. . Date: Fri, 1 Apr 2011 10:07:38 -0700 From: Richard Hake <rrhake@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Reply-To: Net-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To: PHYSLRNR@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Cc: AERA-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Net-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [Net-Gold] The Failure of Higher Education to Properly Educate Elementary School Teachers . . If you reply to this long (10 kB) post please don't hit the reply button unless you prune the copy of this post that may appear in your reply down to a few relevant lines, otherwise the entire already archived post may be needlessly resent to subscribers. . ************************************************* . ABSTRACT: In his PhysLrnR post William Robertson asked (paraphrasing) "Is the fact that there's such a small percentage of elementary school teachers who can operate at Piaget's formal level due in large part to how we have conducted science education at all levels? . In my opinion the answer is "YES! But the primary culprit is Higher Education." . Physicist Don Langenberg <http://bit.ly/gRxINE> put it succinctly: "Although we in higher education are very skillful at ignoring the obvious, it is gradually dawning on some of us that we bear a substantial part of the responsibility for this sad situation [the state of K-12 education]." . ************************************************ . William Robertson (2011), in his PhysLrnR post "Re: WOW! - Piaget" wrote: . "And the question is: Is the reason for that percentage. . . .[[of elementary school teachers who can operate at Piaget's formal level]]. . . . being very small due in large part to how we have conducted science education at all levels?" . In my opinion, the answer is "YES! But the primary culprit is Higher Education." . An essay "The General Population's Ignorance of Science Related Societal Issues: A Challenge for the University" [Hake (2000)] is based on an earlier libretto with the leitmotiv: "The road to U.S. science literacy begins with effective university science courses for pre-college teachers." The opera dramatizes the fact that the failure of universities *throughout the universe* to properly educate pre-college teachers is responsible for our failure to observe any signs of either terrestrial or extraterrestrial intelligence. . Consistent with the above, in "Changing the Culture of Science Education at Research Universities #2" [Hake (2011)] I wrote [bracketed by lines "HHHHHH. . . . .": . HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH . ". . . .according to a report in "Inside Higher Ed" by Stephanie Lee (2009), Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation, said: "The quality of math and science learning at colleges and universities ultimately begins with solid instruction at the K-12 level. While higher education remains strong, it is clear it cannot continue without a strong foundation." . "Steve" in his comment "Higher Education Responsibility" at <http://bit.ly/eeQUAU> wrote: . "From experience I know that the quality of math and science learning at colleges and universities ultimately DOES NOT begin with solid instruction at the K-12 level, it begins with the quality of math and science learning at colleges and universities. For far too long higher education has 'passed the buck' by not producing qualified teachers." . RIGHT ON, STEVE! The NSF's (1996) report "Shaping the Future" put it this way [my insert at ". . . . [[insert].] . . ."]: . "Many faculty in SME&T. . . .[[Science, Mathematics, Engineering, & Technology]]. . . at the postsecondary level continue to blame the schools for sending underprepared students to them. But, increasingly. . . .[[but not conspicuously]]. . . .the higher education community has come to recognize the fact that teachers and principals in the K-12 system are all people who have been educated at the undergraduate level, mostly in situations in which SME&T programs have not taken seriously enough their vital part of the responsibility for the quality of America's teachers." . In consonance with the above, physicist Don Langenberg (2001, p. 23) <http://bit.ly/gRxINE>, (at the time) Chancellor of the University of Maryland System, put it more succinctly: . "Although we in higher education are very skillful at ignoring the obvious, it is gradually dawning on some of us that we bear a substantial part of the responsibility for this sad situation [the state of K-12 education]." . . . Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University Honorary Member, Curmudgeon Lodge of Deventer, The Netherlands President, PEdants for Definitive Academic References which Recognize the Invention of the Internet (PEDARRII) <rrhake@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake> <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi> <http://HakesEdStuff.blogspot.com> <http://iub.academia.edu/RichardHake> . . . ". . . I know from both experience and research that the teacher is at the heart of student learning and school improvement by virtue of being the classroom authority and gatekeeper for change. Thus the preparation, induction, and career development of teachers remain the Archimedean lever for both short- and long-term improvement of public schools." Larry Cuban (2003) in "Why Is It So Hard To Get Good Schools?" (page 1) . . REFERENCES [All URL's accessed on 01 April 2011; some shortened by <http://bit.ly/>.] BHEF. 2001. Business - Higher Education Forum (a partnership of the American Council on Education and the National Alliance of Business), Winter, "Sharing Responsibility: How Leaders in Business and Higher Education Can Improve America's Schools" online as a 248 kB pdf at <http://bit.ly/fgnu5q> . . . Cuban, L. 2003. "Why Is It So Hard To Get Good Schools?" Teachers College Press, publisher's information at <http://bit.ly/gSn3P2>. Amazon.com information at <http://amzn.to/gvxHIb>. Note the "Look Inside" feature. . Hake, R.R. 2000. "The General Population's Ignorance of Science Related Societal Issues: A Challenge for the University," AAPT Announcer 30(2): 105; online as a 2.1 MB pdf at <http://bit.ly/9LxKOL>. . Hake, R.R. 2011. "Changing the Culture of Science Education at Research Universities #2," online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at <http://bit.ly/gZSf8W>. Post of 6 Mar 2011 15:16:50 -0800 to AERA-L & Net-Gold. The abstract and link to the complete post were transmitted to various discussion lists and are also online on my blog "Hake'sEdStuff" at <http://bit.ly/dYSgww> with a provision for comments. . Langenberg, D. 2001. Quoted on page 23 of BHEF (2001) at <http://bit.ly/fgnu5q>. . Lee, S. 2009."'Mobilization' for Math and Science Education," Inside Higher Ed, 11 June; online at <http://bit.ly/g55daF>. . NSF. 1996. "Shaping the Future: New Expectations for Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology," A Report on its Review of Undergraduate Education by the Advisory Committee to the NSF, chaired by Melvin George, online at <http://1.usa.gov/fs0cOU>. Also online as a Google book preview at <http://bit.ly/efLkDE>. This report is one of the few that emphasizes the crucial role of higher education in determining the quality of K-12 education. . Robertson, W. 2011. "Re: WOW! - Piaget," PhysLrnR post of 31 Mar 2011 21:28:22 -0600, online on the PhysLrnR archives at <http://bit.ly/gPEizx>. To access the archives of PhysLnR one needs to subscribe, but that takes only a few minutes by clicking on <http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/physlrnr.html> and then clicking on "Join or leave the list (or change settings)." If you're busy, then subscribe using the "NOMAIL" option under "Miscellaneous." Then, as a subscriber, you may access the archives and/or post messages at any time, while receiving NO MAIL from the list! . .