CURRENT ISSUES

Science and Mathematics Competency is a Growing Concern

Teacher Professional Continuum(TPC)-NSF Goals include:

• Understanding issues related to high quality teaching, with specific attention to the interplay of subject matter knowledge and pedagogy for new and experienced teachers
• Recognizing the importance of the relationship between teacher education (pre-service and in-service) and student achievement
  

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Scientific literacy is of increasing importance in the workplace

• More and more jobs require that people be able to learn, reason, think creatively, make decisions, and solve problems
• An understanding of science and the processes of science contributes in an essential way to these skills
• Other countries are investing heavily to create scientifically and technically literate work forces
• To keep pace in global markets, the United States needs to have an equally capable citizenry

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Rising Above the Gathering Storm, NAP, 2006

In a world where advanced knowledge is widespread and low-cost labor is readily available, U.S. advantages in the marketplace and in science and technology have begun to erode. A comprehensive and coordinated federal effort is urgently needed to bolster U.S. competitiveness and pre-eminence in these areas.

This congressionally requested report by a pre-eminent committee makes four recommendations along with 20 implementation actions that federal policy-makers should take to create high-quality jobs and focus new science and technology efforts on meeting the nation's needs, especially in the area of clean, affordable energy:

1. Increase America's talent pool by vastly improving K-12 mathematics and science education.
2. Sustain and strengthen the nation's commitment to long-term basic research.
3. Develop, recruit, and retain top students, scientists, and engineers from both the U.S. and abroad.
4. Ensure that the United States is the premier place in the world for innovation.

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Science Teaching Standards

The science teaching standards describe what teachers of science at all grade levels should know and be able to do. They are divided into six areas:

1. The planning of inquiry-based science programs.
2. The development of environments that enable students to learn science.
3. The creation of communities of science learners.
4. The planning and development of the school science program.
5. The actions taken to guide and facilitate student learning.
6. The assessments made of teaching and student learning.