T C E B TRIANGLE COALITION ELECTRONIC BULLETIN AUGUST 2, 2001 VOL. 7, NO. 28 _____________________________________________________ Published by the TRIANGLE COALITION FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION _____________________________________________________ THIS WEEK'S TOPICS: HOUSE PASSES H.R. 1858 AND H.R. 100 BAYER/NSF AWARD WINNERS USE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO ADDRESS NATIVE AMERICAN HOUSING SHORTAGE TEACHERS BECOME LEARNERS IN BACK-TO-SCHOOL SUMMER AMERICA'S WIDENING TEACHER GAP STUDY: NSF INITIATIVE REAPS PAYOFF IN CITIES MCGRAW-HILL EDUCATION LAUNCHES K-12 DIGITAL LEARNING DIVISION IEEE PEERS, THE PRE-COLLEGE EDUCATOR/ENGINEERS RESOURCE SITE ____________________________________________________ HOUSE PASSES H.R. 1858 AND H.R. 100 Under suspension of the rules, both H.R. 1858, the National Mathematics and Science Partnerships Act, and H.R. 100, the National Science Education Act, were passed by the House July 30. H.R. 1858 requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish the Mathematics and Science Partnerships Program requested by President Bush as part of the 'Blueprint for New Beginnings' and other programs designed to improve elementary and secondary school mathematics and science teaching and education. The Act requires the Director of NSF to eliminate duplicative programs and prohibits NSF from establishing new programs that duplicate programs established by H.R. 1858. The Act also requires the National Science Foundation and the Department of Education to coordinate their activities. Implementing H.R. 1858 will result in outlays of about $1.1 billion over the 2002-2006 period and an additional $459 million after 2006. For more information on H.R. 1858, visit www.gop.gov/committeecentral/docs/bills/107/1/bill.asp?bill=hr1858. H.R. 100 requires the National Science Foundation (NSF Director) to establish various programs relating to science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education. This bill directs the Director to award competitive grants to institutions of higher education to: (1) train master teachers who work to improve the teaching of mathematics and science from kindergarten through ninth grade in various ways, including mentoring other teachers; and (2) assist elementary and secondary schools to design and implement master teacher programs. The measure allows grant funds to be used for: (1) master teacher training and participation in summer research programs; (2) teacher professional development during the school year and summer; (3) guidance for sponsoring schools; and (4) educational materials, equipment, computers, and networks for such master teachers. In addition, the bill requires teachers who apply to participate in such master teacher programs at institutions of higher education to submit to the Director assurances from their schools that they will be provided with sufficient non-classroom time to serve as master teachers. The measure requires the Director and the Secretary of Education jointly to compile and disseminate information on: (1) typical standard prerequisites for middle school and high school students who seek to enter a course of study at an institution of higher education in science, mathematics, engineering, or technology education to teach in an elementary or secondary school; and (2) state licensing requirements for such teachers. The bill directs the Director to make an agreement for National Academy of Sciences to review and evaluate existing studies on the effectiveness of technology in the classroom on learning and student performance. The measure also requires the Director to convene an annual conference on science, mathematics, engineering, and technology business education. Finally, the bill directs the Director to award competitive grants to institutions of higher education to provide distance learning opportunities for elementary or secondary school students to participate in research activities in mathematics or science at such institutions through the Internet. The bill requires the Director to eliminate duplicative programs and prohibits NSF from establishing new programs that duplicate programs established by H.R. 100. The Bill also requires the National Science Foundation and the Department of Education to coordinate their activities. Implementing H.R. 100 is estimated to cost $167 million over 2002-2006. For more information on H.R. 100, visit www.gop.gov/committeecentral/docs/bills/107/1/bill.asp?bill=hr100. ************************************ BAYER/NSF AWARD WINNERS USE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO ADDRESS NATIVE AMERICAN HOUSING SHORTAGE Some of the nation's most innovative middle school students have been named Columbus Foundation Community Grant and Bayer/National Science Foundation Award winners for their work to develop solutions to a diverse array of community issues. The Bayer/NSF Award is a nationwide, leading-edge program that challenges middle school students to use science and technology to solve a community problem. The Columbus Foundation Community Grant is awarded to one team as seed money to bring its idea to life. This year's $25,000 winning team solved a serious housing problem for the Crow Nation. A team of Native American girls from Crow Nation, MT, tapped tradition, existing resources, and their own ingenuity to develop a solution to a serious local housing shortage. Straw bale construction, a once-popular building technique in which straw bales are covered with stucco, has fallen out of favor over the years. The students, however, saw it as a promising alternative to current construction materials and conducted extensive experiments to prove that straw bale construction can produce houses that are economical, durable, comfortable, and attractive. This year, 29 of the 36 Bayer/NSF Award finalists are girls. Typically, 60 percent of Bayer/NSF Award entrants are girls and 30 percent are minorities. Nearly 2000 students entered the Bayer/NSF Award in the 2000-2001 school year. All students in grades 6-8 are encouraged to enter this competition which charges no entry fee. Teams do not have to be school-based. Entries for next year are due January 31, 2002. Call 800-291-6020 or visit www.bayernsfaward.com for more information. ************************************ TEACHERS BECOME LEARNERS IN BACK-TO-SCHOOL SUMMER (Source: The Baltimore Sun, July 15, 2001) What do really dedicated teachers do when summer rolls around? They go back to school as students, of course. That's what about 100 of them did for three weeks in July. For three weeks, the (Baltimore) teachers attended 3 1/2 -hour graduate-level math or science classes in the morning. In the afternoons, they had two-hour classes in the latest methods and techniques of teaching both subjects. Those sessions often ran over the two-hour limit by 60 to 90 minutes. Then they had two hours of assigned homework every night. Participants often did more. When they weren't working, they were networking. The program started in 1989 as the brainchild of former Gov. William Donald Schaefer and was named the Governor's Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. As the years passed, a separate academy was developed for technology. Richard Cook is the program's secondary school coordinator and is a math teacher at Fallston Middle School. "This is an important program or we wouldn't be here," said Cook, who attended the second academy in 1990. "This is a line item on the governor's budget." The money is used to give each teacher a $750 stipend and pay the college and high school instructors who teach attendees physical science, astronomy, biotechology, elementary school math, middle school math, and high school math, which includes basic algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus. If they can get their students to share the same passion and enthusiasm for learning, the money spent for the Governor's Academy for Science and Mathematics will be a wise investment indeed. ************************************ AMERICA'S WIDENING TEACHER GAP (Source: The Christian Science Monitor: July 17, 2001) American public schools are facing one of the most severe teacher shortages in history. While the problem has existed for several years, it is suddenly becoming more acute as a surge in the number of retiring teachers collides with rapid growth in student enrollments in many parts of the country. The result: a huge gap in classroom rosters for this fall -- as high as 10 percent of the teaching force in some cities -- and rising concern that the shortage will stall the education-reform movement. The problem is severe enough that some school districts are relaxing certification standards to lure everyone from postal clerks to nuclear engineers into the classroom. While some analysts say the fresh faces will benefit the teaching corps, others warn that the quality of instruction will be jeopardized -- at a time when accountability is the watchword in American education. Overall, experts estimate that public schools will need to recruit 2.2 million to 2.5 million teachers over the next decade. But in some parts of the country -- particularly urban areas and rapidly growing parts of the Sunbelt -- the crunch is already pronounced. New York City needs to hire 8,000 new teachers this summer -- one-tenth of its workforce. North Carolina has 10,000 vacancies to fill statewide by fall. It graduates only 3,400 new teachers each year. Chicago public schools face a shortfall of 3,500 teachers. The district is recruiting classroom personnel in 35 countries. Behind the shortage is a convergence of several forces. Demographics are playing a significant role. In the next four years, 20 million kids are expected to enter high school -- a one-third increase from the current enrollment, according to Tom Loveless of the Brookings Institution. Many schools have not been able to retain the teachers they do hire. Teachers are often reluctant to live in remote areas, while others are unwilling to work in neighborhoods they think are dangerous. After three years, 20 percent of new teachers leave the field, while that number leaps to 50 percent for those in the field for five years. Pay also remains a key issue. Teachers' relative standard of living is the lowest it's been in 40 years, unions say. The average teacher salary nationwide now stands at $42,000. Salary increases the past two years were among the smallest in 40 years. ************************************ STUDY: NSF INITIATIVE REAPS PAYOFF IN CITIES (Source: Education Week, July 11, 2001) An eight-year federal effort to improve mathematics and science education in urban schools paid off in higher test scores and increases in the number of minority students taking high-level courses, according to an analysis of the project. Almost all of the 21 cities that received National Science Foundation funding starting in 1993 could document an increase in test scores, and eight of the districts reduced the achievement gap between minority and white students, concludes the NSF-commissioned report examining math- and science-test scores. What's more, average enrollment in algebra, physics, and other high-level courses increased on average in the districts that had won grants under the project, the NSF's Urban Systemic Initiative. The NSF made its first multiyear grants under the Urban Systemic Initiative in 1993 to Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Miami, New York City, Phoenix, and El Paso, Texas. In following years, it awarded funding to Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and 12 other cities. For the report, "Academic Excellence for All Urban Students," Systemic Research Inc., a Norwood, MA firm, reviewed data from all of the districts that received the urban grants. In the 16 districts that had comparable test scores from the year before they started in the program and 1999, all but Memphis, TN, showed gains in science achievement, and all but Los Angeles raised math scores. For more information, read "Academic Excellence for All Urban Students" at http://systemic.xohost.com/usi/Booklet.pdf (requires Adobe's Acrobat Reader); the report is also available for free from Systemic Research Inc., by writing Systemic Research Inc., 150 Kerry Place, 2nd floor, Norwood, MA 02062. ************************************ MCGRAW-HILL EDUCATION LAUNCHES K-12 DIGITAL LEARNING DIVISION Meeting the needs of students and teachers, McGraw-Hill Education has announced a new division devoted solely to digital learning programs for the K-12 market. The focus of McGraw-Hill Digital Learning is on the development of effective K-12 technology-based programs that improve teaching and learning. Remedial and gifted students who have unique learning styles and are often underserved will be one area of focus. For example, the group will develop new products to assess student knowledge and then channel appropriately leveled content as the student masters topics and skills. These applications will help teachers customize instruction and allow for individualized learning so that students can achieve success at their own pace and level. In addition, the new digital education division will further develop The McGraw-Hill Learning Network (www.mhln.com), an online platform that provides interactive e-textbooks, teacher resources, and school-home communications services. An online assessment component will be integrated into the site, allowing teachers to grade tests online and immediately assess which students grasp a concept and which students need additional help. Finally, more standards-based lesson plans, correlated to state and local standards, will be available online. Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com. ************************************ IEEE PEERS, THE PRE-COLLEGE EDUCATOR/ENGINEERS RESOURCE SITE IEEE PEERS, the Pre-College Educator/Engineers Resource Site, is open for business. PEERS is a website designed to help engineers and educators work together to raise technological literacy at the pre-college level. 1998 IEEE President Joe Bordogna and the IEEE Life Members Committee dedicated funds to set up a website to encourage and support engineers to volunteer in schools. Educators at the 1998 IEEE Technological Literacy Counts Workshop were enthusiastic about the idea and quickly requested that the site include resources for teachers. PEERS is dual tracked to enable engineers and educators to get "pre-acquainted" and learn the basics about each other, so that they will be more at ease when getting started. "I read it for tone," said Bernadette Clemens, a department supervisor for Science and Physics at Sycamore High School, Cincinnati, OH, "and felt comfortable with the discussion of both educators and engineers." Over 70 middle and high school teachers tested the newly enriched site and found it useful and easy to navigate. Clemens said, "In addition to the educator/engineer collaboration, it has good career information and a strong set of links to other sites." The testers rated lists of education and engineering associations and sites for projects as the top 'off-site' favorites. PEERS is located at www.ieee.org/eab/precollege/peers/index.htm. Send questions or comments on the site to Lynn Murison at [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________________ This TCEB is made possible by a grant from AT&T. Please visit their web site at www.att.com for more information about their educational support programs. The TCEB is a newsletter provided to members of the Triangle Coalition. Members may forward individual articles or the issue in its entirety providing that credit is given to the Triangle Coalition, and all of the following contact information is included in any republication. For TCEB subscription or membership information, contact: Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education 1201 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005 phone: 800-582-0115 fax: 202-289-1303 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.triangle-coalition.org To submit information for possible inclusion in TCEB, contact: Joanne Van Voorhis, Target Marketing, Editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] ************************************ THE MISSION OF THE TRIANGLE COALITION IS TO FOSTER COLLABORATION AMONG LEADERS IN EDUCATION, BUSINESS, AND GOVERNMENT TO IMPROVE SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION. The Triangle Coalition membership includes business, labor, education, science, mathematics, technology and engineering organizations, and community and state-based alliances. ************************************ -- This is the ISTA-talk mailing list. 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