Teacher Recruitment and Retention Ken Mellendorf Kimberly A. Shaw Stephen Weber Carl Wenning

Key Findings: Teacher Candidates Why are they becoming physics teachers? Experience with good physics teachers Desire to make a difference in people’s lives Positive experience with teaching others Desire to show applicability of physics to everyday life Interest in physics and science

Key Findings: In-service Teachers Factors making us glad to be teachers Ability to make a difference in the lives of students Joy of working with students Watching students rise to the challenge of physics The joy of working with people in general and youth in particular Love of the subject matter

Recruitment Recommendations Teachers should directly recruit their students to careers in teaching Teachers should talk about the need for science teachers Teachers should talk about the joys of teaching, and about teaching as a profession. We should emphasize the applications of physics. This is true at ALL levels: high school, community college, and university

Recruitment: Recommended Tasks Get students involved in teaching experiences Teach a lesson (younger students for high school, peer or younger for college students) Tutoring Detention Center education Writing or leading lab activities Teaching Outreach Science Fair, Science Olympiad, Physics Day College for Kids, Science Camp, Expanding Your Horizons, Upward Bound, Physics Van…..

Recruitment: Recommended Tasks Directly ask individual students to consider careers in physics teaching Appeal to altruism We ourselves need a fundamental change in our own attitudes. Those who CAN, teach! We should think of teaching as a higher goal, as prestigious.

Traits of prospective candidates: should have the potential for… Altruistic personality Good ability in science High interest in science “Stage presence” Internal motivation Self-awareness Consistent with personal abilities Expresses joy with teaching/tutoring experience Work ethic and responsibility Leadership/People skills

Proposed Action Items Solicit teachers for names of prospective candidates Publish written guidelines for “recruitment” in multiple venues Encourage ISAAPT Council to make policy statements relating to recruitment, retention & accreditation Ask ISTA to be actively involved in “remote” preparation of middle school/elementary students Encourage IACT, IBTA and ICTM to be involved with recruitment Communicate with ISBE the need for real “highly qualified” teachers

Proposed Action Items (cont’d) Loan forgiveness “Contract for future services” or “reverse-GI bill for teachers” Grant to extend pilot studies statewide, including case studies of feeder schools Posters, advertising, public service announcements Register a World Year of Physics event for Physics teachers (with funding) Physics alliances/networks be established across the state More creative efforts by ISAAPT to reach rural science teachers and include them in the recruitment process

Findings: Reasons for Attrition (informational) Poor attitudes of students Student misbehavior Lack of support and respect from students, parents, administration Increasing family demands Relocation of spouse Unrealistic demands placed on science teachers Retirements

Findings: Reasons for Attrition (places we can have an impact) Personal sense of professional inadequacy Boredom with the subject matter Lack of mentoring Lack of success of students Inadequate professional preparation

Retention Action Items Publish curricular materials in a central clearinghouse Develop listserve for curriculum sharing Mentoring/networking/induction activities Develop a way to communicate with rural/inner city science teachers Learn from IACT, ISTA and work with them Survey of Physics Teacher Education Programs

Retention Action Items Teachers Academy – Teachers Teaching Teachers - at Fall meeting Use Take-Five presentations as bait Fall High School Teaching Symposium (sharing rather than winning) Inquiry Lab Workshops for students and teachers through alliances, ISTA, ICTM We need to build ISAAPT’s reputation among state science teachers Convince our university colleagues to improve the quality of teaching there Free stuff column in ISAAPT newsletter

Priorities Discussion