by Kate Hopper

MINNESOTA IS A LEADER IN SCIENCE AND MATH EDUCATION in the United States, according to the National Assessment of Education Progress. In an increasingly competitive global market, however, leading the nation is no longer enough. A recent international survey by the Program for International Student Assessment shows U.S. science and math scores have fallen far behind many other highly developed countries—a concern to educators and business leaders alike.

So what can individual educators do to change this trend? According to Gillian Roehrig, associate professor of science education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and a member of the state’s Science Standards Revision Committee, student success in math and science depends on effective teachers and hands-on, inquiry-based learning.

“Students aren’t blank slates,” says Roehrig. “Inquiry-based learning is a student-centered approach to teaching that gives students the opportunity to put their prior knowledge to work building and testing hypotheses.”

This approach helps students develop abstract, conceptual thinking and problem-solving skills, and research shows that it works. “Students are more engaged,” says Roehrig, “and when they are more engaged, they learn better.”

When science curricula are based on student ideas and curiosity, the students develop a sense of ownership around the content and concepts, explains science education instructor Leslie Flynn, also from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. “It’s important to empower students to answer questions for themselves,” she explains. “It becomes part of them.”

Teachers model curriculum

An inquiry-based approach drives Microscopy Camp, an annual professional development opportunity for Twin Cities secondary science teachers led by Flynn and chemistry professor Lee Penn. Participants are asked what they need to learn about matter and nanotechnology to answer their students’ own questions. These inquiries drive the content of the intensive 40-hour, weeklong course, where teachers have access to high-resolution transmission electron microscopes, atomic force microscopes, and other sophisticated equipment capable of viewing particles at the nanoscale.

After hands-on labs in the University’s Characterization Facility, the participants are given time to reflect individually on how they might use the content in their classrooms, then exchange ideas as a group. The curriculum piece is what sets Microscopy Camp apart from other professional development opportunities led by scientists, which can be more like attending a science lecture, says Flynn.

“It had a great balance of hands-on activities, including synthesis of gold nanoparticles and ferrofluid (tiny magnetic particles suspended in liquid—a process used in targeted tumor treatment), expert lectures and demos, and group discussions,” exclaims Peter Grul, a physics teacher at Washburn High School who is pursuing his M.Ed. at the college. “I left with genuine new knowledge for myself and very usable curriculum for my class.”

When camp wrapped up on July 18, each educator was sent home with a flash drive filled with images from the high-powered microscopes they used and an assignment to write curricula based on what she or he learned. Flynn is providing feedback on the curriculum and will spend the next year visiting each participant in the classroom to provide support as they implement what they learned about matter and about teaching science.

“The reason follow-up is so crucial to professional development is it can be scary to teachers to let students drive content,” Flynn says, explaining that the teacher may not know much about some of the newer technologies or other areas of student interest. “However, that portrays the correct nature of science,” she continues. “Science is not knowing the answers, and you search with colleagues for an answer.”

Real-world solutions

Teachers who participated in Microscopy Camp hailed from across the scientific disciplines—from life sciences to chemistry and physics. Nanotechnology is encouraging this kind of interdisciplinary exchange, explains Flynn, as physicists share their knowledge of atoms, for example, with biologists examining cells as they search for a cure for cancer.

Northrop second-graders visited
Lake Nokomis to learn more
about fish habitat, runoff, and
water quality, plus fishing
essentials such as casting.

Showing how science can help solve such critical questions—How do we address climate change? What is a better source of fuel, nuclear power or oil from off shore drilling?— helps students see how the discipline applies to their day-to-day life, Flynn says. Students can view subjects such as physics, mathematics, or computer class as boring because they don’t see how individual concepts relate to the important questions in their lives. “They don’t see the relevance to big, global issues,” she says. “We need to incorporate ideas that are fun and exciting and at the same time demonstrate the power of connecting ideas from several disciplines to answer complex questions.”

Demonstrating the relevance of science in the to-day world can also spark interest among students from populations that have been underrepresented in STEM-related fields, Flynn continues.

Pointing out science at work in the world is what educators do every day at Northrop Urban Environmental School, an elementary school in Minneapolis. Northrop offers an integrated curriculum that emphasizes the environment and utilizes neighborhood resources such as Minnehaha Creek, Lake Nokomis, and Lake Hiawatha for hands-on learning activities.

“Science begins when a child lies down in the grass and wonders about the ants on the ground or the way the clouds split in the sky,” says Northrop Principal Kathleen Alvig (B.S. ’71, M.S. ’72, Ph.D. ’99). “We’re trying to build scientists from the moment they notice science.” Alvig was named the 2008 Science and Mathematics Elementary and Middle Level Principal of the Year by the Science Museum of Minnesota and the Minnesota Elementary School Principals’ Association.

Retaining excellent educators

Northrop’s curriculum reflects its principal’s belief that students must be able to do science, mathematics, reading, and writing simultaneously. Beyond the curriculum, however, Alvig knows that science achievement comes from good teacher practices. “I work with excellent teachers who are as excited about math and science as I am,” she says. Weekly professional development meetings foster opportunities to share ideas and have real conversations about teaching.

Northrop Urban Environmental Principal
Kathleen Alvig inspires student interest
through hands-on learning.

Such teacher support and ongoing professional development is vital for retaining science teachers, as Roehrig has found through her research into teacher induction programs. “Beginning teachers are still learning,” says Roehrig. “It takes four or five years to become a master teacher, yet 50 percent of science teachers leave the profession before their fifth year. That means we have a lot of inexperienced teachers in the classroom, and this affects student achievement.”

Roehrig is collaborating with Julie Luft from Arizona State University on a five-year study that focuses on how different types of mentoring and induction programs influence beginning science teacher development. In the National Science Foundation-funded study of 115 teachers, they found those who report the highest job satisfaction and most often use inquiry-based teaching methods are ones who had significant practicum and student teaching experiences and six or more credits of science-methods coursework in their teacher preparation programs. At the University of Minnesota, budding science teachers earn 11 such credits and spend a semester student teaching in a middle school and one in a high school.

Continuing science-specific support is also vital to new teachers’ success. At the college this support is provided via an online mentoring program that pairs new teachers with experienced teachers based on grade level and subject matter. “Teachers who feel good about their jobs and are supported in their work are much more likely to stay put,” says Roehrig.

And that experience ultimately leads to more engaged students. “It’s easy to feel as if you are being baptized by fire when you begin teaching,” comments alumnus Jon Anderson (B.S. ’86, M.Ed. ’92), a physics teacher at Centennial High School in Circle Pines with 23 years under his belt. “You may know your subject matter, but presenting it in a way that interests and makes sense to students is different,” he says. “It takes time. Like in any professional field, teachers need ongoing professional development.”

 

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PHOTOS: Leo Kim

Additional reporting by Kate Hopper