Training
Math and Science Teachers
at the Community College
Keith Clay
Green River CC
To find this presentation…
• Go to:
http://www.instruction.greenriver.edu/
kclay/bestpractices.htm
• Which is right…
 here 
The need:
Current shortages in Secondary Schools
Special Education 72%
Mathematics 51%
Science – Chemistry 44%
Science – Physics 38%
Science – Biology 38%
Music – Instrumental 36%
Early Childhood Special Education 33%
Music – Choral 31%
English as a Second Language 28%
Bilingual 18%
Japanese 10%
Educator Supply and Demand in Washington State
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
The issues:
• Half of our K-12 teachers begin college
education at a Community Colleges.
• Secondary science teachers need dual
majors: teaching + a science subject.
• Finishing in four years is difficult even
for well-advised university students.
• Many universities have disagreed over
courses CC students should take.
The goals:
• Consensus on courses for future HS
teachers during first years of college.
• Transferable 2-year degrees accepted
at teacher cert. schools in Washington.
• Programs within the reach of community
colleges and their students.
• Highly qualified CC grads on equal
footing with native university students.
The process:
• 2002: Math, science, and ed specialists
from 12 CCs met with counterparts from
WSU, WWU, CWU, and EWU.
• OSPI certification requirements were
reviewed for secondary math, biology,
chemistry, physics, geology, and
general science.
• University requirements were compared
with offerings at Washington CCs.
The process:
• Next 6 months:
Email flew fast and furious.
• Committee co-chair Skip Paznokas
(WSU) sought consensus among
university science and ed departments.
• Committee co-chair Keith Clay (GRCC)
worked toward consensus among CCs.
• Common ground was identified.
Idiosyncrasies were discouraged.
The process:
• Winter 2003: 2nd meeting took place.
• Five HS teaching degrees approved:
Math, Bio, Chem, Physics, Gen. Sci.
(Lack of consensus tabled Geology)
• Loretta Seppanen (SBCTC), Paznokas,
& Clay presented degrees to legislature.
• Spring 2003: Legislature approved.
The degrees: MATH
• Direct Transfer Associate (DTA or “AA”)
• 4 quarters calculus (through multivariate
calculus – 20 credits of calculus) &
linear algebra, and preferably calculus
based probability and statistics.
• 1 quarter Intro to Education, Speech,
Psych, Multicultural Ed (recommended),
2 quarters English, and remainder from
AA degree distribution areas.
The degrees: MATH
• The complete statewide agreement:
http://www.instruction.greenriver.edu/kclay/articulation/AssocMathEd.pdf
• What it looks like at GRCC:
http://www.greenriver.edu/catalog/AMDegree.htm
(Don’t copy this down.
You already have the links.)
The degrees: BIOLOGY
• Associate of Science (AS-T)
• 90 to 105 credits! No elective.
• 2 quarters calculus, 1 qtr. statistics,
3 qtrs. biology, 6 qtrs. chemistry, 3 qtrs.
physics (recommended).
• 1 quarter Intro to Education, Speech,
Psych, Multicultural Ed (recommended),
2 quarters English.
The degrees: BIOLOGY
• The complete statewide agreement:
http://www.instruction.greenriver.edu/kclay/articulation/AssocBioEd.pdf
• What it looks like at GRCC:
http://www.greenriver.edu/catalog/AssociateBiologyEducation.htm
(Don’t copy this down.
You already have the links.)
The degrees: CHEMISTRY
• Associate of Science (AS-T)
• 90 credits. No elective.
• 2 quarters calculus & 1 qtr. stat or calc,
6 qtrs. chemistry, 3 qtrs. physics.
• 1 quarter Intro to Education, Speech,
Psych, Multicultural Ed (recommended),
2 quarters English.
The degrees: CHEMISTRY
• The complete statewide agreement:
http://www.instruction.greenriver.edu/kclay/articulation/AssocChemEd.pdf
• What it looks like at GRCC:
http://www.greenriver.edu/catalog/AssociateChemistryEducation.htm
(You have the links.)
The degrees: PHYSICS
• Associate of Science (AS-T)
• 89 credits? No real elective.
• 4 quarters calculus, 3 qtrs. physics, 2
qtrs. chemistry, linear algebra, diff. eq.,
computer programming
• 1 quarter Intro to Education, Speech,
Psych, Multicultural Ed (recommended),
2 quarters English.
The degrees: PHYSICS
• The complete statewide agreement:
/www.instruction.greenriver.edu/kclay/articulation/AssocPhysicsEd.pdf
• What it looks like at GRCC:
http://www.greenriver.edu/catalog/AssociatePhysicsEducation.htm
(You have the links.)
The degrees: GENERAL SCIENCE
•
•
•
•
Associate of Science (AS-T)
85 - 90 credits. One elective?
3 quarters calculus, 3 qtrs. statistics,
Three of the following four: 3 qtrs phys,
3 qtrs chem, 3 qtrs bio, or 2 qrts geol.
• 1 quarter Intro to Education, Speech,
Psych, Multicultural Ed (recommended),
2 quarters English.
The degrees: GENERAL SCIENCE
• The complete statewide agreement:
/www.instruction.greenriver.edu/kclay/articulation/AssocGenSciEd.pdf
• What it looks like at GRCC:
http://www.greenriver.edu/catalog/AssociateGeneralScienceEducation.htm
(You have the links.)
The degrees: GENERAL SCIENCE
Lest it escape your notice:
• There is no math or science on the
general science requirement list beyond
what is offered at a typical CC.
• Articulated 2ndary teaching programs
could be created with students doing
ALL math & science studies at a CC.
• Satellite programs could confer HS
teaching certificates on a CC campus!
Tentative degree: GEOLOGY
• Associate of Science (AS-T)
• 90 - 100 credits? No elective.
• 2 quarters pre-calc (?), 2 quarters
calculus, 1 qtr. statistics.
• 2 qrts geology, 1-3 qtrs earth science,
3 qtrs chem, 2-3 qtrs phys, 0-1 qtr bio.
• 1 quarter Intro to Education, Speech,
Psych, Multicultural Ed (recommended),
2 quarters English.
The degrees: GEOLOGY
• Questions:
– Omit mention pre-calc and let
students make it up on their own?
– Or specify it as part of the degree, making
the total requirement 100 credits?
• Meetings will resume fall 2007.
(Keith Clay and Leslie H-N will be there)
• Not yet adopted at GRCC or elsewhere.
Challenges: Implementation
What barriers separate your school from
these degrees?
• Teaching loads? Class offerings?
• Administration? Coding of degrees?
• Advising? Identification of students?
Challenges: The Students
Choose your career:
Career:
High School
Physics Teacher
Engineer
First 2 years of
college
AS – Option 2
(math, sci, other)
APP
(math, science)
Last 2 years of
college
Complete major +
Education courses
Complete major
Starting Salary
$30,000
$60,000
Challenges: The Students
So why do they do it?
• Most elementary teachers chose their
careers while still in elementary school.
• Most high school science teachers
chose their careers during their junior or
senior years of college.
Challenges: The Students
A future math or science teacher is:
• A student with a lifelong goal of
secondary teaching (rare)
• A pre-med or pre-engineer who may
have second thoughts (maybe not yet!)
• A gifted scientist and communicator
without the mindset to do research.
It could be anybody in our classrooms!
Challenges: Their Teachers (us)
How do we teach our students?
• Are we teaching as well as we want
them to teach our kids?
• Do college faculty understand teaching
methodologies? Inquiry? Modeling?
• Can students take what they see in our
classrooms and use it in theirs?
A “no” doesn’t solve our problems.
Challenges: Their Classes
What do we teach our students?
• Which of the following courses is more
useful to a future HS physics teacher?
– 3 dimensional vector calculus
– Earth science or meteorology
Which one is required?
Challenges: Their Classes
What do we teach our students?
• Which one is more valuable skill for a
brand new HS chemistry teacher?
– Use of state-of-the-art instrumentation?
– Networking a cheap computer lab?
Which one do we teach?
Challenges: Their Classes
What do we teach our students?
• Which does a newly minted science
teacher need to know how to write?
– A lab report with multivariate statistical
analysis of variance?
– A grant proposal to Bill and Melinda
Gates?
Which one do we teach?
The CC Advantage: Low Inertia
• Community Colleges lack structural
separations between “schools” of
science and education.
• Community College education and
science departments are usually small
and (hopefully) quick to adapt.
• Community College faculty typically
view education as their primary duty.
Question:
If half of our teachers get their relevant math
and science from CCs…
If CC grads are no longer restricted to only 90
transfer credits…
If teacher certification institutions are creating
satellite programs on CC campuses…
…should Community Colleges continue to
think of themselves as the tail that is
wagged by the dog?
…or are CCs in a position to change the
ways in which our teachers are trained?
The Mission:
“A large percentage of prospective teachers
begin their education in two-year colleges.
These institutions, with their clear
commitment to teaching and with so many
prospective teachers as students, must be
more significant partners in the system of
teacher preparation.”
Shaping the Future
The National Science Foundation
QUESTIONS?