NSF PR 97-44 - June 11, 1997
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Presidential Awards Recognize the World's Best Teaching
The classroom practices and professional development
of teachers who earn a Presidential Award for Excellence
in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST)
-- the nation's highest honor for K-12 educators --
more resemble their peers in nations that score high
on international comparisons than those of many of
their U.S. colleagues.
The results of a random survey of former presidential
awardees, conducted for the National Science Foundation
(NSF) by Horizon Research, Inc. of Chapel Hill, N.C.,
are particularly timely for the 107 elementary teachers
who received their 1996 awards today at the National
Academy of Sciences.
"These outstanding teachers have dedicated themselves
to insuring that all children, not just the 'best
and brightest,' are challenged to excel in science
and math," said Neal Lane, NSF's director. NSF administers
PAEMST for the White House.
The presidential awards were bestowed in the same
week as a new international comparison was released
which showed that science and math learning in U.S.
fourth-graders is improving. NSF attributed this finding
to better classroom teaching.
On June 10, NSF and the U.S. Department of Education
jointly released findings from the Third
International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
which showed U.S. fourth-graders performing above
international averages in both math and science. In
science, U.S. students were in the top group of equally
high scoring nations behind only Korea.
"Factors such as the amount of television watching,
class size and time spent in school cannot explain
student performance. What really matters is the quality
of the day-to-day interaction between teachers and
students around a coherent curriculum," Luther S.
Williams, NSF's head of education and human resources
noted in reviewing the TIMSS report.
A comprehensive survey comparing the professional
preparation and classroom practices of 930 past presidential
awardees with those of a random sample of 2,605 math
and science teachers shows that differences between
those two groups often are quite dramatic.
Those differences, officials said, may have important
implications in the effort to achieve excellence in
all classrooms by pointing to known factors and practices
that can help to improve the quality of teaching.
The survey found that PAEMST teachers:
- devote more personal time to professional development;
- avoid textbook-based teaching;
- are far more likely to use computers and other
technologies in their classrooms.
Attachment: Highlights
of the PAEMST survey.
See also:
- Fact
sheet on the PAEMST program.
- News
Release, "White House Recognizes Outstanding
Science and Mathematics Teachers," 4/16/97.
- Statement
by NSF Director Neal Lane in April 1997.
Attachment
Key Findings of the PAEMST Survey
Horizon Research, Inc.'s survey of 930 past winners
of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics
and Science Teaching (PAEMST) compared
their responses with those of a random sample of 2,065
math and science teachers. The results show dramatic
differences in teaching style and professional development.
According to the survey:
PAEMST teachers rely far less than their peers on
textbooks in their teaching;
Only 17 percent of award-winning science teachers
and 22 percent of award-winning math teachers in grades
1-6 said they consider textbooks a "major influence"
on what they teach. By contrast, 59 percent of the
national sample of elementary science teachers and
79 percent of math teachers overall felt that way.
PAEMST teachers are more academically prepared in
their subjects;
More than four out of ten award-winning elementary
science teachers, and 36 percent of award-winning
math teachers, either hold a degree or a college minor
in those fields, compared with only 7 percent of the
national sample of teachers.
PAEMST teachers devote far more time to lifelong learning
and professional activities;
More than three out of four award-winning elementary
math and science teachers spent at least 35 hours
on in-service education in the past three years, compared
with just 12 percent of those who teach grades 1-6
nationally. And award-winning elementary teachers
were roughly nine times more likely to take part in
professional activities such as attending professional
association meetings or teaching outside workshops
or courses for other teachers.
PAEMST teachers feel far more competent in their work
than most teachers nationally;
Seventy-two percent of elementary science awardees
said they have "strong control" over setting curricular
goals and objectives, compared with 30 percent of
their peers. Strong majorities of award-winning math
and science teachers also said they have strong control
over selecting instructional material, teaching techniques,
and setting the pace for lessons.
PAEMST teachers tend to use more advanced classroom
tools and teaching techniques;
By an overwhelming 93 percent to 10 percent margin,
far more Presidential Award-winning elementary math
teachers said they were well aware of the National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics' standards. Award-winners
indicated they were more inclined than their peers
to integrate math and science with other subjects.
They were also much more likely to endorse the use
of computers and calculators, and emphasize hands-on
learning, problem solving and reasoning over rote
exercises or standardized tests.
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