Teacher Candidate Perspectives Kenneth Mellendorf Illinois Central College

Survey of Illinois State University PTE Majors Conducted by Carl Wenning, ISU Physics Survey responses from 24 of 33 PTE majors 73 questions about influences on decision: –to become a teacher in general (24) –to become a physics teacher in particular (20) –to attend Illinois State University (29) Will not address reasons for attending ISU

Possible Responses +2 = Strong positive influence +1 = weak positive influence 0 = no influence or not applicable 0 = no influence or not applicable -1 = weak negative influence -1 = weak negative influence -2 = strong negative influence -2 = strong negative influence

Interpreting an Example Data reported as: Factor (Influence) Good overall grade point average (0.12) Factor = Good overall grade point average Influence = 0.12 (very slight, almost non- existent positive influence) Note that all pertinent data are available on a handout to be provided.

Top Ten Reasons for Becoming a Teacher in General 1. experiences with teaching others (1.71) 2. experiences with good teachers (1.62) 3. chance to make difference in world (1.42) 4. ready job mobility (1.37) 5. nine-month work schedule with summer vacation (1.37)

Top Ten Reasons for Becoming a Teacher in General Continued… 6. my desire to good for others (1.37) 7. opportunity to be creative (1.33) 8. the high esteem that I hold for teachers (1.29) 9. the growing need for teachers (1.25) 10. consistent with my natural abilities (1.21)

Only Negative Influences on Becoming a Teacher in General 24. teacher salaries (-.38) 23. recommendation of a school counselor (-.25)

Top Ten Reasons for Becoming a Physics Teacher in Particular 1. experiences with a high school physics teacher (1.71) 2. my interest in physics in particular (1.67) 3. experience with a high school physics course (1.50) 4. applicability of physics to every-day life (1.21) 5. interest in science in general (1.08)

Top Ten Reasons for Becoming a Physics Teacher Continued… 6. my experiences with physics demonstrations (1.08) 7. my experiences with physics labs (1.08) 8. ability to apply my good math skills (1.00) 9. good grades in physics (0.96) 10. my experiences with technology (0.71)

Surprisingly Low Reasons for Becoming a Physics Teachers 11. recommendation of a high school physics teacher (0.62) 14. recommendation of parent/guardian (0.46) 16. recommendation of friends (0.29) 19. taking an AP physics course (0.21) 20. recommendation of a school counselor (0.00)

Conclusions 1 Good experiences with physics & physics teachers are the #1 reasons for becoming a physics teacher Working with others has a strong positive influence Teacher candidates are altruistic Finding a job, having mobility and summer vacation are key factors in employment decision Seeing the broad applicability of physics to real- world situations has a small positive influence

Conclusions 2 Parents and friends have surprisingly small amounts of influence on the decision. Good high school physics grades only seem to make a slight difference on the decision. Overall grades have essentially no effect. Taking an AP Physics course has little positive impact. Publicly available information (web, magazines) has almost negligible influence on the decision.

Implications…. High school physics teachers probably aren’t having the positive impact they could or should. School counselors should be more gainfully employed.

Recommendations….