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Diane, your message saddens me.  

One of the characteristics of the informal science setting that make it
such a powerful tool for communicating science to the public is, in my
opinion, the diverse interests, talents, and backgrounds of the
individuals who choose this setting in which to work.

Our job, in part, is to convince the general public that they can and
should invest effort into learning science; we must translate science
content into a format that is both relevant and accessible to our
audience.  Not every member of our audience is going to automatically
think of themselves as "a science person."  Do you suggest that we
alienate the guest/student who defines herself as "an art person," "a
theatre person," or "a literary person" by not hiring as educators the
individuals whose backgrounds bridge the (perceived) gap between science
and those fields?  

In my experience, the science educational programming that touches the
most people in the most meaningful way is that which integrates diverse
elements from all over the disciplinary map - if your fine arts major of
whom you spoke so disparagingly had a background in textiles, maybe she
could have developed a workshop in which participants went out into a
meadow, identify and collected plant materials (field botany) that they
would then bring back to a lab to process and extract dyes from
(chemistry), which they would use to dye yarn/thread.  After a
discussion of how color is perceived by the eye (light, physiology),
they could then design/build/use a loom (engineering), study the
textiles of other cultures (anthropology), or compare and discuss the
aesthetic qualities of fabrics made from different materials after
examining the structures of these materials under a microscope.  Science
is everywhere, it is our job to help people learn to see the science in
their everyday lives.  Pardon me, but that skill isn't delivered
automatically with a PhD.  

Sadly enough, certification as an elementary science teacher (at least
in my state) requires very little by way of actual science courses - 9
credits, I believe?     "Based on test scores, research shows that
college graduates who became teachers had less rigorous academic
preparation than those who did not go into teaching.  These findings are
further supported by transcript data from the National Education
Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), which tracks student progress from
middle school through postsecondary education. Those who entered K-12
teaching trailed graduates in non-teaching occupations...took fewer
rigorous academic courses in high school, had lower achievement test
scores at the 12th grade, and scored lower on college entrance
examinations" (NSF Science & Engineering Indicators 2006).  

So even a world where "Science teachers planning class trips will have
the option to pick museums that have certified science educators and art
teachers will be able to pick from museums with certified art
educators," there will be no guarantee of a quality educational
experience for students - unless...

...our home institutions seek out and cultivate the qualities of
effective communication, willingness and ability to process unfamiliar
content (I believe they call that being a life-long-learner), and
contagious passion coupled with exceptional critical thinking skills in
their employees.  

Kasey Qynn Dolin
SOL Enrichment Coordinator
School Partnerships Programs
Science Museum of Virginia
2500 West Broad St.  Richmond, Va 23220
(804) 864-1424
 
For monthly museum updates by e-mail: www.SMV.org\extra
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Diane Peapus
Sent: Thursday, October 11, 2007 1:56 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: standards - not the school kind

ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
************************************************************************
*****


I've also been questioning standards.

The questioning was piqued, in part, by someone I know who has a fine
art degree and has just secured her 3rd position as a science educator.
Not that I think the person is incapable of rising to the level of 4th
grade science, but if we keep hiring people without science backgrounds
to plan & present our science education, there will be nothing greater
than 4th grade science in our museums. 

Ref:
>as in things we should all know as professionals

A certified teacher (in most states) generally needs to take a range of
classes in his/her chosen discipline as well as in child psychology and
pedagogy (details are on the websites of any college that offers
teaching degrees). That seems like a good combo for a museum educator as
well. The pedagogy would need modifications for object based informal
education. The psyche and discipline classes would seem to work with a
certain number of college credits at or above some cutoff grade that
would appear on the applicant's college transcripts. 

So, what about the artist who is in her 3rd job as a science educator?
What about work experience instead of college credit?

My experience (I teach college freshman biology & chemistry) is that,
for some classes, students can opt to take the final-exam-only for full
class credit if they think they have equivalent experience. I have
_never_ had any student pass even the 1st semester, community college
level, introductory biology or chemistry final exam without taking the
class. This includes a student who had been a lab technician for 4 years
and one who had a BS in engineering. 


What are the dangers of setting standards?

Well, one danger is that it will be harder for artists to find jobs as
science educators, and visa versa. 

But there would be advantages, too. 

Such as...
Science teachers planning class trips will have the option to pick
museums that have certified science educators and art teachers will be
able to pick from museums with certified art educators. 

And also...
Students will be able to trust that the certified science educator at
the after school program who helped with their science project has
actually taken a science class. 


With this in mind... my artist colleague's assessment of science
literacy, science curricula needs and science program development appear
to be meaningless. It seems that when a person can rise to the level of
developing science programming without ever taking a science class,
then... standards are long overdue. 

Hey...
Go for it!

diane h peapus, phd

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