There were more than 3.7 million K-12 teachers working in American public schools (NCES 2012). The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the need for teachers will increase in 2020. An estimated 220,000 students enroll in teacher preparation programs every year. They can be bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, or certification programs. Many more students are certified through other routes. Given the importance of K-12 teachers in society, it might surprise you to find that there is no common feature among teacher preparation programs.
Different types of teacher preparation programs
Different institutions approach teacher preparation in different ways. The requirements vary from one state or another. Typically, teacher preparation falls into two or even three levels. The Earth science role plays different roles.
Elementary education. Programs to prepare elementary teachers for the future often focus on literacy and language skills and less on science and math. Science requirements are often limited to the general education program. However, students may also need to take a science method course that teaches them how to teach science. An average of 100,000 students obtain a bachelor’s in education annually. Around 60% of those degrees, however, are in elementary teaching (Digest of Educational Statistics (more information)).
- Role Of Earth Science: This may be a requirement for general education or science.
- How do we strengthen Earth science & sustainability? You can design general education courses to help future teachers.
Middle school science teaching: Many schools have a specialization that focuses on the grades 6-8. These teachers are typically science teachers, and they often teach classes in many disciplines. The programs required to prepare these students require several years of coursework in all disciplines.
- Role Earth Science: It’s likely that you will need to spend a year studying Earth science, including astronomy.
- How to Strengthen Earth Science and Sustainability: Think about extending your reach across disciplines to provide inquiry-based, interdisciplinarity STEM courses that can be used to help middle school science teachers to make these connections.
Secondary Science Teaching: In order to teach in secondary schools, students must obtain an undergraduate degree. Others combine them to make a single degree.
- Role Of Earth Science: Earth science can be a subject of interest, and students may complete a regular BS/BA Degree in a Geoscience Department.
- How do we strengthen Earth science sustainability? We can partner with other STEM disciplines to offer multiple subject endorsements, which will be beneficial to secondary science students.
How programs vary by institution type
A variety of undergraduate degree programs are offered at public and regional universities. Contrary to this, liberal arts colleges are not likely to offer undergraduate education degrees. Students should choose a major and be certified as teachers through a postbaccalaureate program.
Nearly half the students who receive a degree in education have done so at regional comprehensive schools. Many of these schools started as schools that trained teachers in late 1800s. These schools often offer the most extensive or largest education programs. This is true also for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Many of these schools were established to train black teachers and today, approximately half of the US’s black teachers are graduates of HBCUs.
Although few community colleges offer education degrees, up to 50% of students who receive teaching degrees from community college graduates (Preparing teachers: Building evidence for sound policy (more info).
Learn more about teacher preparation at your school
Find out more about the geoscience programs at your institution to strengthen their role in future teacher preparation.
Information can be found in many places:
- Schools and Departments: Do you have a school/department of education on campus? What majors are they offering? Learn about ways to cross-disciplinary divides and work with education programs.
- Science Education: Do you have a department or program in science education on campus? What majors are they offering and how do these majors support other majors?
- Student Advice: What majors can advisors recommend to students who say they want to teach but don’t have an education major?
- Instituteal research: How popular are teaching and education majors? Are any of these courses geoscience?
