[Mb-civic] 20 minutes for science - Donna Lucki - Boston Globe Op-Ed

[William Swiggard]

  20 minutes for science

By Donna Lucki  |  March 16, 2006  |  The Boston Globe

WHILE MANY educators across the country are scrambling to prepare for 
standardized tests in reading and math this spring, it is easy to 
overlook the fact that time is running out not only for reading and math 
instruction, but also now for science instruction. In less than 12 
months, the stakes for national scholastic achievement will be raised 
even higher as teachers and students will face standardized tests in 
science.

In 2002, the federal legislation No Child Left Behind established 
benchmarks for academic achievement, as well as penalties for those 
schools that do not meet annual yearly progress in improving the 
performance of every student. In its first two phases, the No Child Left 
Behind law focused on reading and math skills. Widely considered core 
life skills, these two subject areas are what most schools spend the 
majority of their day focusing on. However, under the law's newest 
phase, schools must also focus on improving student achievement in the 
field of science.

Starting in 2007, the No Child Left Behind law will require that all 
schools measure students' progress in science every year at least once 
in each of three grade spans (grades 3 through 5, 6 through 9, and 10 
through 12). In Massachusetts, the MCAS exam currently tests students in 
grades 5 and 8. Within two years, in order to graduate, sophomores must 
pass a competency exam in one of four science content areas: biology, 
chemistry, introductory physics, or technology/engineering.

The question becomes: Is your school district ready? How rigorous is 
your district's science curriculum? How much time do the district's 
elementary, middle, and high school students spend on science 
instruction? These are the questions we should be asking our educators, 
especially if students' diplomas hang in the balance.

If you ask teachers to list their most significant challenges, they will 
undoubtedly include not having enough instructional time among the top 
issues they face. While reading, math, science, social studies, and 
other classes compete for time in each student's day, reading and 
language arts always garner the greatest amount of instructional time. 
Many elementary schools spend at least one third of their day on reading 
and language arts. Second to reading, mathematics instruction receives a 
significant share of the daily schedule as well. When the remaining time 
in the day is divided among the other subject areas, science and social 
studies typically receive only 20 minutes of instructional time per day.

Twenty minutes. What can a teacher accomplish in 20 minutes? Perhaps the 
teacher can introduce the class to one new concept. Perhaps there is 
some discussion; perhaps some exploration, or in some cases students 
participate in a hands-on experiment. However, in today's classrooms, 
there is rarely time in the daily science lesson to include all of the 
above.

The second challenge many teachers face is a lack of background of 
science content. If you were to ask those teachers how comfortable they 
are teaching science, the question is sure to be met with hesitation. 
Many teachers admit that science is not their area of expertise and say 
they feel somewhat unprepared to teach science lessons.

As we look for solutions to these problems, we need to think about the 
best way to get students motivated to want to learn science and to 
involve them in their own learning experiences. This begins by giving 
teachers the materials and tools they need to make science exciting. 
When teachers can stimulate a classroom environment of curiosity, the 
classroom will come alive as students have the ability to discover and 
unlock the answers to their questions through real world science content 
and experiences.

As our nation approaches the latest high-stakes chapter under federal 
law, it must first begin by ensuring that teachers are well equipped 
with the tools they need to help students be successful in the field of 
science. While science education may never have the luxury of receiving 
as much class time as reading and math, teachers must have the 
appropriate level of support in helping them craft and deliver their 
lessons.

Donna Lucki is president of the school division at Houghton Mifflin 
Company.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/03/16/20_minutes_for_science/
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