NSTA New Science Teacher Academy

The NSTA Learning Center

"The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown in this presentation are not intended as an endorsement by the U. S. Department of Education."

Mission:To promote excellence and innovation in Science Teaching and Learning for All

The National Science Teachers Association

• Membership, over 60,000• NSTA Press• Advocacy• Professional Programs

– Conferences, 4/yr– Professional Development– The NSTA Learning Center

The National Science Teachers Association

Damaries BlondonvilleSenior Director

Professional Development

As we prepare for the 21st Century, the United States is facing a shortage of students who pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) this includes candidates with STEM backgrounds to teach in our K-12 schools.

The Business-Higher Education Forum found that our nation will need 280,000 new mathematics and science teachers by 2015.STEMing the Teacher Shortage Tide National Association for Alternative Certification November 2009

Critical Need for Science Educators

Goals:

• Increase new teachers’ knowledge of available science teaching and professional resources;

• Increase new teachers’ confidence in their ability to teach science;

• Increase new teachers’ feeling of being part of a community of science teaching professionals; and

• Increase the likelihood that new teachers will stay in the science teaching profession.

Unlike other existing programs, NSTA is focusing on keeping science teachers in the profession

New Science Teacher Academy

Who is Eligible?

Applicants must reside in the United States (all other US jurisdictions are also eligible)

Applicant must be entering their second or third year of teaching

Applicants must be working a schedule with 51 percent of their classes in middle or high school science

New Science Teacher Academy: Demographics

•612 total Fellows have participated in the three years of the program•The average distribution of Fellows from Years 1-3 across communities of schools is: Rural 21%, Suburban 41%, and Urban 38% *(Information not obtained from Year 4 Fellows to date)

Department of Defense Schools

1 – Turkey

1 - Korea

Demographic Data of FellowsPercent of Fellows

2007Overall Fellows

(N=200)

2008Overall Fellows

(N=166)

2009Overall Fellows

(N=155)

GenderMale Female

1882

2278

2773

EthnicityHispanic or LatinoNot Hispanic or LatinDeclined to Answer

5888

7932

694*

Race WhiteAsianAmerican Indian or Alaskan

NativeBlack or African AmericanNative Hawaiian or Pacific

IslanderDeclined to Answer

786321

12

9231404

897141*

This unique year long program provides the following:

• Online one-to-one interaction with an experienced teacher as mentor, as well as wide-ranging discussions online with a community of other Fellows and mentors (32 hrs);

• Participate in focused face-to-face professional development at the national conference (24 hrs);

• NSTA membership (Journals, Books, Archives); and

• Participate in a variety of electronic, web-based PD events that include web seminars (6 hrs).

New Science Teacher Academy

On-going Professional Learning NSTA Membership- each participant receives a 1 year

membership to NSTA along with a year long subscription to “The Science Teacher (HS) or Science Scope (MS)” and Access to the Learning Center and other NSTA Resources

E-mentoring- provided by the New Teacher Center (this includes the fellow’s assignment to a content specific on-line mentor for the entire year)

Web seminars- Fellows participate in topic specific facilitated by specialist in the field of science teaching, acclaimed NSTA press

authors and university/college faculty

Supporting the Fellows: Conference Activities

Participate in Professional Development Institute (Wednesday Morning)

Attend Evening Reception/Conference Experience Presentation (Wednesday Evening)

Attend Pathway Sessions related to their PDI and/or other relevant sessions (Thursday & Friday)

Evaluation Confidence in Ability to Teach Science

The treatment group reported a change from 62.75% to 80.11% in comparison to the control group changed from 68.41% to only 71.01%.

Confidence to Manage the Learning EnvironmentThe treatment group reported a change from 69.44% to 80.48% in comparison to the control groups reported change from 72.38% to only 75.97%.

Confidence in Ability to Teach Students from Diverse BackgroundsThe treatment group reported a change from 60.15% to 71.36% in comparison to the controls group reported change from 62.36% to only 62.80%.

“Investigative" & “Reflective” Practices

In investigative instructional practices the treatment group reported an increase of investigative practices from 54.77% to 60.59% whereas, the control group reported a decline in use of investigative practices from 54.06% to 51.20%.

In reflective teaching practices the treatment group reported an increase in use of reflective teaching practices from 64.51% to 68.24% whereas, the control group showed a decline in the use of reflective teaching practices from 62.61% to 60.06%

Alumni Activities Administer the Alumni Survey -Winter of 2011

Keep in touch with the alumni to inquire about their teaching status

Assess the needs of alumni and refer them to the appropriate resources as they continue to grow in their profession

Establish the Alumni Communities Network –Winter of 2011

Offer web seminars on identified areas of need Offer additional professional development opportunities Offer opportunities for alumni to network at area and national

conferences and through online communities Provide opportunities for alumni to present at area and national

conferences. Beginning in February a Professional Development Web

Seminar Series will be offered. This will be based on the PDI Designing Effective Science Lessons

Another set of Web Seminars will be offered entitled “Pathways to Alumni: Teachers as a Professional”

New Science Teacher Academy: Fellows

“Had I tried to get through without the Academy, I would have burned out at this point in time.” (Fellow – 2008/2009)

“Participating in the NSTA New Science Teacher Academy helped renew my passion for teaching science. The increased level of support provided by the Academy enabled me to collaborate with fellow colleagues, learn about the latest instructional resources, and discover innovative teaching techniques, many of which I still utilize in my classroom daily.” (Fellow – 2007/2008)

2011-2012 Academy

Applications are now available at

www.nsta.org/academy

For any additional questions please contact

Damaries Blondonville, Senior Director of Professional Development at (

NSTAcademy@nsta.org) or 703-312-9206

Flavio MendezSenior Director

http://learningcenter.nsta.org

The NSTA Learning Center: Scalable and Sustainable e-Professional

Development

2010 National Education Technology Plan

Through online learning systems, teachers may enhance their learning through blending the best of onsite PD with online PD that provides immediacy, convenience, self-direction, and collaboration with other colleagues and experts via professional learning communities.

For teachers to effectively facilitate using interactive resources, learning systems, and connectedness to online communities, teachers need to experience it firsthand as part of their own learning and professional development.

US Department of Education (2010). Transforming American education: Powered by Technology. Washington, DC: Office of Educational Technology.

• A community to share ideas, ask questions, and earn points

• Practical tools to help teachers organize, personalize & document growth over time

• Over 6,000 resources

A Critical Piece of the Solution

Teacher

Teachers interact with peers and establish lasting relationships

Teachers have different roles and are recognized and rewarded for their contributions

Teachers participate in discussions using compelling content as context

Psycho-emotional

Content

Social

Building a Teacher-centered community

NSTAJournal Articles

TeacherPD Indexer

6,000+ Professional Development Resources and Opportunities

University Online Affiliates

NSTAe-Books and online Chapters

NSTA Symposia& PD Institutes

Regional/State Face-to-Face PD

connector

reminder

NSTASciGuides

document

NSTACertificate

My PD Plan & Portfolio

MyTranscript

MyLibrary

MyNotepad

MyCalendar

NSTA SciPacks and Science Objects

SearchEngine

OnlineFilters

connector

connecto

rNSTA Web Seminars

NSTA Online Short Courses

School Report

If District or State Partnership: Everything except books and online short courses are free to teachers @ $100 /teacher/year

Three Ways For Accessing Content as Individual

Free to All1,800+ resources!

Free forMembers only

Fee to AllMember discount

Science Objects Journal Articles (2/month/Journal) e-Book Chapters (selected) Web Seminars Seminar Archives/Podcasts All Learning Center Tools

All Journal Articles Selected e-Books

SciPacks SciGuides Conferences and events at conferences NSTA Books e-Books and e-Book Chapters NSTA Online Short Courses

Accountability System for States, Districts, and Schools

• Chicago Public Schools, IL

• New York City Public Schools, NY

• Fairfax County Public Schools, VA

• Arlington County Public Schools, VA

• Cincinnati Public Schools, OH

• Jefferson County Public Schools, Louisville, KY

• Atlanta Public Schools, GA

• Galveston County Public Schools, TX

• Oregon Science Teachers Association

• Prince George’s County Public Schools, MD

• University of Texas at Tyler, TX

• Central Valley Science Project, Fresno, CA

• CEMSS (CaMSP), Orange County, CA

Implementation Partnerships

Representative testimonials from Learning Center users:

“I like that the Learning Center provides tailor made PD. By providing an initial assessment of content knowledge and then suggesting resources, it allows teachers to self-assess in a safe and constructive way. I think this is invaluable, especially for teachers that may be teaching a content in which they are inexperienced.” Fairfax, VA

“I like the fact that the Learning Center has a variety of resources, some that do not take much time to others that are more in depth learning.” Alexandria, VA

“I am finding the NSTA discussion groups very helpful. People are really coming forward with suggestions, articles, etc. You can also get help for a very specific topic in a timely fashion.” Chicago, IL

“I absolutely love the NSTA Learning Center. I have gained so much information and I wish others would take the time to see what it is all about.” Atlanta, GA

Research and DisseminationThree Recent Studies

• Quasi-experimental design study across 3 districts finding significant gains in teacher content knowledge. (2008)

• One 2 pretest-posttest delayed-treatment control group design with random assignment finds significant gains in teacher content knowledge, teacher self-efficacy, and students’ learning for grades 5-8 in treatment group. (2010)

• One descriptive study underway (dissertation research) finds significant gains in teacher learning for pre-posttest and pretest-final assessment for 103 teachers in grades 3-6. (2010)

Collaborators

Damaries BlondonvilleSenior Director

Professional Development703-312-9206

dblondonville@nsta.org

Flavio MendezSenior Director

The NSTA Learning Center703-312-9250

fmendez@nsta.org

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown in this

presentation are not intended as an endorsement by the U. S. Department of

Education.