Feature: Nuclear Energizes Teachers
Posted on October 16th, 2011 by ASEE
Despite the anxiety triggered by last spring’s nuclear disaster in Japan, nuclear power is still a key part of this country’s energy mix. Industry and universities are enlisting help from teachers in preparing the next generation of nuclear engineers and technicians.
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Tags: Electrical, Electrical Engineering, Energy, Nuclear Engineering, Nuclear Science, Programs for Teachers, Teacher Training, Teacher Workshops, Teachers, Workshops
Education reformers oversell the importance of highly skilled teachers and undervalue the benefits that come from teacher collaborations, according to a University of Pittsburgh specialist in organizations. An article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review says students “showed higher gains in math achievement when their teachers reported frequent conversations with their peers that centered on math, and when there was a feeling of trust or closeness among teachers.”
New York City will eliminate a performance-bonus program for teachers and principals in light of new research showing that the three-year-old program did not improve student achievement at any grade level or teachers’ morale. “A lot of the principals and teachers saw the bonuses as a recognition and reward, as icing on the cake,” explained Julie Marsh, lead researcher of the RAND report.
Teacher layoffs nationwide threaten to make a bad STEM education situation worse, as more educators must cover subjects they are not certified to teach. A new survey by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) found that fewer than half the chemistry and physical science teachers in public high schools had degrees in those fields, with about 30 percent lacking certification in those subjects. 
Forget politics and budget battles. Digital learning, not legislatures, represents the biggest threat to teachers’ unions, argues Stanford political science professor Terry Moe in his new book, Special Interest. Part history, part analysis of education trends, the book details the rise of the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers.
Finland enjoys a surprising claim to fame: world-class K-12 education. Only a handful of nations come close to matching Finland in math, science, and literacy, and none boasts such uniformly high achievement rates across regions and income levels. How could the country produce 15-year-olds on par with Asia’s whiz kids? The answer may reside in teacher training and approach.
Can digital media and video games boost student learning? The Bill and Melinda Gates and Pearson foundations clearly think so. The pair announced a $20 million effort to create online reading, math, and science courses tied to new Common Core state standards that will use video, interactive software, games, social media and other digital materials. 
Who says science is for nerds? Not the Council of Chief State School Officers, which just named Michelle Shearer, an AP chemistry teacher from Frederick, Md., the 2011 National Teacher of the Year. President Obama will honor her and other state teachers of the year at the White House on May 3.
For nearly a decade, schools have been held accountable for student performance on federally mandated state tests. Now, with some 80 percent of U.S. schools in danger of failing next year, states and districts are revamping teacher evaluation plans and making growth the centerpiece for pay and tenure. 
