05/09/2011 #scichat topic:  How can we support elementary teachers as they teach science?

Via NSTA Express

Slow Off the Mark: Elementary School Teachers and the Crisis in STEM Education

A new report from the Center for American Progress focuses on the current status of elementary science and math instruction and provides recommendations that stakeholders can consider to reform teacher training policies.

From the report:

The way we select and train our elementary school teachers is completely incompatible with our stated goals related to STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math] careers, economic growth, and innovation. Not only are many elementary school teachers ill-prepared to teach mathematics and science effectively, but current policies favoring elementary grade teaching candidates with little appetite for mathematics and science is tantamount to an anti-STEM initiative … Everyone seems to agree that we have a problem—that our country’s economic future depends, at least in part, on raising our kindergarten-through-12th grade students’ math and science achievement so that they can eventually progress into STEM careers. Where we are deficient, however, is in the will to reorient our education system toward a greater focus on high-quality math and science instruction in the early years.

The report recommends that Congress, state legislatures, and state boards of education reform their teacher training policies to:

Increase the selectivity of programs that prepare teachers for elementary grades
Implement teacher compensation policies, including performance-based pay, that make elementary teaching more attractive to college graduates and career changes with strong STEM backgrounds
Include more mathematics and science content and pedagogy in schools of education
Require candidates to pass the mathematics and science subsections of licensure exams
Explore innovative staffing models that extend the reach of elementary level teachers with an affinity for mathematics and science and demonstrated effectiveness in teaching them.
The Center for American Progress is a nonpartisan research and educational institute dedicated to promoting a strong, just, and free America that ensures opportunity for all.

Read the full report (21 pages): Slow Off the Mark: Elementary School Teachers and the Crisis in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education ( http://nstahosted.org/pdfs/SlowOffTheMark.pdf PDF)