What Does Science Instruction Look Like in Elementary School Classrooms After New York State Adopted the Next Generation Science Standards?

Abstract

Blank (2013) found that instructional time teaching science (in terms of hours per week), in elementary classrooms across the United States, declined from 1994 - 2008.  According to the National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), the average number of hours elementary school teachers spent teaching science in 2011-2012 was 2.5 hours and in 2015 - 2016 was 2.2 hours.  Students in New York state have scored below the national average on the 2009 and 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress 4th grade science exams and based on Blank’s work, NY teachers spent less time teaching science than teachers across the country.  The purpose of this research was to develop and distribute a questionnaire that examined if and how science is being taught in elementary classrooms across Western New York. The questionnaire asked teachers: (1.) if they taught science, (2.) how often, (3.) at what time of day and (4.) with what resources?  It also asked them about how they were prepared to teach elementary school science. Participants for this exploratory study came from a graduate science course taught by the faculty mentor at Buffalo State College. Results showed that 11 out of the 29 participants taught science. Of those eleven, 2 reported that they teach science bi-weekly, 3 reported that they teach science daily and 6 reported that they teach science weekly.  Only two teachers met the national average of 2.2 hours per week.

Introduction to the Research Problem

Personal Experience. During the fall semester of 2017, around October, I was an  ELA methods pre-service teacher in a second-grade classroom in Western New York.  As a young teacher with a passion for science, I was horrified to watch my mentor teacher use science instruction as a way to shape student behavior.  In order to gain control of the students in her classroom, this teacher withheld a science lesson from them. After fourteen weeks in her classroom that was the only time, this teacher attempted to teach science. This experience was not unique during practicum placements at Buffalo State.
Throughout my experiences as a pre-service teacher, I have been placed in many different classrooms, and while in these classrooms, I have witnessed little to no science instruction. The only time I actually encountered a science lesson was during my placement in an elementary school near Buffalo State. At this school, I observed students discovering complex scientific concepts while using ELA and mathematics skills. These contrasting teaching experiences caused me to wonder if science was being taught in classrooms across Western New York, especially since the Next Generation Science Standards were recently adopted in 2016 by New York State.   My experiences were not unique, in fact, a lack of science instructional time has been observed throughout the United States.

Historical context of time teaching science and achievement on national science exams.  In a 2013 study published in the Science Education journal, Blank (a consultant with the Council of Chief State School Officers) found instructional time teaching science (in terms of hours per week), in elementary classrooms across the United States, declined from 1994 - 2008.  Blank’s data analysis confirmed earlier research that reported a positive relationship between instructional time teaching science and student achievement on the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 4th-grade science exam. He wrote,    

… a state with 2.0 hours (120 minutes) per week of science instruction has an average NAEP score of 150; whereas a state with 3.5 hours per week (210 minutes) of science instruction has a NAEP average score of 154, and the difference of four points on the NAEP scale is statistically significant. (p. 838)

The NAEP Scale score for 4th-grade students in New York state (148) was barely below the national average (149) but significantly below the scores of students who live in states that border NY (PA:154, NJ:155, CT: 156, and MA:160).  Blank reported that the national average for instructional time in science for 4th graders was 2.8 hours per week and that New York (2.6) was not far below this average. Although 4th-grade teachers in NJ (3.0) and PA (2.9) spent more time teaching science than the national average, teachers in MA (2.4) and CT (2.4) spent less time.  Therefore one can not conclude that time teaching science is directly related to science achievement; other factors such as family income, informal science experiences (Smith, 2005), gender (Riggs, 1991) and teacher perceptions/beliefs about teaching science (Levitt, 2002; Bryan, 2003) may influence student achievement in science.

Results published after Blank’s (2013) study indicate that instructional science times at the national level continue to lag behind ELA, Math and Social Studies.  According to the National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), the average number of hours elementary school teachers spent teaching science in 2011-2012 was 2.5 hours and in 2015 - 2016 was 2.2 hours.  It should be noted that the results from this survey displayed data from elementary school teachers in grades 1 - 4, whereas, Blank only reported on 4th-grade teachers.  On the U.S. Department of Education and Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics website, state data was not displayed regarding instructional time teaching science.  This missing data became one of the catalysts for the purposes of my research.

Achievement levels on the 4th-grade NAEP science exams continue to leave New York state students below the national average and averages from students who live in the border states.  At the national level, 75% of the students met the basic level, in New York State 72% of the students achieved the Basic level (NJ: 76%, CT: 77%, MA: 83% and VT: 85% - PA did not report scores).  Averages for students who obtained the proficient level on the NAEP exam were as follows: NY (33%), nationally (37%), CT: 38%, NJ: 39%, MA: 47% and VT: 48% - see above about PA). Students in New York state have scored below the national average on the 2009 and 2015 NAEP 4th grade science exams and based on Blank’s work, NY teachers spent less time teaching science than teachers across the country.
Research Questions and Purpose

Based on my personal experience and two significant reports sponsored by the US Education Department,  I formulated the following research questions: (1.) Do elementary school teachers in Western New York teach science?  (a.) And if so, how often do they teach it and what resources do they use? My second research question was based on teacher preparation, so I asked, (2.) Did elementary school teachers in Western New York have an opportunity to teach science during their (a.) student teaching and/or (b.) science methods course?  

The purpose of my research evolved from my two questions.  The purpose of this research was to develop and distribute a questionnaire that examined if and how science is being taught in elementary classrooms across Western New York. The questionnaire asked teachers: (1.) if they taught science, (2.) how often, (3.) at what time of day and (4.) with what resources?  It also asked them about how they were prepared to teach elementary school science.

Methodology

Participants. Participants for this exploratory study came from a graduate science course taught by the faculty mentor at Buffalo State College.  All participants voluntarily consented to take the questionnaire. Table 1 displays the ethnic/racial heritage and age range as reported by the participants.

Table 1 Participant’s Ethnic and Racial Heritage Organized by Age Range (N = 29)
Age Range (years)	Ethnic and Racial Heritage
	Black, Afro-Caribbean, or African American (N = 2)	East Asian or Asian American (N = 3)	Latino or Hispanic American (N = 1)	Native American or Alaskan Native (N = 1)	Non-Hispanic White or Euro-American (N = 22)
20 - 30	2	3	1	1	18
31 - 40					1
41 - 50					3

Data Collection Overview.  In order to investigate the amount of time science was taught in Western New York elementary schools, a questionnaire was developed using Qualtrics software. The questionnaire was divided into three parts, Personal Demographics, School Demographics/Teaching Science, and Science Content Knowledge. All questions were answered with complete anonymity and distributed to graduate students who took a science theory, research, and practice in science instruction course using an anonymous link.  The questionnaire was given to graduate students as a pilot so that results could be analyzed and the questions could be revised based on these results. The revised questions will be administered to full-time elementary school teachers during the fall of 2018.

Results

Do you teach science? and if so, how often and when?.  When the 29 participants were asked if they taught science, 13 indicated that they did not teach science, 11 indicated that they did teach science and 5 indicated that they were not teaching at the time.  Of the 11 who indicated that they teach science, 2 reported that they teach science bi-weekly, 3 reported that they teach science daily and 6 reported that they teach science weekly. Table 2 displays instructional science teaching time in hours per week so that it can be compared with 2015-2016  National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) data. Data was collected from graduate students who teach fifth grade, kindergarten, and multi-age classrooms. This data is reported in table 2 but it is not comparable to Blank’s (2013) research or the data from the NTPS survey because data in Blank’s study and from the NTPS only reported data from teachers in grades 1 - 4.  Graduate students who reported that they taught science bi-weekly were not included in table 2.

Table 2 Instructional Science Time Reported by Grade Level
Grade Level	Hours Per Week	Based on the 2015-2016 NTPS survey, the national average of instructional teaching time dedicated to science was 2.2 hours per week.
Multi-age	2.5 - 3.3
Multi-age	.33 - .50
Kindergarten a	.5 - 1.0
First Grade	.16 - .33
First Grade	.33 - .50
Third Grade	.50 - .66
Fourth Grade	2.5 - 3.3
Fifth Grade	1.6 - 2.5
Did not report b	0 - .16
Notes: a  - Kindergarten teacher reported that they taught science every other day, but did not indicate if that was M - W - F or T - Th b - the Graduate student did not indicate what grade level they taught

Only two teachers met the national average of 2.2 hours per week; one teacher was in a fourth-grade classroom and the other taught in a multi-age classroom.  

Summary

The data from this pilot questionnaire reflected my teaching experiences so far at Buffalo State.  Even though the 4th-grade NAEP science exam scores were not displayed by district or school, it would not be a surprise if the students in the schools and districts where these teachers work produced low achievement levels.  The data from this survey clearly indicate that, at least in this small sample, teachers in Western New York do not spend a lot of time teaching science.

 

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