25 May 2016
STEM:
Transforming the Institution of Education and Australia’s Future
IF I reshape the statement “Science teachers are not
scientists” (James Davis and Mike
McGarry discussion thread 14 March 2016) by
asking the question: Is school science the same as
scientists' science? I may be able to tease out some contrasts
that suggest
new ways of teaching and new ways of working with students.
Transitioning
from scientist to science teacher
I began this journey of discovery with the Office of the
Chief Scientist which in 2012, released a paper: STEM Education and the
Workplace (http://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/OPS4-STEMEducationAndTheWorkplace-web.pdf)
arguing that “A scientific education provides knowledge and skills that are
valuable in many careers. … The paper also considers how Australian universities
can best prepare STEM graduates to take up roles in the wider economy, as well
as in academic research”. The ‘wider economy’ can be interpreted as including
school education.
In June 2014, The
Conversation- a news and analysis site where journalists work with
university academics - held a maths and science Education symposium in Canberra.
Speakers, in considering ways to improve Australia’s provision of Maths and
Science Education, discussed possibilities for PhD graduates and other science
researchers (bachelor/Masters) to go into teaching: a proposal of the Australian
Academy of Science.
(http://theconversation.com/inspiring-science-fast-track-phd-graduates-into-teaching-14993)
The symposium afforded academics, scientists and
journalists a platform in which to engage as ‘knowledgeable’ persons in the
public discourse on STEM Education and the Workplace: offering possibilities
addressing the ‘crisis’ in school science education. I suspect that politicians,
policymakers, school education administrators, etc., will engage with the thrust
of the sentiment as expressed:
More science teachers qualified in research will open a new
career path beyond academia for PhD graduates and most importantly, give
Australia’s students access to inspirational teachers who can share their
research expertise. … There is a general consensus that a good teacher is
passionate, knowledgeable and engages students with relevant and interesting
material. Inspirational teachers can have a big influence on what students
study. … Having school science teachers with a PhD ensures they are not only
passionate about science, but can also draw on their unique research expertise
to engage students in ‘learning by doing’ – an approach with demonstrated
results (The Conversation, 2014).
While, I do not intend to discuss here in any detail the
pros and cons of what I believe is a ‘romanticised’ view of the potential
benefits of Having school science teachers with a PhD, I will for now simply
refer to various commentaries already on the public record which collectively
provide the setting from which the enterprises of ‘school science’ and
‘scientists’ science’ can be analysed.
In 2010, The Economist published an article entitled 'The
Disposable Academic'
http://www.economist.com/node/17723223).
In 2014, Dr. Tim Nielsen, writing for the ABC’s
Science
Online, announced that PhD graduates were, ‘Hanging up their lab
coats: Australia's new brain drain
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/01/16/3926579.htm).
And, in December 2014, RN’s The
Science Show, “After the PhD’ (http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/after-the-phd/5981004);
Pod cast,
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2014/12/ssw_20141220_1231.mp3)
discussed the challenges facing PhD graduates in transitioning from research
to employment. Dr. Tim Nielsen, in his 2015 article, ‘Got a PhD in
science? Now what?’ (http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2015/03/04/4189787.htm)
offers advice based on his and other scientists experience in transitioning to
another career path.
For now, I am putting
to one side the discussion of politicians, academics, journalists and
policymakers regarding the appropriateness or otherwise of scientists becoming
science teachers. Having limited the scope of my discussion to ‘STEM
education and science education in schools’ I now want to tease out what is
meant or understood by the claim regarding
the unique research expertise that scientists
transitioning from research will bring to
school science teaching. I wondered
how this research expertise will shape the effectiveness of classroom teaching.
Howard Granok,
in 2002 reflecting on his teaching experience, “Scientist to science teacher” (http://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2002/07/scientist-science-teacher)
provides an insight into the ‘world’ of
the apprentice scientist/scientist. Howard describes his PhD graduate
student lifestyle as “making my own hours, having intellectual discussions with
colleagues I liked and respected and attending conferences”.
He referred to his workplace as “my
thesis laboratory”. His activity – study, apprenticeship, work - as “my thesis
project”, in which he studied “chromatin structure and gene expression”.
And the measure of his success is determined by publication leading to
employment/promotion. “My thesis project proceeded by fits and starts. …
Eventually, most of my work was published and I found a postdoctoral position.”
In a 2014 Interview with High School science Teacher
Kristin Hennessy who has a PhD in Cell Physiology (http://integrativeacademicsolutions.tumblr.com/post/74820905836/interview-high-school-teacher-kristin-hennessy-phd),
in response to the question, “Do you think your PhD gives you unique advantages
in teaching at the high school level, said:
First and foremost, I am unafraid to get up in front of a
group of people and talk about science.
As a PhD, I have had a number of occasions to speak to a variety of
people about my science, and this gave me the courage to lecture to my students.
Second, my PhD mentor was very helpful in teaching me how to put together a
presentation. A presentation should
be a story, and I have used that skill every time I put together a lecture for
my students. I make sure that the
information flows, and that it is presented in digestible chunks of material,
rather than throwing everything at them at once.
Howard Granok in offering advice to other PhD graduates,
who are thinking of science teaching as an alternative to academic research and
teaching, reminds them of the potential benefit of being a doctoral student:
Don't think that high school teaching is a poor use of your
Ph.D. training. You are not overqualified for that teaching job! Good teachers
exhibit a passion for their field, and a doctoral degree demonstrates your
knowledge and commitment to science. … Don't forget about your graduate school
connections, either; these people are great contacts for sponsoring
student-based research projects, serving as guest speakers, coming up with
supplies in a pinch, and providing sound advice on scientific topics beyond your
own area of expertise.
I was hoping to read
about how scientists, Howard or Kristin,
now science teachers had
transformed a classroom of disinterested students into a community of
enthusiastic young scientists by
pursuing a curriculum Based on the very questions that kids – the young
scientists - are interested in. I
was wondering how Kristin or Howard had used classroom data to make iterative
changes to their teaching or of the learning of students. Unfortunately, this
aspect was not pursued in their accounts.
I felt that instead of the ‘research culture of science’ reshaping
teacher practice, the ‘institutionalized culture of teaching’ is shaping the
practice of the scientist, which I believe
may soon become indistinguishable from that of veteran science teachers
unless there is systemic change. I am wondering how ‘institutionalized cultures’
can be transformed such that new practices and new outcomes emerge and survive
long enough to establish new institutionalized cultures. Again I find the ‘road’
to understanding leads back to the office of the Chief Scientist. On this
occasion I am looking for conversations, events and happenings that have the
potential to re-shape the enterprise of school education.
The STEM Enterprise and Australia’s Future
The Chief Scientist,
Professor Ian Chubb, AC, in 2013, when launching the position paper ‘STEM in the
national interest: A strategic approach’ asked:
What sort of Australia do we want? (http://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/2013/07/speech-launch-of-the-position-paper-stem-in-the-national-interest-a-strategic-approach/).
In response he sketched a possible Australian future in which the STEM
enterprise affords solutions to societal challenges. At the societal level the
STEM enterprise encompasses
education, research and innovation.
By 2025 we should have reached a point where Australians will better
understand and value the science they use in everyday life, and where the STEM
enterprise will be widely accepted as a central and visible source of solutions
to societal challenges.
The education system will provide all Australians with the capacity and
confidence to make informed choices on complex matters where STEM offers options
that have ethical, economic or environmental dimensions. …Australia by then will
have a well-qualified and diverse STEM workforce; and we will be well served by
effective STEM linkages between the research and innovation sectors. … And we
will know that, no matter how good we are, for the full benefits to flow to our
community, we need to have the confidence and the trust of that community.
(Professor Chubb, 2013)
The question posed
by Professor Chubb, “What sort of Australia do we want”, I suspect, has
underpinned the public discourse on the STEM enterprise: in education, in
research and in innovation.
These
conversations, in the higher education sector, were encouraged by the
Office for Learning and Teaching) OLT), Department of Education and Training,
through the Enhancing the Training of Mathematics and Science Teachers Programme (http://www.olt.gov.au/maths-and-science-teachers),
which is designed to drive:
a major improvement in the quality of mathematics and
science teachers by supporting new pre-service programs in which faculties, schools or departments
of science, mathematics and education collaborate on course design and delivery,
combining content and pedagogy so that mathematics and science are taught as
dynamic, forward-looking and collaborative human endeavours (italics, my
emphasis).
The Office for Learning and teaching made available $12
million over three calendar years 2014 to 2016, to fund five
multi-institution projects involving 25 higher education institutions as well as
research organisations and state governments. I have sketch below the
intention of each project to give shape to the context
in which the Australian Government’s ‘STEM enterprise reform agenda’ is
structured, and in what ‘capacity’ do school science teachers participate in the
public discourse on the
STEM Enterprise and Australia’s Future.
Inspiring
mathematics and science in teacher education
Website:
http://www.imsite.edu.au/
The project, in fostering genuine and sustained
collaboration between mathematics, science, and education scholars, in
institutionalising new ways to integrate their collective content and
pedagogical expertise, will promote
strategic change in the Australian higher education sector by developing and
disseminating new interdisciplinary approaches to mathematics and science
pre-service teacher education. (http://www.olt.gov.au/project-inspiring-mathematics-and-science-teacher-education-2013)
It's part of my
life: engaging university and community to enhance science and mathematics
education
Website:
http://itspartofmylife.scu.edu.au/
The project, in drawing together the strengths of
university mathematicians, scientists and specialist educators is designed to
improve mathematics and science teaching in Australian schools by engaging
pre-service teachers with the mathematics and science that underpins everyday
life in Australian regional communities.(http://www.olt.gov.au/project-itaposs-part-my-life-engaging-university-and-community-enhance-science-and-mathematics-educa)
Opening real
science: authentic mathematics and science education for Australia
Website: (http://www.educ.mq.edu.au/education_research/opening_real_science/)
Opening Real Science is a unique national collaboration between leading teacher
educators, scientists, mathematicians and ICT experts to bring real, relevant
science into Australia's classrooms. The project, by engaging pre- and
in-service teachers, will enable them to teach mathematics and science as they
are practised: as dynamic, forward-looking and collaborative human endeavours.
(http://www.olt.gov.au/project-opening-real-science-authentic-mathematics-and-science-education-australia-2013)
Reconceptualising mathematics and science teacher education programs (ReMSTEPs)
through
collaborative partnerships between scientists and educators
Website:
http://remstep.org.au/conference/
ReMSTEPs project activities are centred around developing
new teacher education practices that align contemporary approaches to Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) with engaging teaching and
learning. ReMSTEPs in building collaborative relationships across faculties,
universities and specialist science and maths centres will drive major
improvements in the quality of mathematics and science learning and teaching by
creating programs where undergraduate STEM students and pre-service teachers
work collaboratively across faculties and specialist centres to create new
materials, units of study and expertise in inquiry-based classroom practices. (http://remstep.org.au/about-the-project/)
Step Up!
Transforming mathematics and science pre-service secondary teacher education in
Queensland
Website:
http://www.stepup.edu.au/scientific-inquiry/
This project will deliver a learning experience that helps
pre-service teachers to understand and teach science in the same way that
scientists undertake research.
The Step Up!
Project will transform mathematics and science teacher education in Queensland
through research initiatives
(the STEM Studio;
TeachConnect; Scientific
Inquiry in the Classroom; the
STEAM Room;
and the Integrated STEM Teaching Pathways)
in secondary mathematics and science pre-service teacher education. (http://www.olt.gov.au/project-step-transforming-mathematics-and-science-pre-service-secondary-teacher-education-queensland)
These five multi-institution projects required
collaboration between higher
education institutions and research organisations, and in some instances
extending the partnership to include state governments and professional
associations (e.g., Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership
(AITSL); Australian Science Teachers Association (ASTA)).
Professor John Hattie, AITSL Chair, speaks about the
report of the 2015 Teacher Education Advisory Group (TEMAG), the Government’s
response and the challenges facing AITSL and the education profession. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUweHuWElIE)
The Step Up CONASTA Awards are
a fully funded sponsorship provided by the Step Up project, enabling
six outstanding
pre-service teachers from Queensland to attend CONASTA – the leading
conference for science teachers across Australia.
Each of these emerging science education leaders will act
as Step Up ambassadors at CONASTA. They will have the opportunity to network
with practising science teachers and scientists taking part in the conference,
to exchange current knowledge and advocate for pre-service science teacher
education. Leading up to the 2016 conference, the Step Up Ambassadors will work
in partnership with ASTA and the Science Teachers’ Association of Queensland
(STAQ) to develop an associated CONASTA program that is specifically geared to
meet the needs and aspirations of pre-service science teachers. (http://www.stepup.edu.au/step-up-conasta-awards/)
Transforming
the Institutions of Higher Education and School Education
I think that these projects, in fostering genuine and
sustained collaboration between university scientists, Mathematicians and
specialist educators in developing new teacher education practices, in aligning
contemporary approaches to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
(STEM), in institutionalising the integration of their collective content and
pedagogical expertise, has the potential to transform the Australian higher
education sector through the adoption of new interdisciplinary approaches to
mathematics and science pre-service teacher education.
I feel, however, that the extent to which the social and
cultural transformation takes place in schools will also depend on ‘fostering
genuine and sustained collaboration’ between the members of the school
community: E.g., administration, classroom teacher, students, parents, etc. I
suspect, however, that the new teacher education practices shaping the learning
experiences that support the pre-service teacher’s understanding and teaching of
science in the same way that scientists undertake research, may have little to
offer the ‘beginning teacher’ when
told by others: We don’t do it that way in this school. Again, I do not wish to
explore this matter beyond suggesting that curriculum reform based on
following the ‘prescriptions’ of others )’experts’, knowledgeable
persons’ over time, may have little to offer as the mantra or daily reminder,
‘We do it this way in this school’ gradually shapes the beginning teacher’s
practice.
I am not arguing that the next generation of science
teachers – the beneficiaries of the
Enhancing the Training of
Mathematics and Science Teachers Programme - will not be able to participate
in the process of transforming learning and teaching in school science. Rather,
I am wondering about the probability of school education being able to deliver
on Professor Chubb’s 2025 vision, in which
all Australians are able “to make informed choices on complex matters where STEM
offers options that have ethical, economic or environmental dimensions”. I
suspect that the task of reforming institutionalised teacher practice in school
settings may also need to foster genuine and sustained collaboration. A
collaboration in which the ‘teacher perspective’ has an equal ‘voice’ in the
public discourse on institutional reform.
I began my third musing of the general theme
“STEM:
Transforming the Institution of Education and Australia’s Future” by
asking the question: Is school science the same as scientists' science? I was
attempting to understand how having school science teachers with a PhD could
transform school science education inline with people’s aspirations of
Australia’s Future.
While the STEM
education enterprise has focused on transforming higher education with an
‘assumption’ that the ‘trickle down’ effect will transform school education,
I suspect that fostering
and sustaining genuine collaboration by communities of teachers may prove
to be more significant in the process of institutional reform.
Robert