Nation's Science Teachers Register Concern Over U.S. Science Education In New Survey

PITTSBURGH, April 1999 - U.S. science teachers responsible for educating students in kindergarten through high school have sent out a warning about the state of science education and whether students will be adequately prepared for the challenges of the next century.

That is according to a newly released survey by Bayer and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), whose members called the poor performance of U.S. middle and high school students in the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) an accurate reflection of student performance.

According to the Bayer Facts of Science Education V, a Bayer/NSTA survey, the nation's pre-college science teachers say that the reforms outlined in the National Science Education Standards, which emphasize hands-on, inquiry-based learning, can significantly strengthen science education and student performance if communities band together to support and properly implement them, including the scientific community.

Bayer and NSTA presented key findings of the survey at Bayer's First Making Science Make Sense Volunteer Conference. Making Science Make Sense is Bayer's companywide initiative which advances science literacy across the United States through hands-on, inquiry-based science learning, employee volunteerism and public education. The volunteer conference brought together Bayer employees from across the country to share ideas and information about ways to improve their science education volunteer/mentoring efforts in local communities across the country. Dr. Mae C. Jemison, former astronaut and current science literacy advocate for Bayer's Making Science Make Sense initiative, gave a keynote address to attendees about the results.

According to the survey, science teachers say they look to scientists to help strengthen science education. They say that working directly with scientists in the classroom offers substantial benefits to both them and their students.


"It Takes A Village"
Overwhelmingly, pre-college science teachers say that successful reform requires, in addition to scientists, the active support of all stakeholder groups. More than three-quarters "strongly agree" that reform efforts will fail or fall far short of their goals without the involvement of teachers, school administrators and school boards, parents and other citizens, business and industry, and the scientific community.

Buy-in from these groups clearly has not yet been achieved, as science teachers involved in implementing reforms in their local school districts report running into obstacles. Four out of five (78 percent) of the 80 percent involved in science education reform efforts, report experiencing barriers, including lack of adequate time for planning and working with other teachers (81 percent); a shortage of science materials, resources and facilities (58 percent); and, lack of financial support for relevant professional development (45 percent).

"The results of this survey paint a 'good news/bad news' scenario about the state of science education," said NSTA President Dr. Steven Rakow. "The good news is that teachers are enthusiastically embracing the vision of the Standards and are leaders in the reform effort; the bad news is that they continue to report major barriers that prevent them from succeeding. To overcome these barriers, we must make long-term, systemic changes to the entire K-12 education system."


Science Literacy Is Critical
Why is science education reform so important? "Because," says Dr. Rakow, "when students learn science experientially through the scientific processes of asking questions, experimenting, analyzing and testing assumptions, they become scientifically literate and develop important lifelong skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork abilities."

And, science literacy, say science teachers, is critical for all adults.

More than two-thirds (68 percent) cite science literacy as "essential" for adults. However, they do not believe the general public views it in quite the same way. In fact, according to the survey, there is a wide disparity between the importance science teachers place on science literacy and the importance they believe the general public places on it. Almost none (two percent) believe that the general public thinks science literacy is essential for adults.

"Science teachers are sending a clear message of the importance of hands-on, inquiry-based learning and that 'it takes a village' to achieve effective science education reform," said Dr. Jemison.


Scientists in the Classroom
When it comes to programs that bring scientists into classrooms to work directly with students, even though only about half of the science teachers (48 percent) report having participated in this type of program, almost all of them (98 percent) say it is critical for students to be exposed to scientists and/or engineers, with nearly one-third (29 percent) calling it "essential" and half (51 percent) "very important."

Moreover, among the half (51 percent) who have not participated in student-scientist programs, three out of four (71 percent) say they would like to. Both those teachers who have and those who haven't participated in such programs give them high marks. They agree that working with scientists helps students better understand science content and peaks their interest in the subject. The experience, say teachers, also provides students with positive role models and solid information about science as a career.

Teachers, too, derive benefits from working with scientists on science curricula and professional development. Though fewer say they have experience with this type of volunteer program (36 percent), those who have say it bolstered their motivation and enthusiasm for teaching the subject (92 percent); helped them better understand science content (87 percent); and, improved their teaching of science content (87 percent). Of the 62 percent who haven't worked with scientists, almost two-thirds (60 percent) say they would like to.

"There is a magnificent opportunity to create meaningful and effective relationships between the nation's scientific and science education communities," said Sande Deitch, executive director of the Bayer USA Foundation and architect of Making Science Make Sense.

She said that in light of this, Bayer is stepping up its efforts by committing to double its science-volunteers around the country from 1,000 to 2,000 by 2005.

The Bayer Facts of Science Education V survey was commissioned by Bayer Corporation and the National Science Teachers Association in celebration of National Volunteer Week and National Science & Technology Week. Conducted by Marketing Research Institute, it polled 1,712 NSTA members who report teaching students in grades K-12. The survey had a margin of error of +/-3 percent.

Founded in 1944, the Arlington-based National Science Teachers Association is the world's largest organization that seeks to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all. Its 53,000-plus members include science teachers of all grade levels, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business and industry representatives, and others involved in science education.

Bayer is a research-based company with major businesses in health care and life sciences and chemicals. The company had 1998 sales of $8.1 billion and employs more than 23,000 people. Bayer is investing $15 billion in capital expenditures and research and development from 1995 through the year 2004. 1999 capital investment and R&D expenditures are projected to total $1.6 billion. Bayer, with headquarters in Pittsburgh, is a member of the worldwide Bayer Group, a $31 billion chemicals and health care group based in Leverkusen, Germany.

Contact:
Cynthia Carway/Stephanie Tonnesen
Carway Communications, Inc.
212-378-2020

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