possible score in this report -- a RED light. Here are some pulls:
The US suffers not only because of the math and science teachers we don't have -- in many cases we also set unacceptably low expectations for the STEM teachers we do have.
[M]any states fail to guarantee that biology, chemistry and physics teachers have mastered the content they teach. . . . The bottom line is that the so-called flexibility of the "broad field" science teacher is a fantasy. In reality, the concept of the all-purpose science teacher not only masks but perpetuates the STEM crisis, and does so at the expense of students.
[Connecticut's] approach does not guarantee adequate knowledge in particular areas of science. Candidates are only required to pass the Praxis 2 General Science (and content essay) test. These combination assessments fail to note performance in any specific science discipline, and a candidate could answer many questions wrong in one area yet still pass the test.
Yep! And this is why I can be pretty sure that the worst experience my students had in high school was chemistry. It is almost never taught by someone who really knows the subject, but by a biology person who got told that was their assignment. However, this isn't new. Back in the 80's, I had a marvelous chem teacher, but he was a near-retirement guy who had actually studied chemistry in college. The new teacher they hired was a biology major, who spent her first year one chapter ahead of her class.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this perspective. What level do you teach? Are kids with a poor chemistry background in high school able to make up the ground when they get to college?
ReplyDeleteChemistry is so different from biology, even at a basic high school level, I can't imagine that a teacher with a strong bio background would be any better at teaching chemistry than say, the history teacher.
I suspect most schools focus on biology because that is on the State high school exam -- the CAPT. I don't think the CAPT has any chemistry on that test. Ergo, it isn't important to the administrators. And physics? forget about it.
A bio teacher should be better than a history teacher, since bio majors are required to take a year of general chem, a year of organic chem, and a biochem class. That should get them well beyond the requirements of a first high school chem class. Of course, it isn't necessarily the case that bio teacher was a bio major, and an education major is unlikely to have taken O. chem.
ReplyDeleteOne should never conflate "certified" with "qualified", especially when so little of the mandated certification and training process has anything whatsoever to do with whether or not you actually know anything.
ReplyDeleteHow should Connecticut best ensure the quality of the teaching staff? Is it just the case that our certification process needs some fixing, as the report suggests?
ReplyDeleteRequiring a separate certification process for each science discipline would improve the teaching core only to the extent the certification exam actually tests what is useful for a science teacher. I think it can be done well, but I also think the State lacks the will to do the right thing.
Here's my prediction: 1) the State substantially beefs up its science credentialing standards 2) the cities and towns will throw a fit. They can't find enough STEM teachers as it is, they'll never be able to find enough teachers certified in all the various scientific disciples, so
3) the State makes the alternative route to certification much easier -- actual scientists and engineers will find it much easier to switch careers into teaching, which leads to:
4) the teacher's unions kill the whole proposal
I just can't envision any scenario where the teachers' unions would support a stricter science certification scheme, which would have to lead to far more reasonable alternative routes to certification and the expansion of the teacher ranks with non-ed school professionals.
The unions would rather kids learn chemistry from a biology teacher than weaken their hold on the profession.
I say this based on the past opposition of the unions to things like the BEST program.
Connecticut requires science teachers to be certified in the area that they teach; this includes separate certifications in General Science, Chemistry, Earth Science, Biology, and Physics.
ReplyDeleteCritics should take the time to find out the facts before they start to make public criticisms.