october 2010 tst

The Texas Science Teacher • Volume 39, Number 2 October 20101

Teaching About NatureResources for Engaging theTuned-Out Students of the Digital Age

Official Publication of the Science Teachers Association of TexasSTAT

ASSOCI ATION

TEAC

HERS OF

TEXAS

SCIE

NCE

Texas Science Teacher The

Volume 39, Number 2 October 2010

Treat Science Right and It Could Help Save the WorldAn Editorial by Nobel Prize Winner Harold Kroto

Beginning Teacher Induction and MentoringHow We Can Break the Cycle of Science Teacher Attrition

A New PandemicWhere Are All of the Middle School Math and Science Teachers?

Twenty Ways to Teach VocabularyTry These Exercises to “Make Vocabulary Stick”


The Texas Science TeacherVolume 39, Number 2 October 2010

The Texas Science Teacher, official journal of the Science Teachers Association of Texas, is published semiannually in April and October. Enumeration of each volume begins with the April issue.

Editorial contents are copyrighted. All material appearing in The Texas Science Teacher (including editorials, articles, letters, etc.) reflects the views of the author(s) and/or advertisers, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Science Teachers Association of Texas (STAT) or its Board of Directors. Announcements and advertisements for products published in this journal do not imply endorsement by the Science Teachers Association of Texas. STAT reserves the right to refuse any

announcement or advertisement that appears to be in conflict with the mission or positions of theScience Teachers Association of Texas.

Permission is granted by STAT for libraries and other users to make single reproductions of The Texas Science Teacher for their personal, noncommercial, or internal use. Authors are granted unlimited noncommercial use. This permission does

not extend to any commercial, advertising, promotional, or any other work, including new collective work, which mayreasonably be considered to generate a profit.

For more information regarding permissions, contact the Editor: [email protected]

Cover Photo:Reverse-lense macro photograph of a leaf.

Image Credit:Public domain photo.

Contents:

A New Pandemicby Andrea Foster and William Jasper

3

Cover Story: Teaching About Natureby Ashley Campbell and Angela Spaulding 9

Twenty Ways to Teach Vocabularyby Jessica Hoskins and Kimberly Vannest 15

Beginning Teacher Induction and Mentoringby Terry Talley 22

Treat Science Right and It Could Help Save the World by Harold Kroto

35

31

mailto:jpalmer59%40gmail.com?subject=


A New PandemicA New Pandemic: Who Will Teach Middle School Science and

Mathematics in Texas?by Andrea Foster and William Jasper

Introduction: A Science and Mathematics Teacher

Preparation Pandemic

Many of us can recall the 2009 influenza pandemic’s threat to the health and safety of our global community. This pandemic was characterized by two main features. First, the virus was a new strain that has never before infected people. Second, it was on a global scale and was often deadly. This paper is about a “pan-demic-like” disease that is currently spread-ing and threatens the future Texas science and mathematics education community like a pernicious virus. The symptom of this disease presents itself first in the form of a significant shortage of the quality and num-ber of certified 4-8 science and mathematics teachers. Secondly, if the trend continues, this will pose a certain and potentially dan-gerous threat to the overall health of science and mathematics education in the middle grades in Texas and will have far-reaching effects on science literacy for all.

Texas has recently raised the stan-dards and added a layer of complexity to the 2010 Science and Mathematics TEKS. This complexity manifests itself in the form of greater rigor as indicated by an increased emphasis on higher order thinking skills and less emphasis on discrete knowledge. The new 2010 science standards are more challenging and relevant to everyday life with real-world applications for middle grade students. Since these standards are so new, most teacher preparation programs have yet to make necessary changes to accommodate increased rigor and the demands for a rigor-ous framework. In this current and future pandemic, unless expectations are raised in teacher preparation programs, there will not be enough well-prepared science teachers

for the middle grades, and, even if teachers are assigned to these classrooms, they will not possess the detailed content knowledge in Biology, Chemistry, Geology, and Physics required to turn kids on to science.

This paper draws attention to the cause and symptoms of the new science and mathematics teacher preparation pan-demic as well as outlines the implications for future science and mathematics teacher preparation in Texas. We also provide some possible responses and potential cures for the pandemic -- specifically recruitment plans, model teacher preparation programs and how-to-address strategies for science faculty support and buy-in.

Symptoms, Possible Causes and Implications

The shortage of certified teachers in mathematics and science in Texas class-rooms is a major concern that mirrors na-tional trends. A recent study of secondary science and mathematics teachers in Texas (Fuller, 2009) concluded that 1) secondary science and mathematics are subject areas with the most critical shortages, 2) although production of secondary mathematics and science teachers has increased since 2001, the shortage has shown a drastic increase over the last five years (80% for high school science) and is projected to continue to increase, 3) the distribution of qualified science and mathematics teachers across schools is inequitable, with the least quali-fied teachers located in high need schools. These dramatic increases in teacher short-ages have stimulated the design of new state-mandated certification programs and streamlined university efforts to recruit and prepare highly-qualified teachers.


Lessons on Caring (cont’d.)Twenty Ways to Teach Vocbulary (cont’d.)

Lessons on Caring (cont’d.)A New Pandemic (cont’d.)

In Texas, the EC-4 grade level certi-fication was recently eliminated, and this was replaced by the new EC-6 certifica-tion. Although this seems to help provide highly qualified teachers for grades 5 and 6 in accordance with the No Child Left Be-hind (NCLB) Act, we looked at ten online degree plans for the EC-6 certification at Texas universities and found an overem-phasis on freshman courses in the content areas. Most teacher preparation programs did not add additional content area train-ing (in mathematics, science, social studies, and reading/language arts) even though the grades 5 and 6 content is more demanding than the EC-4 level. Perhaps this was main-ly because degree plans were limited by the state in the total amount of college hours for a program. So, realistically, grade level cer-tification was raised to sixth grade but the content levels were not raised in most pro-grams, and new elementary teachers do not have sufficient content knowledge to teach the higher-level science concepts.

Some universities may no longer of-fer 4-8 programs due to low enrollment. In addition, conversations with key science educators at Texas universities indicate enrollment numbers are down and 4-8 programs may not be offered in the future – this is what happened at our university. With fewer students choosing to special-ize in middle school science teaching (4-8), coupled with the loss of program offerings for these grades, who will teach 7th and 8th grade science? Some educators feel that the 8-12 certification programs will provide sufficient teachers for grade 8. However, it is our experience that 8-12 teachers avoid middle schools like the plague, and choose the higher emotional development seen in high school students. Several years from

now, there will be an even more severe shortage of science teachers for 7th and 8th grades than exists today. What do princi-pals do when they have to find someone to teach science in these grades? Often they are forced to select the most qualified teach-er and require (or at least encourage) her to take the certification test so that they can be “highly qualified.” As educators who prepare teachers, it is our opinion that passing a test does not provide the deep content knowledge in multiple fields in science. Educators who prepare teachers frown on this approach, realizing that passing a test does not pro-vide the deep content knowledge needed in multiple fields of science and mathematics. Yes, they can prepare lectures and pass out worksheets. But how can they create excit-ing, challenging lessons to engage students when they do not fully understand the sci-ence concepts themselves?

Responses & Potential Cures

Faculty members at postsecondary institutions face an unprecedented oppor-tunity to have a significant impact on K-12 education reform through their efforts to recruit and prepare prospective teachers. An aging teaching work force, projected student enrollment increases, and attrition among new teachers mean that K-12 schools

K-12 schools across the country will

need to hire at least 280,000 new math

and science teachers by 2015.




across the country will need to hire at least 280,000 new mathematics and science teachers by 2015 (Business Higher Educa-tion Forum, 2005). Teachers who possess both pedagogical skills and knowledge of sci-ence are vital to students’ attaining science literacy. A teacher’s professional develop-ment should be a life-long process. However, the undergraduate experience serves as the permanent foundation for that undertaking. It is during this critical period that teachers acquire the knowledge, experience the as-sessment methods and, in general, engage in their first teaching experiences. All of these will have a profound influence on their subsequent effectiveness as teachers.

The National Science Education Stan-dards (National Research Council, 1996b, page 2) “outline what students need to know, understand, and be able to do to be scientifically literate at different grade levels.” Benchmarks for Science Literacy (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993) has similar goals, and includes mathematics and technology in its subject matter. Because the Standards rep-resents a substantial change in how science is usually taught in the United States, post-secondary science and education depart-ments have many challenges to meet if new teachers are to be adequately prepared and appropriately certified when they begin their teaching careers. In our state, the new 2010 Science Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) were recently approved, and these curriculum objectives raise the bar on scientific knowledge for public school stu-dents. Consequently, science teachers need deeper understanding of scientific concepts to effectively implement these objectives in their classrooms.

Model Science/Mathematics Teacher Preparation Program at “BLANK

UNIVERSITY”

For every year over the past 12 years, BLANK UNIVERSITY has produced 40-60 well-qualified middle school mathemat-ics teachers. Most of these middle school teachers were recruited from the elementary teacher pool. Mathematics educators in the College of Arts and Sciences teach the math-ematics foundation courses that all elemen-tary and middle school teachers take as a part of their preparation program. During these foundation courses, promising stu-dents who do well and who show enthusi-asm toward mathematics are recruited to be middle school mathematics teachers. Then these prospective teachers take a sequence of seven more rigorous mathematics courses that are specifically designed for and only count toward the middle school mathemat-ics teacher program. These are mathematics content courses, but they also include some pedagogy on the teaching of these math-ematics concepts.

Unfortunately, no such program cur-rently exists at our university (and neither at most other universities in Texas) for re-cruiting and preparing middle school science teachers. In reality, science educators do not normally see prospective middle school science teachers until they are almost fin-ished with their teacher preparation pro-gram, and are obviously already committed to their chosen degree plan (usually the EC-6 generalist program). Thus, there is no effective mechanism to help in the recruiting of prospective science teachers.




BLANK UNIVERSITY is phasing out their 4-8 science certification program be-cause of low student interest in middle school science and a lack of a systematic recruitment plan. This past year, there were only five students seeking middle school science certification. Although we now offer a combined mathematics/science middle school teacher certification program, stu-dents take lower level science courses that are not tailored to prospective science teach-ers. BLANK UNIVERSITY will produce a few teachers for middle school science class-rooms from this option, but the numbers will be insufficient to meet classroom needs, and these teachers will not have deep con-ceptual understanding in science.

Science teacher education is embed-ded in a college or university program con-sisting of general education courses, science courses, professional education course work and practical experiences. Although the beneficial, multiplicative effect of improv-ing teacher preparation is enormous, many postsecondary science faculty members have paid little attention to the impact of their courses on future teachers and have not been engaged in national reform efforts. Broadly defined, the term “teacher educa-tor” includes not just members of faculties in the College of Education but any faculty member from whom future teachers take courses. Thus, a critical step in increasing awareness by science faculty members of their role as science teacher educators is to raise their interest and commitment toward the preparation of future science teachers. So how do you cultivate the interest of science content professors in preparing fu-ture teachers of science? This is a challenge at most universities, as science professors are measured more by their research efforts in their field. We began with lively discus-sions among science department chairs and science educators, and continued team building over an 18-month period. Our goal was to develop a strong middle school sci-ence teacher preparation program, modeled after the highly successful one for math-ematics teachers at our university. One ini-tial obstacle to overcome was the reliance on existing upper level science courses (in the content areas of Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Geology) that had up to 12 hours of pre-requisite lower level courses each – courses that would not fit into teacher preparation degree plans with a total of approximately 120 hours of coursework.

Nasco Science DivisionTexas Science TeacherOct 2010TST1010

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Gradually, these department chairs realized that special upper level courses needed to be created that would count only for middle school science teacher certifica-tion classes. These courses would address rich content but also would include activi-ties, projects, and assignments that would enhance teacher skills too. To aid in recruit-ing middle school teachers, two exciting, inquiry-based science courses were created to “turn students on to science.” Also, the selection of effective, forward-thinking teach-ers for the science course sections dedicated to prospective middle school teachers is important in this effort. Dynamic, enthusi-astic professors would certainly help recruit talented students to the teaching profession.

A Prescription for Teacher Preparation Programs

So what can Texas educators do to help eradicate this potentially dangerous middle school science and mathematics teacher pandemic? Is there a prescription we can derive that will ensure the quality preparation of talented and dedicated Texas middle school science and mathematics teachers? Yes, there is. This prescription requires the strengthening of the relation-ships between College of Arts & Science (COAS) and College of Education (COE) faculty so that new and challenging upper division science and mathematics courses for teachers candidates can be created. These courses must align with the latest versions of the TEKS and, in additon, the Career and College Readiness Standards (CCRS) for science and mathematics. These courses must also be taught by exciting and innovative science faculty who use a variety of pedagogical strategies that are beneficial for those who will be teaching middle school.

The prescription for science teacher prepara-tion programs also includes a firm recruit-ment plan that begins early in a potential teacher’s coursework. At Blank University, the COAS and COE faculty in science and mathematics have worked to revive and strengthen the 4-8 Science degree plan with five new courses aligned to the 2010 Science TEKS and CCRS for science. It is our hope that along with a viable recruitment plan, that we will, once again, start producing the some of the best middle school science teachers in the state of Texas and we would invite our sister institutions to do the same.



Dr. Andrea S. Foster is an Assistant Professor of Science Education at Sam Houston State University and the elementary education coordina-tor of field programs. She has 29 years of K-16 teaching experience as a science and art educator and her research interests include science education reform practices as well as curriculum and assessment in the elementary and middle grades.

Dr. William A. Jasper is an Associ-ate Professor of Mathematics Educa-tion at Sam Houston State Univer-sity. He has been a mathematics educator for 19 years at both the university and public school lev-els. His primary research interests include mentoring teachers, teach-ing mathematics with technology and manipulatives, and improving mathematical performance of English Language Learners.




References

American Association for the Advancement of Science. (1993). Benchmarks for science literacy. Oxford University Press.

Business Higher Education Forum. (2005). A Commitment to America’s future: Responding to the crisis in Mathematics and Science education. Retrieved August 2010, http://www.bhef.com/publications/documents/commitment_handbook.pdf

Fuller, E. (2009). Secondary mathematics and science teachers in Texas: Supply, demand, and quality. Retrieved August, 2010 from http://tbec.org/images/general/stemteachers.pdf.

National Research Council (1996). The national science education standards. National Academy of Science.

State Board for Educator Certification, (2009). Educator/Teacher Production Counts. Retrieved August 2010 from http://www.sbec.state.tx.us/Reports/prodrpts/rpt_edu_tchr_prod_counts.asp.

State Board for Educator Certification, (2009). Texas Career and College Readiness Standards. Educational Policy Improvement Center. http://www.epiconline.org/texas/

Texas Education Agency, (2010). Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science. Texas Administrative Code Chapter 112. Retrieved August 2010 from http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter112/index.html.

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http://www.bhef.com/publications/documents/commitment_handbook.pdf

http://tbec.org/images/general/stemteachers.pdf

http://www.sbec.state.tx.us/Reports/prodrpts/rpt_edu_tchr_prod_counts.asp

http://www.epiconline.org/texas/

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter112/index.html

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Teaching About Nature: Fostering an Attitude of Conservation in Future Generations

by Ashley Campbell and Angela Spaulding

Children today lead more struc-tured and media-oriented lives than previ-ous generations (Charles & Louv, 2009), and spend an increased amount of time indoors. Computer games, Wii consoles, Nintendo DS systems, and television all vie for the attention of young people. The fast-paced world in which we live offers children limited time for free play outdoors. Even if there is time, the notion of ‘stranger danger’ makes parents reluctant to let their children roam through the neighborhood to experience na-ture (Louv, 2005). Last Child in the Woods, the book by Richard Louv which documents these points, has sparked a movement to get children outdoors. Unfortunately, the reality is that in the home setting today, many chil-dren still do not get outdoors and experience these wonders (Kellert, 2005). However, what can be done to encourage this sense of wonder in all children at school? Teachers are faced with pressures to cover material to meet demands of state-wide standards and assessments. While there is a definite need for students to mas-ter written knowledge and skills, we must not underestimate the importance of chil-dren having real-world experiences that transcend the pages of a textbook. We must consider the long-lasting value of experienc-es with nature (Kellert, 2005; Louv, 2005). Will students gain more from simply reading about habitats or actually visiting an out-door habitat? As David Schmidly, natural-ist and university president noted (2005), “Many children are fascinated by plants and animals, and if nurtured by adults, this can become a lifelong joy or even a career path.

Untended, it usually atrophies as a child grows older. Meanwhile, the demise of natu-ral history goes unnoticed, increasing the likelihood that future generations of school-children will spend even more time indoors, clicking away on their plastic mice, happily viewing images of the very plants and ani-mals they could be finding in the woods, streams, and meadows they no longer visit” (p. 454-455).

The key to providing these experiences is not adding another piece of curriculum for teachers to include; rather, it is a matter of carefully integrating pieces already present in the standards. According to the National Science Education Standards (NSES, 1996), “During the elementary grades, children build understanding of biological concepts through direct experience with living things, their life cycles, and their habitats. These experiences emerge from the sense of won-der and natural interests of children” (p. 128). In grades 5-8, the NSES point to the need for “students to broaden their under-standing from the way one species lives in its environment to populations and commu-nities of species and the ways they interact with each other and their environment” (p. 155). In grades 9-12, the NSES continues to include the “interdependence of organ-isms.” In addition, the 2010-2011 edition of the Science Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) include many aspects of the natural world from Kindergarten – High School Biology and Environmental Science. Some examples of related standards include the differentiation of living versus non-living things, the interdependence of organisms in the living world, life cycles of plants and

If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the

world we live in. -Rachel Carson



Lessons on Caring (cont’d.)Teaching About Nature (cont’d.)

animals, taxonomic classifications of organisms, levels of organization within an ecosystem, the of use of dichotomous keys, and characteristics of taxonomic groups.

Based on state and national standards, there are many opportunities to integrate hands-on experiences with nature at various grade levels. Identifying places to take children in the local community is a key factor. Most local communities have city parks or school gardens. Larger communi-ties also may offer botanical gardens, nature centers, wildlife refuges or state parks. The Texas Parks and Wildlife System offers many opportunities through more than 100 differ-ent sites across the state covering 600,000 acres (Texas State Park Guide, 2009).

If students have no knowledge of the plant and animals in their area, what would motivate them to protect or conserve those species? Education about local habitats is critical in the conservation of diversity. Referring to E.O Wilson’s work, McGlynn (2008) states that “a familiarity with organ-isms in their own environments is prerequi-site for an integrative understanding of biol-ogy required for solving our most pressing research problems” (p. 109). How familiar are your students with plants and animals in your local area? Survey students to find out what they know about the local flora and fauna, and then find ways to expand their knowledge. Prior to visiting a local area, showcase a native plant and/or animal each week leading up to the trip. Excellent re-sources on nature opportunities and ideas are included in Table 1 below.

Dr. Ashley J. Campbell is an Assistant Professor of Education at West Texas A&M University, where she teaches Science Methods, Integrated Science and Math Methods, and Educa-tional Psychology. She has taught biology, physics, and physical science for Tomball ISD and Lubbock-Cooper ISD. She holds a B.S. and M.S. in Biol-ogy, and an Ed.D. in Cur-riculum & Instruction from Texas Tech University.

Dr. Angela Spaulding is Dean of Graduate School, Chief Research Officer, and Research Compliance Of-ficer at West Texas A&M University. Dr. Spaulding was selected as a member of the Millennium Leader-ship Initiative Protégé Class of 2008, sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Univer-sities. She has more than 90 professional publica-tions and presentations to her credit and numerous funded/awarded grants on which she has served as Principal or Co-Principal Investigator.




Table 1.Nature Resources

Children and Nature Network (C&NN)

This network was co-founded by Richard Louv, Cheryl Charles and other leaders. The mission of the C&NN is to “give every child in every community a wide range of opportunities to experience nature directly, reconnecting our children with nature’s joys and lessons, its profound physical and mental bounty.” http://www.childrenandnature.org/

Journey North This resource provides opportunities for teachers to engage stu-dents in a global study of wildlife migration. Through the resources at Journey North, students can: “share their own field observa-tions with fellow students across North American…track the com-ing of spring through the migration patterns of monarch butterflies, robins, hummingbirds, whooping cranes, gray whales, bald eagles – and other birds and mammals; the budding of plants; changing sunlight, and other natural events.” www.learner.org/jnorth/

National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF)

In an integrated health and nature approach, NEEF has created a Children and Nature Initiative which seeks to improve children’s health through a process of reconnecting children to nature. Ac-cording to NEEF, children who have opportunity to explore nature, increase their physical activity, reduce stress, and promote relief for attention disorders. www.neefusa.org/health/children_nature.htm

National Gardening Association’s forum for teachers, Kids and Classrooms

This forum helps classroom teachers explore how using plants and gardens can enrich learning. www.kidsgardening.com

National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

This mission of the NWF is “to protect wildlife for our children’s future.” This site includes a nice variety of resources including a wildlife directory, ways to make a difference, timely news and infor-mation, a site for kids, and much more. www.nwf.org

Nature Find Nature Find is a site that will find specific nature sites and events in your area. Simply enter your zip code or city and state, and it will provide you a list of sites with contact information. www.na-turefind.com

Texas Parks and Wildlife

The Texas Parks and Wildlife site provides specific information about the state parks across Texas. Additional links include infor-mation about their publications, outdoor learning, grants, a site for kids, etc.www.tpwd.state.tx.us/

http://www.childrenandnature.org/

http://www.childrenandnature.org/

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/

http://www.kidsgardening.com

http://www.kidsgardening.com

http://www.naturefind.com

http://www.naturefind.com

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/




Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine

This site features “Keep Texas Wild” Teacher Resources. In ad-dition, the site features video footage to complement the monthly magazine. Other links of interest to teachers include nature, bird watching, and photography. www.tpwmagazine.com

United States Environmental Protection Agency, Teaching Center

This source provide a diverse collection of activities and lesson plans that will support and assist you in discovering your outdoor classroom. From the Teaching Center database, you will find a wide array of resources to include learning how healthy wildlife is integral to healthy ecosystems; locating and adopting a local wa-tershed; and understanding how to grow, care for, and learn from habitat on a school campus. Furthermore, you will find informa-tion on how to apply for federal and nonfederal funding to support your nature projects and goals, such as the EPA Environmental Education Grant Program for teachers. www.epa.gov/teachers/con-servation.htm

While learning about conservation is vital to preserving our nation’s future resources, participating in and supporting environmental clean-up projects is important to resolv-ing current needs. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, there are 35 National Wildlife Refuges at risk from the British Petroleum (BP) oil spill, “These precious national resources are home to dozens of threatened and endangered species, including West Indian manatees, whooping cranes, Mississippi sandhill cranes, wood storks and four species of sea turtles” (Refuges at Risk, para 1). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has set up a spe-cial volunteer hotline for individuals who would like to participate in the recovery effort (see http://www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill/index.html). Similarly, through the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), you and your students can volunteer to help spot wildlife in distress with a Gulf Coast Surveillance Team or help with the cleanup efforts through the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (National Wildlife Federation, 2010).

The importance of conservation effort and knowledge is essential to the survival of the world’s resources – both our environmental and economical resources, as they are directly connected. As our nation reflects and responds to the BP oil spill, we collectively wonder what the impact will be on current and future generations. According to Robert Dilensch-neider (2010), the oil spill may do “long-lasting damage to the fish, wildlife and wetlands of the Gulf region... devastate the fishing and shrimping industries of the Gulf States...limit or even shut down ship traffic...{and} recreation and tourism will be blighted” (para 3). And, if not careful, the massive amounts of dispersants used to clean up the spill may also have long-term environmental impacts (Barbee, et al. 2010).

http://www.tpwmagazine.com

http://www.epa.gov/teachers/conservation.htm

http://www.epa.gov/teachers/conservation.htm

http://www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill/index.html


The words of Mayra Mannes’ More in Anger are as profound today as they were in 1958. She reminds us all why we must foster an attitude and activism toward conservation in both current and future generations. She states:

The earth we abuse and the living things we kill will, in the end, take their revenge; for in exploiting their presence we are diminishing our future.

References

Barbee, G., Castille, G., Rogers, W. (2010). Potential environmental impact on Louisiana Coastal areas of the BP oil spill and the use of dispersants. West Texas A&M University. Unpublished dossier.

Charles, C. and Louv, R. (2009, September). Children’s nature deficit: What we know – and don’t know. Re trieved from http://www.childrenandnature.org/downloads/CNNEvidenceoftheDeficit.pdf

Dilenschneider, R. (2010). Implications of the BP oil spill. Directorship: Boardroom Intelligence. Retrieved from http://www.directorship.com/dilenschneider-bp-oil-spill/

Kellert, S.R. (2005). Nature and childhood development. In Building for Life: Designing and Understanding the Human-Nature Connection. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Louv, R. (2005). Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature- Deficit Disorder. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin. McGlynn, T.P. Feb. (2008). Natural history education for students heading into the century of biology. The American Biology Teacher, 70(2), 109-111.

National Research Council (NRC). (1996). National Science Education Standards. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

National Wildlife Federation (NWF), (2010). How NWF is helping wildlife impacted by the BP oil spill. Retrieved from: http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Conservation/Threats-to-Wildlife/Oil-Spill/On-the-Ground.aspx

Schmidly, D. J. (2005). What it means to be a naturalist and the future of natural history at American univer sities. Journal of Mammalogy 86(3), 449-456.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. (2009). Texas State Park Guide. Retrieved from www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_p4000_0000aa.pdf

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. FWS Oil Spill Response. Retrieved from http://www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill/index.html



http://www.childrenandnature.org/downloads/CNNEvidenceoftheDeficit.pdf

http://www.directorship.com/dilenschneider-bp-oil-spill/

http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Conservation/Threats-to-Wildlife/Oil-Spill/On-the- Ground.aspx

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_p4000_0000aa.pdf

http://www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill/index.html


Lessons on Caring (cont’d.)

Project E³: Expanding Energy Education WorkshopsAt Ocean Star Museum in Galveston – 20th Street at Harborside Drive

Presents

Knowledge Box Grades 6-12 Playing with Petroleum Grades K-5

2010-2011 WORKSHOP DATES

Participants will receive free admission to the Museum, a complimentary guided tour along with a light breakfast, lunch, and the Project E³: Expanding Energy EducationTeacher Guide (a $35.00 Value). We require a $35.00 refundable deposit to discourage NO-SHOWS. Registration deposits will be cheerfully refunded to registrants thatattend the workshop and those that cancel three days prior to the workshop date. Workshops begin at 9:00am and end at 4:00pm. Each participant will also receive 6 CPEhours and will be able to check out the Knowledge Box or Playing with Petroleum Kit up to 30 days to utilize in their classrooms at no charge. ( Free pick-up and deliverywithin the Houston area.) The first time a 2011 workshop attendee checks out a Knowledge Box or PWP Kit, he/she will receive a $25.00 incentive bonusupon the OEC’s receipt of a completed survey.

Ask about workshops outside of the Houston/Galveston area.

Mail checks to:Offshore Energy Center

200 N. Dairy Ashford, Suite 4119Houston, Texas 77079

(281) 544-2435 Fax: (281) 544-2441

For more information about the workshops, visit our website: www oceanstaroec.comor contact Doris Tomas, Education Director, [email protected]

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The Mobile Offshore Learning Unit (MOLU)The Mobile Offshore Learning Unit (MOLU) is

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It features six self contained learning centers with

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and the technologies and sciences involved with

the oil and gas industry. The curriculum for each

of the 24 activities is based on national and Texas

state standards (TEKS). Although the MOLU is

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Twenty Ways to Teach Vocbularyby Jessica Hoskins and Kimberly Vannest

Vocabulary and vocabulary enrich-ment are the most significant predictors of reading comprehension, literacy, and school achievement, particularly for English Lan-guage Learners and at-risk populations (Bla-chowicz, Fisher, Ogle, & Watts-Taffe, 2006; Brassell, 2009; Harmon & Hedrick, 2001). Although teachers often describe vocabulary as an integral part of instruction (Cassidy & Cassidy 2005) only 2-6% of instructional time is spent on vocabulary instruction in core academic classes (Blanton & Moor-man,1990; Kamil, 2004; Scott, Jamieson-Noel, & Asselin, 2003).

Effective instruction includes “a va-riety of research-based strategies” to draw upon (Brassell, p. 1, 2009). Teaching vo-cabulary enhances reading comprehension skills, motivates students to read content area text, and leads to higher levels of aca-demic achievement. Highly effective teachers train their students to use contextual infor-mation to decode word meaning and encour-age engagement with words on a deeper level, such with semantic analysis and categorization techniques (Flynt & Bronzo, 2008). Comprehensive vocabulary programs are best when they “(1) facilitate wide read-ing, (2) teach individual words, (3) provide word-learning strategies, and (4) foster word consciousness” (Graves & Watts Taffe, pp. 143-144). While the importance of vocabu-lary instruction cannot be denied, teachers in the classroom may feel that the strategies they use become repetitious throughout the course of the school year. According to Bras-sell (2009, p.1) “If teachers want to make their vocabulary lessons ‘stick’, teachers have to create rich and engaging activities that attract the enthusiasm of their stu-dent”. The following is a list of twenty di-

verse suggestions to incorporate vocabulary terms in the classroom as a first step toward creating the comprehensive vocabulary programs as articulated by Graves & Watts-Taffe (2002).

Twenty Ways to Use Vocabulary in the Classroom:

1.) Word of the Day: The Word of the Day (WOD) technique involves asking stu-dents to monitor the usage of a particular vocabulary word identified in advance by the teacher throughout a lesson, day, or even week or unit of instruction. When a student hears the WOD mentioned by the teacher, he or she places a tally mark in a designated WOD box on assignments or handouts. The WOD reinforces the learning of vocabulary through both repetition and the re-engage-ment of attention as students are constantly reminded to refocus by the presence of the WOD and the physical action of marking a tally in the WOD box (Vesely & Grynder, 2009).

2.) Word Wall: A word wall can be used to teach learners how to read and spell new vocabulary terms by placing them on a prominent wall in the classroom. Teachers can often find versions of the word wall for sale in teacher supply stores; alternatively, a key advantage to the word wall is the ease of construction and limited time investment needed to create one. Words can be typed or handwritten on cards placed in slots (gener-ally in commercially available word walls) or simply written on a large sheet of poster paper attached to a classroom wall or bul-letin board. Both teachers and students can participate in the creation of a word wall (Gruber, 1999).


3.) Word Journals: Vocabulary Word Journals are a popular strategy used by teachers to enhance instruction through repetition, relating the term to previously learned information, and incorporating vi-sual images. Students are instructed to keep a Word Journal and note unfamiliar words as they read, often with a teacher imposed quota as a guideline. For additional expo-sure to vocabulary, students can exchange journals and make comments to each other about additional knowledge of the word’s meaning and usage.

4.) Word Parts: Teaching word parts, also known as morphology, consists of instruc-tion in morphemes, most commonly the suf-fixes (-ed, -s), prefixes (ante-, re-), and roots of words. Students who have knowledge of morphemes such as root words and pre-fixes are in a better position to break down novel, complex vocabulary presented in texts as many terms are simply conglomerations of simpler word parts (Nagy & Anderson, 1984).

5.) Word Sort: A Word Sort involves ask-ing students to sort vocabulary words into categories based on common characteris-tics, relationships, or other given criteria. Often teachers provide the guidelines for the sort (known as a “closed” sort), but a varia-tion involves asking students to create their own categories in order to demonstrate both mastery of vocabulary terms and critical thinking skills (“open” sort) (Gunning, 2003; Brassell, 2009).

6.) Crossword Puzzle: The creation of a crossword puzzle to teach vocabulary in the classroom has the added benefit of introduc-ing a game into instruction to accommodate diverse learners and gain the attention of

those who find it difficult to maintain focus on more typical forms of instruction. Cross-word puzzles can be created through free or commercially available online programs.

7.) Vocab-O-Grams: In a Vocab-O-Gram, also known as a “Predict-O-Gram” teach-ers pre-select new vocabulary words prior to reading a selection with the class or individ-ually; students place the vocabulary words in categories such as “Setting”, “Characters”, “Problem/Goal”, “Action”, “Resolution” and a catchall category of “Mystery Words”. The goal of Vocab-O-Grams is to give students practice both in making predictions and ap-plying vocabulary to passages of text (Bla-chowicz & Fisher, 2002; Brassell, 2009).

Lessons on Caring (cont’d.)

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Twenty Ways to Teach Vocbulary (cont’d.)Lessons on Caring (cont’d.)

Twenty Ways to Teach Vocbulary (cont’d.)

http://teachhealthk-12.uthscsa.edu


8.) Visualization & Drawing: An impor-tant enhancement of vocabulary instruction involves creating a visual image of the term through association with a picture or draw-ing; students can create their own pictures, drawings, collages, pictographs or other symbolic representation or this can be pro-vided by the teacher (Marzano, 2009).

9.) Knowledge Rating: The Knowledge Rating Scale designed by Vacca & Vacca (2005) entails asking students to answer questions regarding existing knowledge about keyword vocabulary identified by the teacher as crucial for understanding unit content. In a graphic organizer, students are asked to place each term under the column headings of “Don’t know at all”, “Have seen or heard-don’t know what it means”, “I think I know what it means”, and “I know the meaning” (Vacca & Vacca, 2005).

10.) Semantic Maps: Semantic Mapping is a categorical approach to teaching new vocabulary through the use of a graphic or-ganizer. The teacher selects the new word or concept to be taught, placing it in the center of a large sheet of paper, transparency, or chalk/black board. Then the class brain-storms immediate words associated with the term that come to mind (Johnson, Heimlich, & Pittelman, 1986).

11.) Synonyms and Antonyms: Teaching synonyms and antonyms can be a powerful method for conveying meaning about what a term means and doesn’t mean by compar-ing it to other words in the learner’s prior knowledge. Synonyms and antonyms can be generated as individuals, in groups, or with the aid of a thesaurus or word processor.

12.) Vocabulary Self-Collection: In Vocab-ulary Self-Collection, students take control

of the learning process by identifying the vocabulary terms that they do not know and think are important for mastery. Students can then discuss the word, possible alterna-tive definitions or uses, and identify a formal definition. The goal of Vocabulary Self Col-lection is to encourage independent student learning of self generated vocabulary words in a natural, normal manner (Brassell, 2009).

13.) Semantic Feature Analysis: Seman-tic Feature Analysis consists of teaching vocabulary meaning through a chart that demonstrates the relationship between con-cepts. Teachers preselect the vocabulary terms and list them in the first column of the chart, with subordinate categories filling the first row of the chart. Students can then indicate the presence or absence of a rela-tionship between the term and the category by placing a positive symbol (+) to indicate a relationship, negative symbol (-) to indicate no relationship, or question mark (?) if more information is needed (Anders & Bos, 1986). 14.) The Frayer Model: The Frayer Model was designed to teach more complex vocab-ulary words directly and explicitly through a series of seven steps: 1.) state the word and its characteristics; 2.) purge unrelated characteristics (say what the term is not); 3.) list examples; 4.) list nonexamples; 5-7.) list subordinate, superordinate, and coordinat-ing words (Frayer, Frederick, & Klausmeier, 1969).

15.) Concept Circles: Students may miss the relationship between vocabulary terms and concepts if the terms are presented in isolation, such as in lists or drills. Concept Circles attempt to link vocabulary to content area concepts in order to increase motiva-tion to read content area texts as well as



enhance comprehension and learning. One variation consists of a circle divided into four quadrants with vocabulary terms that are related according to an overarching con-cept; students must identify the concept and how each word is related under the concept (Vacca & Vacca, 2001).

16.) Vocabulary Read Aloud: Reading content aloud can be a powerful tool for introducing vocabulary terms to learners. Teachers can expose their students to new vocabulary through incidental, embedded, or focused instruction during a Read Aloud. (Kindle, 2009). Read Aloud can increase vocabulary knowledge by drawing students’ attention to “Tier 2” words, or those that are often used by competent language users; this “can have a powerful effect on language functioning” (Beck et al, 2002, p. 8).

17.) Word Square: The Word Square Model is best suited for vocabulary terms that students are familiar with at least vaguely, but may not be familiar with them in a given content area. Porter & Herczog (2009) de-scribe in detail the construction of a Word Square in which a square is divided into four equal parts, with the vocabulary term in the top left-hand box, a picture of the term in the top right-hand box, a picture of what the word “is not” in the bottom right-hand box, and the definition in the bottom left-hand box.

18.) Vocabulary Cards: The use of vocabu-lary cards in classrooms is likely to be a familiar approach to veteran teachers. Vo-cabulary cards can be constructed with 3”x5” index cards; there are several varia-tions to this exercise as far as what material to include on the front and back of the card, ranging from the detailed card consisting of

five to six pieces of information per side to a simpler format of a word on one side and a picture or definition on the other (Heinze, 2006; Porter & Herczog, 2009).

19.) Vocabulary Chart: The vocabulary chart is a strategy that is particularly useful when learning new terms in a content area rather than a narrative format. In this exer-cise, students are provided with a teacher-generated chart (for example, see Porter & Herczog, 2009) with the instructions to note each new word as they read the text. Col-umns can include the word itself, the page and sentence where the word was read, an evaluation of the student’s knowledge of the word (“do not know the word”, “heard it”, “know it well”, etc), and a prompt to write down immediate associations of what came to mind when the word was read.

20.) KWL Chart: The KWL Chart is named with acronyms for “What we Know, what we Want to know, and what we Learned”. This exercise is completed through the creation of either individual or group charts with the word(s) listed in row form and three columns with the KWL headings. Teachers can desig-nate the words to be used or rely on student selection of key vocabulary terms. The first column, “What we Know”, is completed with prior knowledge related to the term, perhaps content taught in previous grade levels or other content areas. The second column, “What we Want to know” consists of infor-mation that the student may be confused about or require more in depth understand-ing; the last column, “What we Learned” allows the student to process connections between the content taught and prior knowl-edge of the term (Ogle, 1986).



Conclusion

There is no one vocabulary strategy that will work for all students, in all content areas, all of the time. Differentiation is at the heart of any good teaching strategy, as some methods will be more effective with some learners than others or in one content area over another. Marzano (2009) recommends that school districts and teachers alike find empirically based vocabulary instructional strategies and then conduct their own assessments, informally as well as formally to determine their efficacy within their own classrooms for their students, grade level, and content area. We think these 20 ways are an excellent place to start.

References

Aardema, V., & Dillon, L.&D. (1975). Why mosquitoes buzz in peoples’ ears. New York: Puffin Pied Piper.

Aase, H., & Sagvolden, T. (2006). Infrequent, but not frequent, reinforcers produce more variable responding and deficient sustained attention in young children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(5), 457-471.

Anders, P. L. & Bos, C. S. (1986). Semantic feature analysis: An interactive strategy for vocabulary development and text comprehension. Journal of Beading, 29(7), 610-616.

Anonymous (2007). 5 vocab games kids love. Instructor, 116(6), 66-67.

Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guilford.

Blachowicz, C., & Fisher, P.J. (2002). Teaching vocabulary in all classrooms (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Blachowicz, C.L.Z., Peter, J.L, Fisher, D.O., & Watts-Taffe, S. (2006). Vocabulary: Questions from the classroom. Reading Research Quarterly, 41(4), 524-539.

Blanton, W., & Moorman, G. (1990). The presentation of reading lessons. Reading Research and Instruction, 29(3), 35-55.

Brassell, D. (2009). Dare to differentiate: Vocabulary strategies for all students. New England Reading Association Journal, 44 (2), 1-6.

Cassidy, J., & Cassidy, D. (2005). What’s hot, what’s not for 2006. Reading Today, 23(1), 8-9. Crovitz,D., & Miller, J.A. (2008). Register and charge: Using synonym maps to explore connotation. English Journal, 97(4). 49-55.

Flanigan, K., & Greenwood, S.C. (2007). Effective content vocabulary instruction in the middle: Matching students, purposes, words, and strategies. International Reading Association, 51(3), 226-238.

Frayer, D. A., Frederick, W. C & Klausmeier, H. J. (1969). A schema for testing the level of concept mastery (Working Paper No. 16). Madison: University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Research and Development Cen ter for Cognitive Learning.



Flynt, Sutton E., & Bronzo, W.G. (2008). Developing academic language: Got words? The Reading Teacher, 61(6), 500-502.

Graves, M.F., & Watts-Taffe, S. (2002). The place of word consciousness in a research-based vocabulary program. In A. Farstrup and S.J. Samuels (Eds.) What research has to say about reading instruction (3rd ed.), (pp. 140-156). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Gruber, B. (1999). Boost learning with word walls. Teaching PreK-8, 30(1), 64-65.

Gunning, T.G. (2003). Creating reading instruction for all children (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Harmon, J.M., & Hedrick, W.B. (2001). Zooming in and zooming out for better vocabulary learning. The Middle School Journal,32(5), 22-29.

Heinze, J. (2006). Turn up the juice!. Instructor 115(7), 57-59.

Johnson, D. D. & Pearson, P. D. (1984). Teaching reading vocabulary, (2nd ed). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Johnson, D.D., Pittelman, S.D., & Heimlich, J.E. (1986). Semantic mapping. The Reading Teacher, 39, 778-783.

Kamil, M.L. (2004). Vocabulary and comprehension instruction: Summary and implications of the National Reading Panel findings.In P. McCardle & V. Chhabra (Eds.), The voice of evidence in reading research (pp. 213–234). Baltimore, MD: Paul H.Brookes.

Kieffer, M.J. & Lesaux, N.K. (2007). Breaking down words to build meaning: Morphology, vocabulary, and reading comprehension in the urban classroom. The Reading Teacher, 61(2), 134-144.

Kindle, K.J. (2009). Vocabulary development during read-alouds: Primary practices. The Reading Teacher, 63(3), 202-211.

Marzano, R.J. (2009). Six steps to better vocabulary instruction. Educational Leadership, 83-84.

Nagy, W.E. & Anderson, R.C. (1984). How many words are there in printed school English? Reading Research Quarterly,19,304-330.

Ogle, D. M. (1986). K-W-L in action: A teaching model that develops active reading of expository text. The Reading Teacher, 39, 564–570.

Porter, P. & Herczog, M. M. (2009). Strategies for struggling readers, part I. Social Studies Review, 48(1), 53-65.

Ryder, R. J. & Graves, M. F. (1994). Reading and Learning in Content Areas. New York: Merrill.

Scott, J., Jamieson-Noel, D.,& Asselin, M. (2003). Vocabulary instruction throughout the day in twenty-three Canadia upper-elementary classrooms. Elementary School Journal, 103(3), 269-286.

Taylor, D.B., Mraz, M., Nichols, W.D., Rickelman, R.J., & Wood, K.D. (2009). Using explicit instruction to promote vocabulary learning for struggling readers. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 25, 205-220.




Jessica L. Hoskins is a former special education teacher who taught students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in North Carolina before continuing her studies in the Counseling Psychology doctoral program at Texas A&M University.

Kimberly J. Vannest is an Associate Professor in the Special Education Department of Texas A&M Univer-sity; her research interests include single case research, progress monitoring, and interventions for students with emotional & behavioral disorders.

Vacca, R.T., & Vacca, J.L. (2001). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum (7th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Vacca, R. T., & Vacca, J. L. (2005). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum. Boston: Pearson.

Vesely, P.J., & Gryder, N.L. (2009). Word the day improves and redirects student attention while supporting vocabulary development. Intervention in School and Clinic, 44(5), 282-287.


Beginning Teacher Induction and Mentoring:BTIM

by Terry Talley

Mentoring Science Teachers in the Galveston County Regional Collaborative

The beginning of the school year is filled with excitement and anticipation which can be felt by both the administra-tors and the faculty alike. Each year as I look through the science department, I feel a sense of pride knowing we are there for each other. We share our strengths and work together to bolster our weaknesses - always saving most of the support for our most recent additions. A mental roll call goes off in my mind, “Who retired, who moved, who is returning, and who is joining our ranks to fill the vacancies?” This year I mourn the loss of the veteran teachers. They are my teaching friends and colleagues, my academ-ic and social support system. We offer each other advice and wisdom concerning our les-sons, our students, our administration and even our families.

One specific fall comes to mind as I am thinking about new science teachers and the mentoring required for them to blend into our department. It was the fall when the first “alternatively certified” science teacher came into our ranks. I knew our pre-service training and student-teaching experiences would not be the same, but we shared the same common passion for teaching science to children. As department chair and ap-pointed mentor, I was committed to spend-

ing as much time as I possible supporting our new addition with lesson plans and materials, but in the end I had to admit, my time was limited and I was lacking the most essential piece in a mentoring relationship – coaching.

With my own classes to teach, depart-ment duties, and campus leadership roles, I did not have the opportunity be what she really needed - a mentor/coach. She needed someone to occasionally be with her in her classroom as she was trying new strategies and resources, to provide feedback and work through perfecting her craft. She needed me to act as a bridge to span the gulf between the craft knowledge I held as an experienced teacher and the void of the novice teacher who does not have the experience to select the proper tools for the academic and man-agement challenges.

Teaching is possibly the only profes-sion which tries to give the impression that all who enter the classroom know all in-structional best practices and can handle any situation starting on day one. It is only after several years of trial and error that the novice teacher learns to appreciate the col-laborative gestures of her peers and learns to ask for ideas when she does not have the knowledge, skills or resources needed. I admitted I needed to learn how to mentor and stop being the instructor. I needed more than the three-hour workshop offered by my district. I wanted to be an effective men-tor, but I knew to do it effectively, mentor-ing would require more time than I had as a teacher and campus leader. I also needed a collaborative skill set that would benefit both of us.


Lessons on Caring (cont’d.)Beginning Teacher Induction (cont’d.)

The opportunity to learn more about mentoring and coaching arrived soon af-ter my retirement this past year. The Texas Regional Collaborative (TRC) offered a grant funded by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to establish Beginning Teacher Induction and Mentoring Programs (BTIM) through the Regional Collaboratives. The grant provided training through Mentoring Texas in using research based practices. The grant began in October 2009 and will follow new science teachers through their first two years in the classroom, with the grant period ending in April 2011. Although the BTIM programs throughout Texas have different settings and address novice teachers from various pro-grams, the underlying premise is the same – providing academic coaching and supportive relationships. This model, most importantly, includes providing a professional/collegial relationship which will assist in welcoming and bolstering a self-doubting and often iso-lated neophyte into the world of teaching.

Teacher Shortage and Underlying Factors

It was once believed that the short-age of qualified teachers was due to teacher retirements and an increase in the student population, but based on the research of Ingersoll (2001) this shortage may be due to other factors causing teachers to leave the profession preretirement such as; job dissat-isfaction and lack of administrative support. Rather than addressing the factors revealed through the data analysis, the dominant pol-icy in response to increasing the supply of teachers was a wide range of recruitment in-centives such as, Teach for America, which provides alternative licensing programs and financial incentives to ease entry into teach-ing. (2001) However, even with an increas-ing number of recruits, a high percentage

of newly hired teachers are also exiting the profession. High teacher turnover among beginning teachers, based on the research sited in Ingersoll’s article (2001), “are of concern not only because they may be an outcome indicating underlying problems in how well schools function, but also because they can be disruptive, in and of themselves, for the quality of the school community and performance.”

Based on the current employment figures, there is a need to recruit and re-tain teachers who are certified in the sci-ence classrooms of Texas and based on the research findings of Ingersoll and Thomas, provide the administrative support needed to overcome the dissatisfaction driving begin-ning teachers from their first teaching as-signments. The goal of the BTIM program is to keep and support highly qualified science teachers through their second year of teach-ing and beyond. It is intended to help them over the hurdle of their first year and on into their second year.

It is then again in the fifth year of teaching, Ingersoll states, that statistics show the loss of many teachers for a variety of other reasons, such as family concerns, student discipline problems, limited faculty input into school decision-making, and to a lesser extent low salaries. (2001) To address

40-50 percent of beginning teachers leave in a few short years...




the most profound and manageable reason, which is lack of administrative support, the focus of the BTIM mentoring and coaching program is the provision of a support net-work of mentor teachers and peers. Through this network is the infusion of best practices into the science community. The support (as advocated by the administration) for the beginning teacher is in the form of mentors and professional development for both the administration and the mentee, and a learn-ing benefit for the students in the teachers’ charge.

Another consideration that the BTIM program addresses is the way in which stu-dent’s academic momentum can be stymied. According to the ACT report, Rigor at Risk (2007), when “assigning teachers to courses that they are not professionally qualified to teach or not yet experienced enough to teach well” has an effect on student learn-ing. The study suggests, ”that there is evi-dence that these teachers are most often assigned to those students who are furthest behind and who consequently need the most help.” The ACT report goes on to state that their research “revealed a direct relation-ship between teacher quality and students’ degree of college readiness as determined by an index based on their ACT scores and high school grade point averages.”(2007)

It is the fundamental purpose of coaching and professional development in the BTIM Mentoring Program that in this academic partnership, all teachers gain content knowledge and build on experiences toward the application of instructional skills. These gains benefit the entire science edu-cation community through the retention of qualified teachers and successful students maintaining their momentum of higher lev-els of academic performance.

When analyzing data from the School and Staffing Survey and the associated Teacher Follow up Survey (SASS/TFS) con-ducted by the National Center for Education Statistics collected from beginning teachers exiting the profession, Ingersoll and Smith (2003) found “40-50 percent of beginning teachers leave in a few short years.” Of that percentage “about 39 percent said they left to pursue a better job or another career, and about 29 percent said that dissatisfac-tion with teaching as a career or with their specific job was the main reason.” Ingersoll further stated dissatisfaction with “school working conditions behind their decision to quit were: student discipline problems, lack of support from school administration, poor student motivation, and lack of teacher influence over school wide and classroom decision making.”

Ingersoll and Smith (2003) concluded from their research that “increasing support from school administrators for new teach-ers, for example, might range from provid-ing enough classroom supplies to providing mentors. Mentors are especially crucial. Life for beginning teachers has traditionally been described as a sink-or-swim proposition. In-deed, data from SASS/TFS shows that men-toring does make a difference.”

Rationale for BTIM Program Mentor/Coaches based on the 2003 meta-analysis research of the Rand Corporation, “Teach-ers in the fields of science and mathemat-ics were more likely to leave teaching than teachers in other fields.” The Rand Study also stated that “…the research on in-service policies that affect teacher retention stated; schools that provided mentoring and induction programs, particularly those re-lated to collegial support, had lower rates of turnover among beginning teachers; that




schools that provided teachers with more autonomy and administrative support had lower levels of teacher attrition and migra-tion; and that schools with fewer disciplin-ary problems or those that gave teachers discretion over setting disciplinary policies had lower levels of teacher attrition and dis-satisfaction…” (Rand, 2003)

The Rand research (2003) went on to state, “schools with high percentages of minority students are difficult to staff, and that teachers tend to leave these schools when more attractive opportunities present themselves. It is also evident, however, that factors that can be altered through policy can have an impact on the decisions of in-dividuals to enter teaching and on teachers’ decisions to migrate to other schools or quit teaching.” The Rand research (2003) also offers information on the effectiveness of a number of different options in the areas of compensation, pre-service policies, and in-service policies, although rigorous research evaluating the latter two types of policies is relatively scarce.

The data used in the Rand study are from the nationally representative 1999–2000 Schools and Staffing Survey. The re-sults indicate “that beginning teachers who were provided with mentors from the same subject field and who participated in collec-tive induction activities, such as planning and collaboration with other teachers, were less likely to move to other schools and less likely to leave the teaching occupation after their first year of teaching.” (2003)

The training provided by the Texas Regional Collaborative is based on the research of the Professional Development Group in Birming-ham, Alabama. For the training, two books by Paula Rutherford were provided; Why Didn’t I Learn This in College: Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century (2009) and The 21st Century Mentor’s Handbook: Creating a Culture for Learning (2005). In establish-ing a rationale for the BTIM program a quote from the forward of Rutherford’s 2009 book gives the TRC-BTIM training a lightning clear focus. The quote below is from Frank McDonald’s, A Study of Induction Programs for Beginning Teachers:

It is a truism among teachers and especially teacher educators that within the first six months of the first experience of teaching, the teacher will have adopted his or her basic teaching style. Ex-perience indicates that once a teacher’s basic teaching style has stabilized, it remains in that form until some other event causes a change, and at the present time, there are not many such events producing change. If the style adapted is a highly effective one and is the source of stimulation to continuous growth, there would be no problem. But if teachers abandon their ideals and become cynical, see management at any price as essential, constrict the range of instruction alternatives they will try or use; if they become mediocre teachers or minimally competent, then the effect of the transition period on this is a ma-jor concern and a problem that needs direct attention. (McDonald, 1980)

Of the [first] 25 [BTIM] participants, all have remained in

the teaching profession.



Grant Guidelines

Following the guidelines and the re-quirements of Texas Education Agency and the Texas Regional Collaborative (TRC) Grant, mentors are to provide to the men-tee, weekly contact or four contact times a month as the campus and mentee’s sched-ules allow. Funds were not spent on re-sources specifically for teacher use in the classroom with students, but more for the modeling of instruction within professional development and through the Professional Learning Community. Materials were avail-able for loan if appropriate for a teacher’s grade level or program.

The TRC guidelines also required doc-umentation of the types and times of each of the interactions between mentors and men-tees by completing a log of teacher contact time. Documentation is also kept of mentor interactions with the administrators working with the new and second year science teach-ers.

The Components of the BTIM Program: A Three-Tiered Approach

The first component is providing for professional discourse in a structured set-ting with specific outcomes and goals in mind. The first structure incorporated into the BTIM was our Professional Learning Community (PLC). Meeting monthly as a community of learners, the BTIM teachers gathered to learn more, reflect on successes and struggles, as well as share resources centered on a common learning theme. Fur-ther discourse was encouraged and facilitat-ed through the TOLC (Texas Online Learning Community) site for professional discourse and posting of resource for sharing.

The monthly half-day Professional Learning Community (PLC) sessions were planned for an off campus location to cho-reograph a more relaxed setting. Substitute teachers were provided through grant funds. The PLC included a brown-bag lunch which teachers brought with them. The mentors in the BTIM program provided desserts, snacks, water and chocolates to sustain the teachers throughout the afternoon. The PLC met from 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm utilizing structures which provided for teacher reflec-tion, collaborative problem solving, discus-sions about their craft, and the development of more sophisticated approaches to their classroom instruction.

Each PLC was formatted in the 5 E model of instruction utilizing highly engag-ing activities to provide an opportunity to call up prior knowledge, build confidence in what is about to be discussed, as well as keep the time moving at a brisk pace. Each PLC began with a structured opportunity to talk through issues specific to their as-signments and positions, such as classroom management, parental concerns, and work-load. Although never completely resolved, the peer discussions added to a sense of community and a lack of isolation. Monthly instructional discussions centered on a strategy that appeared in the literature as a need for induction year teachers, were re-quested, or were noted as needed based on


classroom observations. These topics included:

• Using the Walls as Instructional Tools • Misconceptions that Interfere with Learn-ing Science • Questions, Wait Time and Classroom Dis-cussions• Inquiry, Labs, Data Tables, Graphs and Charts• Science Literacy and Notebooks• Using Models in Science and Moving Learning from Concrete to Abstract

Follow-up discussions on the Texas Regional Collaborative TOLC site was estab-lished for the GCRC-BTIM www.theTRC.org for after-hours collaboration and sharing of resources among the teachers in the program.

Campus and Classroom Interactions

The second component, Campus and Classroom Interactions includes observa-tions both scheduled and unscheduled, coaching, providing resources, as well as offering assistance by model teaching, co-teaching, lesson planning and listening. The important part of listening is to listen with an open mind and a sympathetic ear; hold-ing advice and to be able to respond with reassurance to the angst of a new teacher breaking into the world of teaching and onto a campus with a well established social or-der.

Classroom Walk-Through Vis-its (CWT) based on the model by Carolyn Downey in her book, The Three-Minute Classroom Walk-Through: Changing School Supervisory Practice One Teacher at a Time, (2004) where the mentor visits a classroom for a short period of time, sitting down in the

back of the classroom to observe how the students were responding to the teacher’s planned lesson for the day. Often, students would share what they are learning or in-volve the observer in a lab they were doing. During these observations the mentor/coach would look for artifacts of learning, student work, student engagement with the lesson, journaling, work and words on the walls, posters students constructed as well as models about the room.

Data Collection Observations are also campus interaction which encompass-es an entire science class period. These monthly scheduled observations include the collection of data concerning student engagement throughout a lesson as well as the interactions between the teacher and students in the room. Unlike PDAS Observa-tions, no evaluation was intended or provid-ed. The data gathered were at the request of the teacher and requested to validate the effectiveness of a strategy or management technique being explored. An interesting as-pect of this type of observation is that teach-ers are disappointed they do not occur more frequently based on the feedback received from our BTIM participants.

Coaching Sessions are 30 minutes in length and are scheduled monthly during a teacher’s planning period the week after a scheduled observation. The focus of the observation is to share the data collected during the scheduled observation concern-ing student engagement and teacher inter-actions with students. The session ends with the determination of which data is to be gathered during the next -scheduled obser-vation. The date and time for the observa-tion is placed on the calendar.


http://www.theTRC.org


Planning, assisting and modeling lessons occur during a one-hour visit. The mentee decides which activity the mentor is to do. The mentor may be asked to assist with a lab, or model a lesson so the mentee can watch the flow or pacing. Within the same session, student and materials man-agement could occur. Many mentees re-quest assistance in planning a future lesson or a unit of study which incorporates re-sources and ideas the mentor has provided in previous sessions or she may be asked to assist in locating resources that are appro-priate or assist in differentiating a lesson as a Response to Intervention (RTI) for a special needs student or for meeting the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) for an English Language Learner.

Professional Development for Content Knowledge

The third component is Professional Content Learning. Often first and second year science teachers come to the classroom with a general understanding of their grade level content, but gain self-confidence from an opportunity to learn more specific and detailed content prior to instruction. Well-researched and standards-based science content is easily accessed through Online NSTA provided to all BTIM participants. By being provided passwords and simple direc-tions during one of the PLC meetings, the mentees were able to access all of NSTA Online Learning Links. Participants were re-quired to take a pre-test for prior knowledge in one specific module then were given free access to the resources for a year. For re-search purposes, the participants will take a post-test over the same module to measure the difference in their content knowledge as acquired from the modules completed.

Sustained learning opportunities are offered through many opportunities such as the BTIM three-day Best Practices in Science Mini-Conference which provides an in depth study of the BSCS 5 E Lesson Model (BSCS, 2006) and an infusion of high-yield strate-gies as discussed by Marzano, Pickering and Pollock in their meta-analysis: Classroom Instruction that Works (2001), and student- based technology such as force and motion probes and computer simulations.

Another sustained learning program for the BTIM participants is free access to the summer professional development of-fered by the Galveston County Regional Col-laborative (GCRC) through the UTMB Office of Education Outreach and the Southeast Regional T-STEM (SRT-STEM) Center. The GCRC sponsored a three-day Introduction to Inquiry Institute based on the training from the Exploratorium Museum’s Institute for Inquiry. The SRT-STEM offered a two-day Lego Robotics Academy, and many other T-STEM Bio-Technology opportunities. The summer professional development is focus-ing on lesson design, problem-based learn-ing, technology integration and pedagogy. These summer sessions are attended by members of the Galveston County Regional Collaborative who are at all levels of their teaching careers, many with over 15 years of teaching experience. Among the GCRC participants, there is a willingness to work side-by-side as mentors with BTIM members in collaborative groups to gain the science knowledge and skills required for the new 2009 TEKS implementation. Through these connections, networks are established which may last through the school year and per-haps for the length of a teaching career.



Responses from the Mentee Survey

As we are about to begin the second year of the two-year grant, our BTIM participants are struggling with the affects of economic times. The impact of the recent oil industry slow down as well as the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Ike has displaced and moved many of our first and second year teachers. Of the 25 beginning participants, all have remained in the teaching profession. As the research projected, several have moved to other districts, one is being transferred to another school within the district, several have changed teach-ing assignments, but unfortunately several are affected by a Reduction in Force (RIF) due to shrinking number of students served by the school district. With each change come the stresses associated with being a new teacher again in a new community. Fortunately, our mentees have a year of experience and craft knowledge to go with them into this new en-vironment. It will be a challenge for them to learn the culture of their new school, but the BTIM program will be there to support them and to facilitate the PLC to meet these needs through support and collaboration.

In seeking feedback from the BTIM teachers concerning the impact of their involve-ment in the first year of the GCRC-BTIM program the participants were asked to respond to an online survey. Of the 25 enrolled in the first year of the program, 16 responded to the survey. The numbers in parentheses with each response represents the number assigned to each teacher to maintain anonymity.

The Most Beneficial Parts of BTIM

When asked: “Which aspects of the BTIM program have the greatest benefit to you as a participant in the program and why?”, of the 16 responses to this open ended question, the most volunteered responses were modeling best practices, providing resources, and col-laboration among those in the group. Results are in Figure 1.

Figure 1:


22

84

76

7222

322

5ENew TEKS

Collaboration Notebooking

ResourcesTest Support

Best PracticesGraphic Organizers

QuestioningModeling Instructional Strategies

Planning LessonsFeedback

Role Models

Benefits of BTIM Sited by 16 Respondents


An elementary teacher responds “the BTIM program provides concrete information pertaining to the Science TEKS and provides hands-on learning that enhances my educa-tional growth.” (2) A fourth grade science teacher states “It allows the participants to collab-orate with others who are not in their school or district.” (4) A sixth grade teacher replies, “The resources for hands-on activities are most beneficial for notebooking. Modeling in-structional best practices are most helpful in helping me utilize materials most effectively.” (5) A high school chemistry teacher replies, “Getting together with other new science teach-ers to talk about everything associated with the job. I also found the research about all the topics essential. The feedback from a walk through is very helpful as well.” (9)

PLC Topics

When responding to the question, “Which of the topics discussed at the PLC’s was of the most benefit and why?”, of the 16 respondents, many selected two or more. About 30% felt the Graphic Organizers in a Scientific Investigation and Questions, Cues and Ad-vanced Organizers to be of the most benefit. 25% of the participants also found benefit in the PLC’s addressing TAKS Testing strategies, Misconceptions that Interfere with Learning Science, and Walking the Walls. The results are seen in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2:

A third grade self-contained teacher replied, “Misconceptions that Interfere with Learning Science [Week 2] was the most beneficial PLC. I believe that if a child has learned information that is incorrect then that child doesn’t have an adequate foundation on which to build. Students should be taught science at their level of understanding on each grade level; therefore scaffolding can be done in an alignment per grade level; for the science knowledge levels to build on.” (2)


0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Walking the Walls

Misconceptions

5 E Model of Instruction

Questions

Graphic Organizers

Types of Investigations

TAKS Strategies

Which PLC Topic Was Most Beneficial?


An eighth grade teacher who was hired in December and joined our BTIM at semester replies, “I loved What Goes on the Walls? [Week 1] because other people in our group gave me lots of great ideas I was able to put into my classroom the next day.” (9) A high school biology teacher responds, “Graphic Organizers in Scientific Lab Investigations [Week 5] gave me more information and skills with which to give the students room to be curious in a lab type setting.” (7)

Least Beneficial Aspect of BTIM

When asked to “briefly describe which aspect of the BTIM program participants felt were least helpful to a new teacher and why?”, of the 16 participants who responded to this open ended question, the most-offered responses by 30% of the respondents was not meet-ing by grade level and 25% did not like the time out of class. See Figure 3.

Figure 3:

A third grade teacher provided this response, “In order to acquire the information to use in a classroom setting, a teacher must take time out to receive adequate training, therefore time out of the classroom is a vital part of professional growth.” (2)

An eighth grade teacher provided these comments, “Meeting participants of all grade levels. I felt that maybe the meetings would have been more beneficial if they could have been tailored a bit more to specific grade levels, elementary, middle and secondary. Seems impossible, but you did ask.” (8)

Another eighth grade teacher stated, “The only downfall and really it is not a downfall is the time away from the classroom. It is not because we are out of the classroom but it is the time needed to have things ready for the students. Coming to the BTIM was invaluable so the time away was good.” (16)


0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Time out of Class

TAKS Remediation

Research behind BP

Did not meet by grade level

Started mid year

Online Discussions

Which Aspect of the BTIM Was Least Beneficial?


What else is needed in BTIM?

When asked “what additional information or programs should be added to the BTIM Program for next year to be more effective?”, of the 16 respondents, there were a variety of useful suggestions. The most frequent responses for 20% of the respondents were class-room management and having an in school mentor available to them. About 10% requested more technology integration ideas. See Figure 4 below.

Figure 4:

A high school chemistry teacher stated, “If at all possible, this program would be more beneficial for new teachers if they could get started during the summer. I think it would be good to incorporate time for them to look up websites you know would be good resources for science teachers so they could compile some things for their classes.” (6)

A seventh grade science teacher respond to this question by stating, “Most of my frustrations as a new teacher stem from classroom management, lesson planning and or-ganization.” (13) A high school biology teacher stated that we should, “Pair novice teachers with experienced teachers (both groups will have opportunities to learn new strategies).” (4)

Online Resources Provided

Survey participants were asked “which of the online resources provided did you find to be most beneficial and why?” The overwhelming majority stated the TAKS Study Manip-ulatives and the NSTA Learning Links were of great value. See Figure 5 below.


0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

Class MangementDiscuss TEKS earlier

Contact list of membersInschool Mentor tooStart in the summer

More technologyMore online resources

ESL, 504 and SpEd ideasPeer teaching

Lesson planning

What Should Be Added Next Year?


Figure 5:

A third grade general education teacher replied, “NSTA Learning Links, in review-ing the materials covered per grade level there’s a wealth of resources that can be used in the classroom setting”. (2) A seventh grade science teacher replied, “TOLC Discussion Site, because it makes a variety of resources available.” (13) An eighth grade science teacher stated, “The NSTA Learning Links are invaluable. I was able to do several lessons that were a big help in the classroom. I will do more this summer.” (16)

Conclusions based on our First Year in BTIM

As indicated in the research by Ingersoll and Smith (2001, 2003) and the Rand Cor-poration (2003) there is a need for administrative support for beginning year science teach-ers. Administrative support was gained through the letters of support provided by the school districts the GRC-BTIM is serving within Galveston County. We received the support and encouragement of the administration as we requested permission to visit teachers in their classrooms, provide resources, request teachers be released from their classes for PLC meeting dates, as well as provide additional professional development as part of our Pro-fessional Learning Communities. We found that as we visited with teachers regularly, we began with frequent stops in the office first!

As we evaluate the successes and missteps from our first year, and begin planning for the start of the new school year, we have had requests from the administration of these districts to continue and expand the support we are providing. At a time of diminishing budgets, grant funded projects are prized and utilized.

With nearly perfect attendance at each of the PLCs and the request for more frequent visits by the mentors, there is an indication that our program was appreciated and needed. The collaborative and supportive nature of the PLC is evident in the numerous emails and text messages received through the summer and the discussions on our TOLC site.


0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

TOLC Site

NSTA Learning Links

TAKS Manipulatives

Online Resource

Which Online Resources Were Beneficial?


I’m disappointed in the number of beginning teachers who will be moving to new schools starting in the fall. Most of these moves are due to administrative decisions or moves to different districts due to lack of administrative support as seen in the eyes of the beginning teacher. Even with the moves, the first question asked is “Can I continue in the BTIM?” and their second is “I know of another new teacher who wants to join the BTIM, can she?”

For me, as I think back to the start-of- school faculty meetings and getting intro-duced to the newest members of the science department, I think of the many teachers I have had the opportunity to mentor. I have a great sense of satisfaction as I follow their careers to see they are involved in instructional leadership roles on the campuses, within districts and even at the state level. Being given the gift of time to be a mentor and coach, and to provide support for those entering the profession is one my most cherished gifts of retirement.

Resources

ACT (2007) Rigor at Risk: Reaffirming Quality in the High School Core Curriculum. Iowa City, IA

Bybee, Roger Y., Taylor, Joseph A., Gardner, April, Van Scotter, Pamela, Powell, Carlson, Westbrook, Anne and Landes, Nancy. (2006) The BSCS 5E Instructional Model: Origins, Effectiveness, and Applications, Colorado Springs, CO: BSCS.

Ingersoll, Richard M. (2001) Teacher turnover and teacher shortages: An organizational analysis. American Educational Research Journal; fall 2001; 38, 3; pg. 499. Retrieved online on July 17, 2010 from ABI/INFORM Global

Ingersoll, Richard M. and Smith, Thomas M., (2003). The Wrong Solution to the Teacher Shortage. Education Leadership; May 2003; 60, 8: pp 30-33. Retrieved July 17, 2010 Online from Ebsco AN9722710.

Marzano, Robert J., Pickering, Debra J., and Pollock, Jane E. (2001) Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.


Terry Talley, Ed.D. received her Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of North Texas. She recently retired after 25 years in public education from Lewisville ISD where she most recently served as Secondary Science Supervisor. Terry is past-president of the Texas Science Education Leadership Association and a member of the Science Teachers Association of Texas. Dr. Talley is living on Galveston Island, where she and her husband are finding time to go sailing in their retirement. Terry remains active in the education commu-nity by consulting and working part-time as the Co-Director of the SRT-STEM Center and Project Manager for the BTIM Program, both sponsored by the School of Medicine at UTMB.


Treat Science Right and It Could Help Save the World

Harold Kroto recently spoke on the importance of science in securing a sustainable future for the planet at the Euroscience Open Forum 2010 conference in Turin, Italy. Science News editor in chief Tom Siegfried reported excerpts from Kroto’s talk in the August 28th, 2010; Vol.178 #5 (p. 32) of Science News: Magazine of the Society for Science and the Public.

This column is Reprinted with permission of Science News.

My definition of science — and it’s an arid term, and almost no one really un-derstands it as far as I’m concerned: The most important aspect of science is that it’s a philosophical construct, which man (and woman) has developed to determine what is true, might be true and can be true.

Once one [accepts] that, one puts science on a very interesting philosophi-cal level, because truth must be universal and must not vary from country to country or planet to planet. Truth assumes that the experiment will always work the same way. This suggests that, basically, it won’t work differently if you pray to the experiment...Truth is an intellectual integrity issue. I want to stress that… So for science edu-cation, this is an ethical issue. We should be teaching our children how to determine what is true. It depends on evidence. With-out evidence, anything goes. And we must teach young people how to recognize the truth. And that’s why there is a conflict be-tween science and dogma, both political and religious. Texas is desecrating science text-books, and thus, the truth.

We have to weigh the evidence in the balance, and science therefore equals truth. John F. Kennedy said, “The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliber-

ate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth — persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”

I have a four-out-of-five rule for sci-entific method. Here it is: If you make an observation, develop a theory you think can explain it. Then design some further experi-ments to test the validity of that theory. If four observations out of five fit, the theory is almost, and I stress almost, certainly right. If only one out of five fits, the theory is almost, almost certainly wrong. We can never say it was wrong. But we can say it’s almost cer-tainly wrong. We must leave the way open for that element of doubt.

This is a moral issue. Let’s get it straight. Science is about evidence and truth. And that’s why we have to think about these things.

The issue we face today is sustainabil-ity. Saving the planet — it’s a global citizen-ship project. We cannot do it by ourselves. I don’t know whether we can do it, but we need everybody in the world to recognize [that] this is our biggest problem. We’ve got to recognize science as the one community that is international. It doesn’t matter what color you are, what nationality, language you speak. Scientific language is fundamen-tal… And that makes us different from ev-ery other culture. We’re international, we’re global.

I want to make sure that you under-stand what science and what the responsi-bility of the scientist is. If you’re a scientist, you have a responsibility. We have created this world, this technology. We’ve done the

Treat Science Right and it Could Help Save the Worldby Harold Kroto



Lessons on Caring (cont’d.)Treat Science Right (cont’d.)

science. And I think, and I personally believe, we should take some responsibility to ensure it is used for the benefit of mankind, and not to its detriment. If you’re a physicist, we don’t need any more atomic bombs. If you’re a chemist, we don’t need any improvements in na-palm, and if you’re an engineer, we don’t need any more land mines. There are people who really feel strongly. Leon Lederman, [who was] head of [Fermilab] and got the Nobel Prize in physics, said, “So many years have passed and the human race is still saddled with enough nuclear weapons to destroy the planet. We must redouble our efforts to unify the science community against this huge stupidity.”

Scientists have enemies now out there who are trying to destroy science. It’s not just against evolution. It’s about truth. It’s much more fundamental. It’s about science, it’s about your culture, it’s about how children and adults should determine what is true. And therefore you have an enemy, the enemies who want to undermine the ability of young people and adults to find out what is actually true, on the basis of evidence. Don’t underes-timate that one.

Destroy the planet? It doesn’t look good. I look at the evidence. Four out of five [indi-cators] suggest ... that we’ve got a problem. Not only that, our children have a problem, and our grandchildren almost certainly seem to have a problem. I’m not sure. But I said almost certainly.

Harold Kroto, who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of buckminsterfullerene (the molecules commonly known as buckyballs), is a chemist at Florida State University in Tallahassee. His research interests extend from the microworld of nanoparticles to the chemistry of interstellar space. He also campaigns for a new vision of science education, emphasizing the responsibilities that scientists have for cooperating internationally to support efforts aimed at securing a sustainable future for the planet.


The Publication of theScience Teachers Association of Texas

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The Science Teachers Association of Texas (STAT) publishes two periodicals: TheStatellite andThe Texas Science Teacher.

• TheStatellite is the association’s newsletter with information and news from the STAT officers, as well as STAT Affiliates and Regional Directors. It contains continuing educational opportunites for science teachers, in-novative science activites, and other items of interest.

• The Texas Science Teacher is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes papers pertinent to science education from all fields of science and science teaching. Contributions can be research articles, research notes, book reviews, and essays of general scientific interest.

For Both Publications:All submitted material must be a significant original contribution not being considered elsewhere for publi-cation. Inform the editor if material included in the article is published on the web, as excessive duplication should be avoided and adequate links must be established. All manuscripts must be written in English.

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Dr. Joel Palmer, The Texas Science Teacher Editor at [email protected]

Include in the e-mail the author name(s), current e-mail and physical address(es), and a contact phone number. Indicate the publication for which the manuscript is submitted. Two referees (reviewers) and the edi-tor review all manuscripts. You will receive communication of original receipt and then of completed reviews. Submissions for both publications should follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Asso-ciation, Fifth Edition.

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Upon Acceptance - Return the edited manuscript as soon as possible as an e-mail attachment to the editor. The manuscript must be returned in strict adherence to the instructions you receive with your manuscript.

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