Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform

1
Leadership and Assistance for Science Education
Reform

• Program Presenter
• Dennis Schatz
• Co-Director Washington State LASER
• Vice President, Pacific Science Center, Seattle,
  WA
• www.WaStateLASER.org schatz_at_pacsci.org

• Program Mission
• To implement in all 296 Washington State school
  districts an inquiry-based science education
  program that has the following characteristics
• Exemplary inquiry-centered curriculum
• Effective student assessment
• Regular professional development for staff
• Appropriate materials support
• Broad community and administrative support
• Effective strategies to use science as a
  vehicle to support
• reading, writing and mathematics learning

2
Leadership and Assistance for Science Education
Reform

• Program Outcomes
• Over 150 school districts have attended a LASER
  Strategic Planning Institute and are at some
  stage of implementing an inquiry-based science
  program. These districts serve approximately 75
  of the students in the state (see map of state on
  slide 3).
• Nine LASER Regional Alliances provide
  professional development and other services to
  these school districts.

• Program Effectiveness
• Student success is dramatic when schools have a
  strategic plan, use effective science materials,
  have well trained teachers that use the material
  with fidelity, and have sufficient time allocated
  in the school day to cover the material.
• The Seattle Times http//seattletimes.nwsource.com
  /html/localnews/2003266789_science20e.html)
  featured the success of two Washington State
  school districts on the 2006 Washington State
  science assessment (WASL).    Both districts
  participated in a Washington State LASER
  Strategic Planning Institute, have adopted
  inquiry-based instructional material and provided
  extensive professional development for their
  teachers. 
• The West Valley school district near Yakima, WA,
  showed significant increase in student WASL
  scores for students who experienced more
  inquiry-based science modules (see slide 4 where
  horizontal line is the state average for each
  year).

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4
Science WASL WVSD Grade 5 students meeting
standardStudents receiving LASER Science
instruction
State Average
5
Leadership and Assistance for Science Education
Reform

• Keys to the Programs Success
• LASER has a shared vision and distributed
  leadership, with strong public/private
  partnerships
• LASER based on model that people can easily
  understand and support
• LASER leaders able to build consensus and empower
  others
• LASER aligned with state standards and
  assessments, plus aligned with the goals of the
  Governor and the State Superintendent of Public
  Instruction
• LASER attends to the six key LASER elements
  quality instructional material, ongoing
  professional development, effective student and
  program assessment, cost effective material
  support, community and administrative support,
  and science as a vehicle to teach other subjects
• LASER uses non-profit and business partnership to
  build strong program leadership
• LASER develops strong grassroots, business and
  community lobbying effort with decision makers
• LASER leverages dollars from multiple sources
• LASER provides resources to meet the needs of
  school districts based on the local and regional
  context

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Leadership and Assistance for Science Education
Reform

• Program Challenges
• Science is the 4th R, with some principals even
  telling teachers not to teach science
• Administrators and the public lack understanding
  of what a quality science education program looks
  like
• Lack of resources compared to other subject areas
  for instructional material purchase and
  professional development for teachers
• Lack of science content knowledge by teachers and
  administrators

• What Would We Do Differently
• Understand early on that program success goes
  beyond building a quality science education
  program. Success requires wearing three
  different kinds of hats 1)Science Education
  Expert, 2)Collaboration Building Expert, 3)Public
  Affairs Expert
• Initiate at the beginning a statewide advocacy
  development plan to effectively reach parents,
  school administrators, school board members and
  community decision makers
• Remember that during their lifetime students
  spend 3 of their awake hours in K-12 education.
  We need to include ways to make science pervasive
  in out-of-school time so that students will
  choose to pursue an interest in science during
  their discretionary time for the rest of their
  life
• Further information at www.WaStateLASER.org or
  schatz_at_pacsci.org