Teaching K-12 Teachers to Teach a New Curriculum

Harry Shipman

Associate Director, DESGC

September 8, 2008

Main points of this talk

• DESGC contributions to 4th and 8th grade professional development courses for teachers

• The astronomical context: a coordinated, standards-based curriculum from grades 1 through 12

• The bigger context: a statewide, standards-based science curriculum for grades K-12

• The evidence: our kit-based curriculum reform has worked!

Space Grant involvement (so far…)

• 4th grade: provision of materials, sources of posters, etc. as part of our training for the “Skywatchers” unit. Training so far has reached 150 teachers.

• 8th grade: support for Delaware-developed unit which deals with the weaknesses of the FOSS “Planetary Systems” kit

Space Grant involvement so far…

• 9th grade: work with Delaware’s math teachers (what a thought!) in developing 9th grade mini-unit on the origin of the earth and solar system.

• This has led to planning for a statewide workshop next summer on integrating math and science, building on the success of 6 years’ meeting of MASST (Math and Science Specialist Team)

The Astronomical Context

Delaware standards, developed in 1995 and revised in 2005 with significant involvement of DESG Associate Director, include astronomy, called “earth in space,” as one of eight major strands in the standards.

The Astronomical Context

• 1st grade: mini-unit on observations of objects in the night sky. The Moon as the only sky object that changes shape.

• 4th grade: 2-week unit, “Skywatchers,” purchased from Carolina Biological. Moon phases are described and sequenced.

• 8th grade: full 6-week unit, “Planetary Systems,” that includes space travel and planetary properties as well as lunar phases, seasons, tides…..

The Astronomical Context, continued…

• 9th grade: 2 week unit on origin of the solar system, that connects to chemistry (isotopes and density), physics (gravity), and pertinent math topics (linear relationships, exponential decay)

• 12th grade: a half-year course on astrobiology, currently in development, coupled with a course on ecosystems.

The Science Education Context

• Starting in 1995, major, statewide effort to transform science teaching in Delaware schools to a coordinated curriculum based on student activities, inquiry, and curriculum kits.*

*Shipman, Harry. (2004). “Systemic Change in Delaware and Its Use of NASA-Generated Materials.” In Carolyn Narasimhan, Bernhard Beck-Winshatz, Isabel Hawkins, and Cassandra Runyon, eds., NASA Office of Space Science Education and Public Outreach Conference, ASP Conference Series, vol. 319 (San Francisco, CA: Astronomical Society of the Pacific), pp. 88-93.

Science Education Context

• Alignment of standards, curriculum, and topics in the state’s high stakes test.

• Teachers don’t get kits unless they have participated in professional development that supports the kits.

• Membership in the Delaware Science Coalition means that kits are centrally purchased and supplied to the teachers.

Science Education Context

• Where commercially or NASA-supported kits or other materials exist, we use them.

• By the time we got to middle school, the state had to develop some of its own materials, often involving faculty from University of Delaware, Delaware State University, and Delaware Technical and Community College.

Has This worked?

• Delaware Student Testing Program data:

• In spring of 2001, where materials were only sporadically used in middle school, 41.69 % of the 8065 tested students met or exceeded the standard in science

• In spring of 2007, where kit development was complete through grade 8 and materials were used statewide, 58.43% of the 9758 tested students met or exceeded the standard in science.

• Because of the very large N, this result is significant at an absurdly high statistical level (approximately 40 sigma).

NAEP data

• NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress)

• 1996: 51% of Delaware students perform at levels of Basic and above in science. 2005: 63 % of Delaware students perform at levels of Basic and above.

• This is the largest gain in this time period for any state in the US.

Summary

• Astronomy is back in the K-12 curriculum.

• It is part of a statewide, coordinated science curriculum, which in astronomy and all sciences builds on previous student understandings developed at prior grade levels.

• Delaware tests and national tests validate that this curriculum reform has worked.