Continuing education is an important part of any job or profession, to stay current on new techniques, legal requirements, and advanced topics. It was impossible to learn as undergraduates everything we need to know today, especially on content or strategies that didn’t exist then! (Yes, my undergrad days included slide rules, library card catalogs with actual cards, and hard-bound textbooks – no laptops, Internet, or calculators in those good ol’ days!).
We science teachers have two fields that require continuing education – teaching practices and science content. In my school district, it was easy for our committee to plan professional development in teaching practices. Topics such as cooperative learning, assessment, classroom management, technology, curriculum design, questioning strategies, and reading/writing in the content areas applied to virtually all of the subject areas. But science content was another issue. For the 4.5 of us who taught secondary biology/life science, it was difficult (and costly) to find facilitators to provide workshops or seminars on specific science topics for just a few teachers. The local colleges did not have many content courses that were appropriate for teachers to keep up on current topics or to learn new ones. So once a year we science teachers combined with other schools for the traditional “large group in the auditorium for a speaker.” This approach to professional development was often irrelevant, and research has shown that these one-shot presentations without any follow-up are ineffective.
Fortunately, today there are a variety of ways to stay current in science topics: online courses offered by higher education and professional organizations, courses and seminars offered by museums, and podcasts, blogs and wikis from professional scientists. This month’s Science Scope lists many resources for science teachers of all grade levels, not just middle school. The SciLinks code in the table of contents (SS040801) doesn’t have any sites listed for that code yet, but if you enter “Professional Development” as a keyword, you’ll get a list of resources. The article Consumer Guide to Professional Development has a list of guidelines for choosing and evaluating professional development, whether online or in person. I’d give a copy to the principal or district professional development coordinator, too!
Something else I’d share with those responsible for PD are the resources at the NSTA Learning Center. It would be easy to design PD opportunities for both elementary and secondary teachers using these resources (and you could mention that many are free – for the cost of an NSTA membership, which is cheaper than most speakers would be). If you’re not familiar with these resources, they are an absolute treasure trove. I myself use the transcript option for conferences, the free Science Objects, the free online web seminars (most other professional organizations charge for these), and the listservs. Did you notice how many opportunities are FREE? That is an administrator’s favorite word!
But of course, reading journals such as The Science Teacher, Science Scope, and Science & Children is an easy way to stay current! For example, I’ve been to (and facilitated) many workshops on cooperative learning, but I’m excited about how the authors of Teaching Students to Think Like Scientists During Cooperative Investigations have modified the roles to go beyond the traditional logistical ones. They have lots of resources right in the article, too. If you need a refresher on cooperative learning, try What Is Cooperative Learning? or Cooperative Learning Strategies.
One of the things I enjoy most about finding and reviewing websites for SciLinks is exploring new topics. For example, this month I’m working on the topic “Dark Matter.” I had heard of this topic, but my knowledge was very superficial. So now I’m learning a lot! If you want to stretch your mind on this, go to the Particle Adventure website from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. It’s written for those who do not have a strong physics background. The concepts are chunked into a tutorial format, with lots of graphics and checkup questions. Even if you don’t teach this subject, check out this website as an example of a well-designed way to present material that is very abstract, but fascinating. (And, like me, you might learn something new, too!)
Keep a record of this type of informal learning – in a daily planner, on your PDA, or the calendar that’s on the NSTA learning center: reading a professional book or journal article (I have a friend who did a LOT of reading during her son’s swim meets!), watching a TV program related to science, reading/responding to a professional forum or listserv, or visiting a museum, zoo, planetarium, nature center, or botanical garden. Although the time you spend on these activities may not “count” toward your state’s continuing ed requirements, you may be surprised at the amount of informal professional learning that is part of your life.