Re: strategies to continue reform
Jane Jackson (jane.jackson@asu.edu <jane.jackson@asu.edu>)
Tue, 5 Mar 1996 16:18:00 +0000
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TEECH "LEAVING A LEGACY: Sustaining a Project After the Funding Ends"
Sent by: jane.jackson@asu.edu <jane.jackson@asu.edu> (Jane Jackson)
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Elizabeth Chandler asks:
>1: How can you service 150 teacher alliances?
In our Leadership Modeling Workshops we shall be working directly with
almost 200 high school physics teachers (50 of them already), each of whom
agrees in their application to strengthen their local physics alliance
pedagogically (or start a new alliance if none exists). We are preparing a
document on characteristics of an exemplary alliance, and another on the
importance of a pedagogical component in alliances. We will send these 2
documents to leaders of alliances, starting with our own teachers. We'll
ask for their criticism and suggestions for improvement of the documents.
We'll also ask them to spend time at an alliance meeting discussing the
documents.
Others in the physics community are working to strengthen these
alliances, too. We work together.
>2. How often do the alliances meet and what proportion of those meetings
>include University personnel?
Most meet 4 or 5 times a year; a few meet monthly. Most have at least one
post-secondary physics teacher who participates most of the time.
>3: By courses, do you mean regular credit courses on the graduate or
>undergraduate level for which teachers pay regular tuition costs, or is
>there some other financing arrangement and in-service credit which replaces
>the regular BA and MA structures?
Often regular credit courses. For example, ASU has a senior/graduate course
called "Methods of Teaching Physics" which is offered every other year and
is taught by a master high school teacher. It is very well received!
Each of the teachers in our Leadership Modeling Workshops has written, as
part of their application, a plan for local dissemination of the modeling
method. The plans that were submitted by our first group of 48 teachers to
teach the modeling method locally were generally as a college course or
in-depth summer workshop, or as teacher training within their district or
through a regional math/science collaborative (in the case of Pittsburgh).
Many of them have contacted a university professor who has agreed to work
with them to this end. (A large number mentioned Eisenhower funds (both
types) - we'll see what happens with those funds.)
Another excerpt from our policy document, UNIVERSITY - HIGH SCHOOL
INTERFACE, by Prof. David Hestenes, tells more. Here it is:
(3) Professional Development
Most states encourage the professional development of teachers by
coupling salary levels to academic credit from universities. Unfortunately,
most post-baccalaureate coursework is so incoherent that it contributes
little to the enhancement of teacher expertise. Universities can do much
better by coordinating course offerings with the needs and desires of local
teacher alliances -- in other words, by offering the teachers a greater
role in the design of their own professional development.
The most useful university course for high school physics teachers
is a Methods of Physics Teaching course which thoroughly addresses all
aspects of high school physics teaching, including the integration of
teaching methods with course content as it should be done in the high
school classroom. Few universities offer such a course, and those few often
have difficulty sustaining it. This failure can be attributed to an
inadequate interface between the university and in-service teachers.
To solve this problem, the first step is to recognize that such a
"Methods course" should be taught by an experienced in-service high school
teacher. University faculty rarely have the time, the professional
motivation and the intimate knowledge of high school teaching conditions to
teach such a course properly. However, a better approach may be for a
faculty member to collaborate on the course with the high school teacher.
That will help the faculty get to know the teachers personally, become more
sensitive to their needs, and provide an opportunity to contribute some
physics expertise. Faculty participation will also be required in some
universities to award academic credit for the course.
The selection and preparation of the teacher is all important for a
high quality course. As argued in the previous section, the teacher should
be well versed in recent educational research, physics pedagogy and
curriculum design. The Modeling Workshop program provides sufficient
training for that.
Sufficient enrollment for the "Methods course" can be achieved by
offering it to both pre-service and in-service teachers, and by recognizing
that it can provide a valuable upgrade in the background of middle school
teachers. Such mixing of teachers at various stages of professional
development is enriching for all.
By consulting with local physics teacher alliances, the course can
be scheduled at a convenient time and place for the in-service teachers,
and sufficient enrollment can be assured in advance. In a similar way,
physics departments can collaborate with local alliances to plan more
advanced courses tailored to teacher needs and desires for professional
development. Likewise, university outreach programs will be more effective
when coupled to local teacher alliances.
Jane Jackson (Prof. of Physics, Scottsdale Comm. College--on leave)
Dept.of Physics, Box 871504, Arizona State Univ.,Tempe AZ 85287-1504.
jane.jackson@asu.edu <jane.jackson@asu.edu> PHONE: (602)965-8438. FAX: (602)965-7331.