Download Teaching K-12 Teachers to Teach a New Curriculum

Teaching K-12 Teachers to
Teach a New Curriculum
Harry Shipman
Associate Director, DESGC
September 8, 2008
Main points of this talk
• DESGC contributions to 4th and 8th grade
professional development courses for teachers
• The astronomical context: a coordinated,
standards-based curriculum from grades 1
through 12
• The bigger context: a statewide, standardsbased science curriculum for grades K-12
• The evidence: our kit-based curriculum reform
has worked!
Space Grant involvement (so far…)
• 4th grade: provision of materials, sources
of posters, etc. as part of our training for
the “Skywatchers” unit. Training so far has
reached 150 teachers.
• 8th grade: support for Delaware-developed
unit which deals with the weaknesses of
the FOSS “Planetary Systems” kit
Space Grant involvement so far…
• 9th grade: work with Delaware’s math
teachers (what a thought!) in developing
9th grade mini-unit on the origin of the
earth and solar system.
• This has led to planning for a statewide
workshop next summer on integrating
math and science, building on the success
of 6 years’ meeting of MASST (Math and
Science Specialist Team)
The Astronomical Context
Delaware standards, developed in 1995 and
revised in 2005 with significant
involvement of DESG Associate Director,
include astronomy, called “earth in space,”
as one of eight major strands in the
standards.
The Astronomical Context
• 1st grade: mini-unit on observations of objects in
the night sky. The Moon as the only sky object
that changes shape.
• 4th grade: 2-week unit, “Skywatchers,”
purchased from Carolina Biological. Moon
phases are described and sequenced.
• 8th grade: full 6-week unit, “Planetary Systems,”
that includes space travel and planetary
properties as well as lunar phases, seasons,
tides…..
The Astronomical Context,
continued…
• 9th grade: 2 week unit on origin of the solar
system, that connects to chemistry
(isotopes and density), physics (gravity),
and pertinent math topics (linear
relationships, exponential decay)
• 12th grade: a half-year course on
astrobiology, currently in development,
coupled with a course on ecosystems.
The Science Education Context
• Starting in 1995, major, statewide effort to
transform science teaching in Delaware
schools to a coordinated curriculum based
on student activities, inquiry, and
curriculum kits.*
*Shipman, Harry. (2004). “Systemic Change in Delaware and Its Use of NASAGenerated Materials.” In Carolyn Narasimhan, Bernhard Beck-Winshatz,
Isabel Hawkins, and Cassandra Runyon, eds., NASA Office of Space
Science Education and Public Outreach Conference, ASP Conference
Series, vol. 319 (San Francisco, CA: Astronomical Society of the Pacific),
pp. 88-93.
Science Education Context
• Alignment of standards, curriculum, and
topics in the state’s high stakes test.
• Teachers don’t get kits unless they have
participated in professional development
that supports the kits.
• Membership in the Delaware Science
Coalition means that kits are centrally
purchased and supplied to the teachers.
Science Education Context
• Where commercially or NASA-supported
kits or other materials exist, we use them.
• By the time we got to middle school, the
state had to develop some of its own
materials, often involving faculty from
University of Delaware, Delaware State
University, and Delaware Technical and
Community College.
Has This worked?
• Delaware Student Testing Program data:
• In spring of 2001, where materials were only sporadically
used in middle school, 41.69 % of the 8065 tested
students met or exceeded the standard in science
• In spring of 2007, where kit development was complete
through grade 8 and materials were used statewide,
58.43% of the 9758 tested students met or exceeded the
standard in science.
• Because of the very large N, this result is significant at
an absurdly high statistical level (approximately 40
sigma).
NAEP data
• NAEP (National Assessment of
Educational Progress)
• 1996: 51% of Delaware students perform
at levels of Basic and above in science.
2005: 63 % of Delaware students perform
at levels of Basic and above.
• This is the largest gain in this time period
for any state in the US.
Summary
• Astronomy is back in the K-12 curriculum.
• It is part of a statewide, coordinated
science curriculum, which in astronomy
and all sciences builds on previous
student understandings developed at prior
grade levels.
• Delaware tests and national tests validate
that this curriculum reform has worked.