Guest Editorial. . .

Checking in on the Electronic Systemic Landscape

by JoAnne Vasquez, President
National Science Teachers Association

      Dozens of national studies, surveys, and reports on the state of education all point to the same serious fact; science education in the United States is not achieving acceptable results. While these studies emphasize different aspects of this huge issue, nearly all agree that the central change agent is the science teacher. Without the science teacher being part of the process back to excellence, there will be no progress.

      It is the assumption of this author that the availability of high-quality professional development experience for science teachers has the greatest potential of creating fundamental changes in the state of science education. And, our nation needs to reach a significantly higher number of teachers with ongoing professional development experiences.

      A 1990 NSF workshop report stated teachers working in relative isolation find it difficult to acquire and use new innovations. "Collaborative ventures have long been important and in some cases, essential in scientific and engineering research; they must also become the norm in educational and instructional innovation."

      The situation hasn't changed in the past 7 years. Last year, in a National Science Teachers Association survey of its members "time" , materials, and "isolation" ranked as the leading factors in inhibiting reform - far surpassing all commonly accepted constraints. The most recent TIMSS report says the same of American teachers.

     Teachers want content and materials that are directly applicable to their classrooms. Those expectations demand a great deal of modeling and careful selection of information and materials for the professional development activities. Typical college science courses don't work. Hands-on projects, collaborative-learning situations, real-classroom experimentation, and real-world applications are needed if teachers are to model this experience in their classrooms and teaching.

      Teachers want the time to think about these changes, and they want access to colleagues and experts as they work through the process. Most teachers are place-bound, time-bound, and have limited resources. Participation in many national enhancement opportunities means using the summer months, moving self (and family) to distant site, and incurring costs from lost jobs and actual expenditures. This presents an additional hardship for women science teachers with children. Teachers need access to professional development opportunities from their home/school site as well as opportunities to interact with peers and resource people on an ongoing basis.

      When a cold-fusion claim, a Hubble-telescope discovery, or an AIDS breakthrough occurs the science teachers are usually without primary access to what the scientists are talking about. Consequently they're forced to use the newspapers for their source of information. A new infrastructure is needed to reach more science teachers with opportunities - opportunities for coursework, for ongoing contacts with their peers, with university/national laboratory researchers, with science educators at teacher institutions and with policy makers in a cost-effective, steady-state fashion.

     As a nation we also must deal with increasing the numbers of science teachers getting enhancement experiences. This can only happen significantly with a national telecommunication network. Using computers as teaching tools on-site is an established practice; using them to communicate is relatively new but has clearly caught on; using them as a conduit for distant-delivery of professional development experiences is just beginning.

      Network users from different time zones, class schedules, and commitments can interact without being locked into common schedules. Because of this, discussions between teachers with common concerns, between research-active scientists and teachers, and between policy-makers and teachers can take place over many weeks and thousands of miles. The value of the connection comes from the richness of the interactions of science teachers with others.

      A national electronic network broadens teachers' interaction base and, as important influence base. A teacher in Lincoln, Nebraska is connected to a teacher in Tallahassee,Florida because of a common interest, not close proximity. The national network can be fueled by the many colleges and universities that develop and offer enhancement courses in partnership with the leading professional organization, the National Science Teachers Association. Together a virtual enhancement college is possible that constitutes a new life-long, collegial experience for science teachers. A virtual enhancement college with specially designed courses offered over a national network will increase the numbers of teachers in professional development activities, reduce the isolation of science teachers, and - being more efficient-give them more bang for their time invested.

      Finally, a network can bring participants together without much to their interpersonal "baggage" that can hinder good interactions. There is very good data that shows how electronic connections empower the users in many ways beyond addressing the geographic problems. Interacting via an electronic network offers a non-threatening, non-biased medium, Teachers are able to communicate on an equal level, free of race, gender, and disability stereotypes. And, as important, free of the anxiety of not being as knowledgeable as the other teachers. This kind of empowerment is needed for all teachers, but is especially crucial with science and math teachers.

      These electronic interactions can change the way we do business in science education. The users most favorably effected are those that need it the most.

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