Transcript WACTE & Future Opportunities October 30, 2008 Context • Heavy focus on K-12 standards and assessments for past 15 years • Policymakers are increasingly focused on instructional effectiveness and.

WACTE &
Future
Opportunities
October 30, 2008
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Context
•
Heavy focus on K-12 standards and assessments for
past 15 years
•
Policymakers are increasingly focused on instructional
effectiveness and supports
•
Basic Education Funding Task Force: new
compensation and professional development systems
•
New requirements on top of existing shortages in math
and science
•
Renewed interest among external stakeholders
(business, philanthropy)
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Where should the focus be?
Addressing fragmented
policies & programs
Shoring up foundation
Expectations & Measures
Standards
- Rigorous
- Balanced
Curriculum
-Core 24
- State
curriculum
- Aligned
materials
Assessments
-Statewide
- End of course
- Classroom
based
Teaching Capacity & Innovation
Recruitment
- Financial
incentives
- Traditional
routes
- Alternative
routes
Induction
- Mentoring
- More swimming,
less sinking
Training
- Preservice
-Credentialing
- Inservice
- Professional
development
School Models
- Aviation High
School
- High Tech High
Retention
- Pathways
- Professional
Learning
Communities
- Money
Accountability
- Data system
- Evaluation
Time
- Money
- Flexibility
- Creativity
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Barriers
Capacity-building initiatives are not well aligned:
•
Lack of a coherent system for supporting the entry,
development and retention of quality staff
•
Lack of coherence across multiple initiatives or
programs to sustain an orderly, organized strategy for
school change
(NWREL 2008)
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Math and science
•
Get the fundamentals in place: Implement new math
and science standards, curriculum and materials;
create incentives for their use
•
Expand and strengthen teaching corps: Recruit and
support teachers with high-quality, aligned professional
development
•
Stimulate innovation: Create enabling conditions for
schools and communities to innovate and leverage
local STEM sector resources
•
Implement a STEM initiative: Catalyze investments and
systemic change linked to economic development
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Goals
Higher levels of K-12 math and science learning
and achievement
More low-income and minority students enter
and succeed in college-level STEM disciplines
Economic development and talent for highdemand STEM industries
Why STEM?
STEM pedagogy rests on inquiry and project-based
learning and gives students the content knowledge and
interdisciplinary tools to solve problems. The next
generation faces vexing problems—such as health care,
clean energy and mounting national debt—that can be
solved if young people have the ability to create, design,
innovate and think critically.
STEM is also the foundation of the integrated global
economy and offers individual success and prosperity.
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1. Provide high-quality statewide
resources and technical assistance
• Make content-rich and project/inquiry-based
standards, curriculum and materials widely available
• Identify gaps in service delivery and inefficiencies
• Support high-priority areas including principal &
administrator leadership for math, science and STEM
• Leverage and increase impact of existing programs
(e.g. LASER, MESA, TMP)
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2. Accelerate teacher recruitment
and support
• Design and implement teacher recruitment campaign
for undergraduates and career-changers
• Support innovative teacher credentialing (new
alternative routes, new STEM endorsement)
• Enable innovative teacher induction
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3. Empower innovation through STEM
• Aggregate local resources through RFP process
(voluntary, opt-in, flexible but anchored in a common
framework of principles and practice)
• Fund locally-driven consortia of colleges/universities;
community/technical colleges; school districts and
ESDs; corporate partners; evidence-based programs
• Support school designs built on math and science
themes for underrepresented students
• Provide college scholarships and supports for
underrepresented students to pursue STEM disciplines
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WACTE Strategic Goals
Improve learning for all students in WA by promoting high
quality professional education programs.
Supply and sustain highly qualified educators, especially in
high-need areas.
Develop professional education programs that are
responsive to the world’s changing possibilities and
challenges.
Work collaboratively with policymakers and constituents to
influence education policy.
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North Cascades and Olympic Science
Partnership (NCOSP)
•
Western Washington University, 28 school districts, two
ESDs, four community colleges, LASER, Naval Undersea
Museum, MESA
•
Professional development, curriculum materials,
development and support of learning communities
•
Emphasis on diversity of new teachers and improving
preparation
NCOSP focuses on changing fundamental ideas about science
subject matter, teaching and learning. It promotes “learning
through thinking” that reflects growth in student understanding
over time and sustainable student achievement.
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“It is difficult to take the notion of teacher
professionalism seriously when teachers
lack the time and support necessary to
act professional.”
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Initiate Leadership in Four Areas
1. Take a visible lead on math and science issues
2. Support new teacher induction
3. Communicate lessons learned about Standard V
4. Engage directly with the business community
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Area #1: Visible Lead on Math and
Science
Clarify the problem
• Incomplete data on the number of math teachers
needed to implement the new third year math
requirement
• Most COEs are undersubscribed in math and
science
• PESB is working to quantify the demand
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Area #1: Visible Lead on Math and
Science
Help advance innovative recruitment and preparation
• Improve and accelerate existing alternative routes
• Create a targeted recruitment campaign for math
and science
• Keep some of 1,000 undergraduates in WA who
apply to Teach for America and leave the state to
become corps members (?)
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Visible Lead on Math and Science
• Identify the flexibility and incentives needed to
improve the mix of candidates & counsel or recruit
students into high demand endorsement areas
• What changes would incentivize the right mix?
• Support quality “retooling” strategies to help
teachers pursue math and science endorsements
(e.g. Renton School District and Seattle University)
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Area #2: New Teacher Induction
• Center for Strengthening the Teacher Profession
(CSTP) has proposed a comprehensive induction
program for new teachers
• CSTP plans to take forth a legislative proposal in the
2009 session to expand the program to all new
teachers
• Potential area for collaboration?
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Area #3: Lessons Learned about
Standard V
• Standard V makes a powerful statement about the
quality and accountability for results – something
WACTE members strongly supports philosophically
• Significantly higher command of sophisticated
teaching strategies and will be difficult to implement
and measure “success”
• Communicate about these issues to legislators and
other stakeholders focused on increasing
accountability for results
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Area #4: Engage Directly with the
Business Community
• Major businesses and private sector funders are
planning a statewide STEM (science, technology,
engineering and mathematics) initiative that will
emphasize high-quality, content-rich resources,
professional development and technical assistance
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Advancing math & science in
Washington
•
Washington needs a game-changing strategy to
significantly improve math and science achievement
•
The strategy needs to be deployed with urgency,
dynamic leadership and powerful investments
•
The focus must be on building STEM capacity for
students, teachers and schools
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Discussion &
Questions
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Marc Frazer
[email protected]
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