THE ROLE OF PROGRAM STANDARDS FOR SCIENCE TEACHER PREPARATION IN REALIZING THE VISION OF THE FRAMEWORK FOR K-12 SCIENCE EDUCATION (Invited Presentation)

With the release of A Framework for K-12 Science Education (2012) and the Next Generation Science Standards (2013), much effort has gone into developing materials and professional development experiences that attempt to incorporate the 3-dimensional nature of the new standards. Some providers of these experiences, however, have pointed out that these standards are unlikely to have a lasting impact on K-12 science teaching if the nature of schooling remains unchanged. One way in which the standards might have such impact is their incorporation into science teacher preparation and induction programs for new teachers of Earth science. In a time when many such programs are facing difficulty recruiting candidates, the timing may never be better to change the practice of Earth science teacher preparation. NSTA has maintained standards for science teacher preparation through the accreditation process through the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Programs (CAEP), but their role has been limited to secondary science programs, and then only to those programs requiring the highest level of review – impacting roughly 10% of all new science teachers in a given year.

In 2016, NSTA initiated a joint committee with the Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE) to adapt these standards to reflect the 3D learning vision of NGSS in a manner that was comprehensive across K-12 teacher preparation as well as facilitative for program improvement. Approved by the ASTE and NSTA Boards in 2018, they remain a part of the accreditation process, while NSTA considers the feasibility of their use in broader program recognition. This presentation will examine the nature of these new standards relative to Earth science teacher preparation, their relationship to the recent Community Grand Challenge (2018) on teacher preparation, and possible approaches to their transformative role in the Earth science preparation of teachers of science across the K-12 continuum.