Board on science education A National Perspective on K-16 STEM Education: Current Trends and Pressing Problems Heidi Schweingruber Director, Board on Science Education

The National Academies A non-governmental organization (NGO) Founded in 1863 Bring together committees of experts in all areas of scientific and technological endeavor Address critical national issues and give advice to the federal government and the public NAS is not a federal governmental agency Work based on experts and evidence NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE

Board on Science Education (BOSE) K-12 Higher Ed Informal

National Reforms in K-12 & Higher Education are Driven by Insights on Learning

Learners actively construct their knowledge Expertise is more than knowing a lot of facts

To learn science and mathematics students need to DO science and mathematics Need to think carefully about sequencing Relevance and interest matter

Three-Dimensional Learning What is new? Central role of scientific practices Organized around crosscutting concepts & core explanatory ideas Organized in learning progressions

Three Dimensions Scientific and Engineering Practices 1. Asking questions and defining problems 2. Developing and using models 3. Planning and carrying out investigations 4. Analyzing and interpreting data 5. Using mathematics and computational thinking 6. Constructing explanations and designing solutions 7. Engaging in arguments from evidence 8. Obtaining, evaluating and communicating information Crosscutting Concepts Patterns Cause and effect Scale proportion and quantity Systems and system models Energy and matter Structure and function Stability and change Disciplinary Core Ideas • Physical Sciences • Life Sciences • Earth and Space Sciences • Engineering, Technology, and the Applications of Science

In Higher Education Evidence-based instruction “Active learning”/ student-centered instruction Engaging students in meaningful tasks Frequent formative assessment Encouraging reflection

Important Questions about Instruction How to sequence activities – when lecture/telling is appropriate, when group work is appropriate, when individual work is appropriate? What scaffolds are needed and when they can be faded? Common misconceptions or errors and how to deal with them How to incorporate technology How to build in assessments

Changing Classroom Instruction

Teachers’ Preparation Teachers’ backgrounds in science and mathematics varies by school level. Percent of college degrees Elementary Middle High Science or Science Ed. 5% 41% 82% Math or Math Ed. 4% 35% 73%

Supporting Teachers’ Learning: K-12 Characteristics of effective learning experiences for teachers: content-focus active participation of teachers who engage in the analysis of examples of effective instruction and of student work, alignment with district policies and practices, and sufficient duration to allow repeated practice and/or reflection on classroom experiences.

Supporting Teachers’ Learning: K-12 Shift from a focus on individual teachers to building collective capacity Create job-embedded supports for learning and opportunities for collaboration Cultivate teacher leadership

Higher Ed What are the features of effective professional development for faculty? Is there a parallel to “collective capacity” and “job embedded” in higher ed? What are the roles of the department, the school, or the institution? How might solutions or effectiveness vary by type of institutions? Tension about how to make instruction a priority – promotion and tenure

Changing Instruction in a Complex System

Coherence

Curriculum Instructional materials development Materials selection Support for implementation – Professional development and other resources State and district policy decisions

Assessment Classroom assessment Accountability systems State and district assessments College entrance, placement practices

In Higher Ed – What is “the system”? How to think about systemic change in higher education Department level Across an institution Across all institutions of a particular type (community college, liberal arts college, HBCU, Research I university) Across all types of institutions in higher education

Example -- AAU Framework Pedagogy Articulated learning goals Assessments Educational practices Access Scaffolding Professional development Resources Data Facilities Cultural change Leadership Measures of teaching excellence Incentives

Open questions about systemic change Scaling up innovations vs. innovating at scale How to make sense of contextual differences and variations in implementation Pros and cons of bottom-up vs. top-down New models for research-practice partnership -- Networked Improvement Communities and Design Based Intervention Research

Major Systemic Challenge: Equity

Equity in K-12

NAEP: The Nation’s Report Card The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) -- nationally representative measure of achievement in various subjects (since 1969). Administered to 4th, 8th and 12th graders (scores range from 0 to 300) Four science practices are defined in the framework in addition to the science content areas. These four practices—identifying science principles, using science principles, using scientific inquiry, and using technological design—describe how students use their science knowledge by measuring what they are able to do with the science content.

Fourth Grade NAEP Science (2015)

Fourth Grade NAEP Science (2015)

Equity in Instruction Recognizing cultural assets on which to build Attending to cultural, linguistic and other differences Providing all students with equitable opportunities to learn

Inequities in Quality of Instruction Students in high schools with lower percentages of non-Asian minority students spent more time with hands-on, manipulative or lab work (NRC, 2006). Teachers in high schools with higher percentages of non-Asian minority students were more likely to engage students in individually reading texts or completing worksheets (NRC, 2006).

Inequities in Teachers’ Backgrounds Students in high schools with higher concentrations of minority or poor students are more likely to be taught science by a teacher without a major or minor in the subject (US Dept of Ed, 2004). Science classes in high poverty schools are more likely than those in low poverty schools to be taught by teachers with 5 or fewer years of experience. (Banilower et al 2013)

Science course-taking by race/ethnicity Biology course Percent of students

Inequities in Course Offerings Fewer AP courses are offered in schools with higher percentages of low-income students, rural schools and small schools (Horizon Research, 2012). Only 66% of schools serving the highest percentages of black and Latino students offer chemistry and only 74% offer Algebra 2 (US Dept of Ed, Office of Civil Rights).

Equity in Higher Ed

Enrollment in Post-secondary

“Undermatching” Going to a four-year institution less demanding than one a student is qualified to attend, to a two-year college, or to no college at all. 59% of students in bottom quartile of SES; 27% of students in top quartile of SES 64% of students whose parents have no college education; 41% whose parents have college degrees; 31% whose parents have graduate degrees

Cumulative percentage of 2004 STEM aspirants who completed STEM degrees in 4, 5, and 6 years Completion rates vary considerably by race/ethnicity, gender, & STEM fields Overall students take more time for degree (only 22% complete STEM degree in 4 years) Within 6 years of entering college, 40% completed STEM degree Asian American students outpaced peers (52% earn STEM degree) White students lagged their Asian American counterparts (43% earn STEM degree) Historically underrepresented minorities lagged further 29% Hispanic, 25% American Indian, and 22% black aspirants earn STEM degree in 6 years Compared to ALL MAJORS earning degrees: 38% Hispanic, 51% American Indian, 41% black Source: Eagan et al., 2014 (Fig 7)

Supports for Diverse Students Improving instruction Attending to classroom culture Providing co-curricular supports Internships Summer bridge programs Student professional groups Peer tutoring Living and learning environments

STEM degrees in 2012 from Public, Private Nonprofit, and Private For-Profit, by students’ race and ethnicity For-Profits train diverse population of students who take varied pathways to STEM degree Half of all STEM credentials earned by black, Hispanic, & native Hawaiian & other Pacific Islanders were from for-profit institutions For-profit institutions typically attract students whose goal is to “get in, get out, and get a job” Recent analyses by U.S. Department of Education indicate that, in fall of 2013, students enrolled in for-profit institutions (both 2-year and 4-year and both full time and part time) were older than comparable students at nonprofit 2-year and 4-year institutions. Earlier data suggest that the majority of students at for-profit institutions work 35 or more hours per week (Ruch, 2001, p. 134). Source: Kinser, 2014

Percentage of all undergraduate STEM students with various debt levels by type of institution Proportion of students graduated 2007–2008 w/STEM bachelor’s degree w/more than $30,000 of debt (other than psychology & social sciences) Lowest debt rates among students at public research & master’s institutions Highest debt rates among students at for-profit 4-year institutions Source: Kirshtein, 2013c (p1)

Data Limitations Lack of national data on first-generation college students and low-income students Limited national data on transfer students (from 2- to 4-year), making it difficult to understand completion We do know there is significant “swirling”, no detailed data on which students are more likely to “swirl”

Information about BOSE & BOSE projects: http://nas Information about BOSE & BOSE projects: http://nas.edu/BOSE Access to all NRC publications: www.nap.edu