Media contact: June 11, 1997 Peter West NSF PR 97-44 (703) 306-1070/[email protected]
Program contact: Janice Earle (703) 306-1613/[email protected]
PRESIDENTIAL AWARDS RECOGNIZE THE WORLDÃS BEST TEACHING
The classroom practices and professional development of teachers who earn a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) -- the nationÃs 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 ëbest and brightest,à are challenged to excel in science and math," said Neal Lane, NSFÃs 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, NSFÃs 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.
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Attachments: Fact sheet on the PAEMST program and highlights from the survey.
FACT SHEET
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching
Media contact: Peter West (703) 306-1070/[email protected]
The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) is the nation's highest commendation for K-12 math and science teachers. It recognizes a combination of sustained and exemplary work, both in, and outside of, the classroom. Each award includes a grant of $7,500 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to the recipient's school. Winners use the money at their discretion to promote math and science education. Awardees also receive an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., during which each receives a certificate signed by the president. Awardees also attend seminars and engage in professional discussions with their peers and with national legislators and education policymakers. Each awardee also receives a selection of gifts from private-sector contributors to the program.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. What are the PAEMST selection criteria?
A. The program is open to practicing public-, private-, and parochial-school teachers with a minimum of five years of experience. Candidates are then chosen on the basis of their teaching performance, their background, and their experience. This includes an evaluation of their formal education and continuing educational experience as well as professional and other activities related to their teaching. Applicants are asked to demonstrate how their teaching enables students to learn important math and science processes and concepts. They must also provide letters of support for their application from colleagues; current or former students; parents of current or former students; or their supervisors.
Q. How are recipients selected?
A. Awardees are selected from those eligible teachers who have completed an application, obtained from NSF or from the science or math coordinator at their state education department. Applicants provide documentation of their background and evidence of professional success to state selection committees of their peers. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) oversees state selection procedures in math, the Council of State Science Supervisors (CSSS) those in science.
The committees choose six math teachers (three elementary, three secondary) and six science teachers (three elementary, three secondary). These 12 state-level finalists are recognized by the national program and in their individual states or political jurisdictions. All 12 of these teachers are candidates for the presidential award. One science and one math teacher at each level are recommended as presidential awardees by national selection committees of distinguished scientists, mathematicians and educators. The White House chooses the presidential awardees and makes the official announcement of the winners.
Q. What are the citizenship requirements for nominees?
A. Applicants must be U.S. citizens who teach in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Department of Defense Dependent Schools, or the U.S. territories of Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas, or the Virgin Islands.
Q. When was PAEMST established?
A. Former President Ronald Reagan signed into law a measure establishing the program in 1983 (P.L. 98-377). The law was amended in 1988 to include elementary teachers (P.L. 100-570). The teacher enhancement program of NSFÃs division of elementary, secondary, and informal education administers the program for the White House.
Q. How many recipients are honored this year?
A. There are 107 elementary and 107 secondary recipients this year, one teacher of science and one teacher of math at each level, chosen from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Department of Defense Schools, and the U.S. Territories.
For more information, contact: Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, Directorate for Education and Human Resources, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Va. 22230, (703) 306-0422. On the World Wide Web at http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/ESIE/index.html
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ATTACHMENT
KEY FINDINGS OF THE PAEMST SURVEY
Horizon Research, Inc.Ãs 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 Mathematicsà 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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