Most teachers seem convinced about the need for standards and are looking for how they can do what they need to do. She believes that professional development is key to science education reform. High school teachers, on the other hand, know the content but are often unwilling to change the way they teach it. The issue is the teachers but in different ways. The issue also is preparing teachers.
Education still spends much less than business in human resource training.
Much better use could be made of our resources, but we also don t have the resources we need. Teacher preparation is usually four to five years, when it should probably be seven to eight. At research institutions, you re rewarded for research, not teaching. Science faculty need to model instructional approaches for certain topics for future teachers to see. Some interviewees expressed a desire for teachers to graduate with a degree in the subject they teach but also stressed that teaching skills are as important as content knowledge.