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AAPT WHITE PAPER #4:improve K-12 TEACHER PREPARATION



Below is the second excerpt from 3 White Papers that the AAPT
Executive Board prepared last summer. (Download at <http://www.aapt.org>
Click on "planning for the future".)
In October, the AAPT Executive Board adopted a vision statement,
mission statement and statements of four critical issues The Board wants
input on the action items that should be carried out over the next few
years to address these critical issues. See drafts of the action items at
http://www.aapt.org/planning/future2k.html. Comment boxes are available at
this web site, or comments can be e-mailed directly to President Ruth Howes
at rhowes@gw.bsu.edu.
Cheers,
Jane Jackson

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AAPT WHITE PAPER #4: to improve K-12 TEACHER PREPARATION
by Lila Adair and Chris Chiaverina

p. 11 - 12.
Over the years, there have been numerous alphabet soup programs, some with
substantial professional development components. Many of these have all but
faded from sight: NSTA Scope, Sequence and Coordination, Introductory
Science Curriculum Study (ISCS), Introductory Physical Science (IPS),
Physical Science Study Committee physics (PSSC), Man Made World, Harvard
Project Physics, to name a few. Current programs include Principles of
Technology, Active Physics, Comprehensive Conceptual Curriculum in Physics
(C3P), Modeling and the new NSF joint AAPT-APS proposal PhysTec.

Recommendations
AAPT has the unique distinction of being the recognized authority in
physics teaching in America. Along with that distinction goes the burden of
dealing with the problems of preparation of potential physics instructors.
There are five major areas where AAPT can have a strong voice in the
solution to this problem.

(1) AAPT should continue to support all current programs that directly
affect teacher preparation at any level.
Powerful Ideas in Physical Science elementary school
Physics Teaching Resource Agents (PTRA) middle and high school
PhysTec high school and undergraduate
Workshops for New Faculty undergraduate
Preparing Future Physics Faculty (PFPF) graduate

(2) AAPT should work to develop new college courses and programs for the
preparation of future teachers K-18.
(A) Teacher preparation courses should address content, methods, on-the-job
training and observations in real classrooms. Instruction should be
appropriate to the level of students who will be taught. Serious
consideration should be given to providing a thorough understanding of the
intellectual development of the student at each level, and appropriate
hands-on activities should be designed. (Swartz, 1967, 1990, 1991) (Jossem,
2000)
(B) The physics department and the science education department should work
together to design these courses, with the assistance of experienced
classroom teachers. (PhysTec, 2000)
(C) Colleges should be encouraged to design a 5-year degree program,
offering a B.S. in science or physics and a B.S. Ed. in science education.
There are numerous colleges in America which already do this, and their
graduates are far better prepared when they enter the classroom. Most
foreign countries require a degree in the discipline before aprospective
teacher is allowed to enter the teaching profession. (Stevenson & Stigler,
1992) (AAPT USA/Japan/China conference reports)

(3) AAPT should take the lead in developing follow-up programs for first
year teachers. Currently most American teachers never receive any formal
support from the school of education of the science department from which
they graduated. They are left to "sink or swim". They are often too
embarrassed or overwhelmed to ask for assistance. In Japan,
first-year-teachers must spend 20 hours per year in professional
development, supervised by a mentor teacher. They meet on a regular basis,
share lesson plans, teach each other's lessons, and evaluate the plans
(Stevenson & Stigler, 1992). Retired teachers, many of whom were actively
involved in innovative programs, before leaving the classroom, could serve
as mentors. The PTRA program is making extensive use of retired PTRAs to
run their urban centers (Horizons Research, 1999). This approach could also
be applicable at the college level. AAPT has a large cadre of retired
professors who could serve as excellent role models for new professors.

(4) AAPT should devise a plan for developing a set of national standards
for the certification of science teachers to match the national science
standards. AAPT's support of the national standards indicates an acceptance
of the designated science content appropriate for each level of education.
It therefore follows that teachers should be trained to teach that specific
content in a manner appropriate for the developmental level of the
students. If we believe this to be true, then there should be a set of
national standards for obtaining a teaching certificate.

(5) AAPT should take the lead in developing follow-up programs to provide
life-long professional development of physics teachers at all levels. A
successful local effort along these lines is the Arizona Science and
Technology Educational Partnership, which grew out of the Modeling
Workshops. As was mentioned above, many good physics programs (PSSC,
Harvard Project Physics, etc.) have disappeared, primarily because there
was no infrastructure to keep them going. To counter this trend, perhaps a
national effort should be undertaken. The Modeling Workshop authors have
proposed a National Center for Physics Education (NCPE). The principal
activity of the NCPE would be to organize meetings and workshops to drive
science education reform and provide life-long professional development
through university-high school partnerships.

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Jane Jackson, Co-Director, Modeling Instruction Program
Box 871504, Dept.of Physics & Astronomy,ASU,Tempe,AZ 85287
480-965-8438/fax:965-7331 <http://modeling.la.asu.edu>