Trading places in science education
September 2008
Editor's Note: Dr. Charles Eick, an associate professor of science education in the Auburn University College of Education's Department of Curriculum and Teaching, and Dr. Mark T. Jones, a science teacher at Drake Middle School in Auburn, were featured in the September issue of "PDS Partners,'' the National Association for Professional Development Schools newsletter. Eick's newsletter article, entitled "Trading Places in Science Education,'' describes a semster-long sabbatical he spent teaching at an Auburn middle school. Jones, who earned a doctorate in biology education from Auburn in 2005, worked for the College of Education in an adjunct role to fill the temporary void left by Eick.
A big strength of Professional Development Schools is the ongoing "in the classroom" relationship that is developed between university and K-12 faculty. Many of us are familiar with K-12 faculty serving as adjunct faculty in university settings, but how many of us are aware of university faculty serving as K-12 classroom teachers?
My colleague, Mark Jones, was one of a number of K-12 faculty in our Auburn University-Auburn City Schools PDS who also taught for our college on an adjunct or part-time basis. He taught secondary science methods and technology courses. However, few of us in university settings have done the same in the local schools beyond co-teaching arrangements. So, with this in mind, I decided to become a middle grades science teacher once again while on sabbatical for a semester. I left the science classroom 10 years previously to complete my doctorate and enter the university. This opportunity would likely be the best kind of professional development for a veteran science teacher educator.
Using sabbatical as a means of entering the classroom full-time is one approach for university faculty who want to teach again. Some science education colleagues of mine have done the same. Most universities have a sabbatical policy for tenured faculty and many of these policies pay a professor at their current salary for one semester, or half pay for one year.
My institution had a sabbatical leave policy but leave was not funded. I had to find another approach for funding. Our local PDS partner, Auburn City Schools, was keen to help me. In science education in the South there seems to always be a shortage of qualified science teachers at the 7-12 grade level, even at mid-year. We planned for me to take over the eighth grade classroom of a science teacher who was retiring at mid-year.
Financially this arrangement was a win-win for the PDS. The school system would
pay back to the university the remaining salary of the classroom teacher and in return have a qualified science teacher for the classroom. I would continue to draw my university salary for the semester and the school system-funded salary would go to the college to help fund my adjunct replacement, Mark, for spring.
The spring term went very well for Mark and me. His students in science methods even spent some time with me in my classroom. He continued to learn how to best meet the needs of beginning science teachers. I learned a great deal about teaching new standards-based curriculum, using new technologies, and the nature of middle school students today.
Mark never really left his middle school classroom at another neighboring school in our PDS while an adjunct professor. We knew that the concept of truly "trading places" could work the same but with no exchange of funds (or even sabbatical leave), only faculty assignments.
Regardless, arrangements in "trading places" are not hard to do for those in a PDS who are willing to do it. However, it takes a strong PDS and its willing leadership at both ends to make it happen.
Kudos to the Auburn University College of Education and Auburn City Schools PDS to be there!
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