To develop citizens who can use scientific knowledge and critical thinking skills to innovate, discover, answer questions, and make decisions based on evidence.
We envision scientifically literate citizens of Indiana using knowledge and skills to participate fully in our democracy, excel in rewarding jobs in a strong and sustainable economy, and enjoy a high quality of life.
In the United States science literacy and the ability to apply scientific knowledge are not being cultivated at a rate which matches our need for an educated citizenry. This deficit has serious consequences for Indiana’s economic future. In response to this growing problem a committee comprised of stakeholders from K-12, higher education, government, and the business community developed a Strategic Plan for Science Education Reform. As a pivotal first step towards developing the Strategic Plan the committee met to perform a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis and create one- and five-year frameworks for the strategic plan. The committee developed mission and vision statements for science education in Indiana.
Representative stakeholders from all geographic areas of the state provided feedback via phone conference and questionnaire about the state of science education in their region of Indiana. The commonalities from this discussion were that:
• Indiana has pockets of excellence with regard to science education.
• Science is being taught in grades 6-12, but inquiry-based methods are not widely used.
• Student learning in science is compromised by lack of time for science instruction, marginal content knowledge of some teachers, inadequate discipline-specific pedagogical practices and lack of effective instructional materials.
• There is not a strong culture of support for scientific thinking and learning.
• There is a developing network of critical stakeholders, including business leaders, community members, policymakers, educators of every level and science education researchers, who recognize the economic and educational concerns and potential for establishing effective pre-K-16 science education programs for all Indiana students.
• There is promise through a growing statewide alignment between a unified vision for science education and reality that as a state we need systemic reform.
The Science Education Strategic Planning Committee created a framework for the Strategic Plan for Science Education Reform. The framework focuses on five areas for systemic science education reform.
• Curriculum - Curricular materials are at the heart of a quality science education program. It is important to provide schools with criteria for how to select and adopt curriculum that support inquiry-based science instruction.
• Professional Development - Professional development prepares teachers to introduce curriculum into the classroom and prepares administrators to provide support for teachers as they navigate this time of changes in content knowledge, pedagogy and curriculum. Support should be ongoing and include both pre-service and in-service teachers.
• Materials Support - A materials support system ensures that teachers have access to the materials needed to facilitate an inquiry-based science classroom. Many of these materials, such as the research-based curricular materials, require refurbishment after use and the efficiency and timeliness of their availability in the classroom will affect the success of the program.
• Administrative and Community Support - Strong communication about the goals, appearance, and structure of inquiry-based methods is needed to garner community support. Support can take many forms such as volunteering in the classroom, sharing expertise, and legislative support. Gaining broad community support from local community leaders and school administrators within the state and the regions is critical to the success of the program.
• Evaluation and Assessment - There needs to be in place a balanced assessment system that provides information about science education in Indiana to multiple stakeholders at different levels of the education system. This system should include formative assessment, student communication about their knowledge, ongoing assessment of teachers’ content knowledge and evaluation of teachers’ instructional practice. The efficiency of the materials support system and whether or not the program as a whole is meeting its goal will need to be evaluated.