Name of presentationEarth Science Education Unit

Geology Teacher Training

Stakeholder Meeting

Earth Science Education Unit

www.earthscienceeducation.com

Geology teacher demand and supply

17th May 2011

A geology teacher:

• has a geology degree (or at least a minimum of 40% of a geology degree)

• has a PGCE (one-year teaching certificate)– the PGCE may be in science/geology teaching – or in science teaching or in geography teaching (from

institutions where a geology degree is recognised)

• has not trained in Scotland (since a geology degree is not recognised for science or geography teaching in Scotland)

• is likely to be a member of the Earth Science Teachers’ Association (ESTA)

Geology teacher demand

England, Wales, N. Ireland - A-level

• A-level entry was falling, but has been steadily rising recently

• as a percentage of all A-levels - similar

England, Wales, N. Ireland - A-level

• Rises in all types of institution last year

England, Wales, N. Ireland - A-level

• New AS-level looked promising – it then fell – but a recent continuing rise; 2010 = highest ever

England, Wales, N. Ireland - AS-level

England, Wales, N. Ireland - GCSE Geology

• The new GCSE in Geology has just come on stream – with interest rising (more in pipeline)

AS- A- GCSE level figures

• 2010 A2-level Geology – 1893 • 2010 AS-level Geology – 2635

• 2011 GCSE Geology – 1116

• Two Awarding Bodies (Exam Boards – OCR, WJEC) offer A and AS-level

• 2011 – OCR = 107 centres; WJEC = 92 centres; a total of 199 centres

• One Awarding Body (WJEC) offers GCSE Geology• 2011 – 66 centres (including 24 new ones)

Geology teachers

• The centre numbers indicate a minimum of 200 teachers actively teaching geology

• The numbers are greater than this since:– some centres have two geology teachers– some centres teach only A-level or GCSE, not both

• Earth Science Teachers’ Association membership: 472

• Geology-teaching jobs advertised so far this year:– two geology teaching jobs– two science posts mentioning geology– three geography/geology teaching jobs

Undergraduate geology recruitment - 2010

F600 Geology • Total applicants = 1284 (617 accepted)• Applicants with A-level Geology = 565• Applicants with Scottish Higher = 13• Applicants with A-level + Higher = 578

• % total applicants with A-level or Scottish Higher Geology = 45%

Figures kindly provided by UCAS

Undergraduate geology recruitment - 2010

F6** Geology– F600 Geology – F610 Applied geology – F611 Industrial geology – F620 Mining geology – F630 Geotechnology – F631 Marine geotechnology – F640 Earth science – F641 Palaeontology – F642 Geoscience – F650 Geological oceanography – F660 Geophysics

Undergraduate geology recruitment - 2010

F6** Geology • Total applicants = 3699 (1214 accepted)• Applicants with A-level Geology = 1115• Applicants with Scottish Higher = 33• Applicants with A-level + Higher = 1148

• % total applicants with A-level or Scottish Higher Geology = 31%

Figures kindly provided by UCAS

Geology in the National Science Curriculum

Key stage 3: 11 – 14 year olds– 14 statements of content– one is - geological activity is caused by chemical

and physical processes (this includes rock cycle processes, rock formation and weathering)

– 1/14 = 7%

Key stage 4: 14 – 16 year olds– 16 statements of content– one is - the surface and the atmosphere of the

Earth have changed since the Earth’s origin and are changing at present

– 1/14 = 6%

Support for geology teaching

School-level geology teaching in the UK is currently supported by:•the Earth Science Teachers’ Association (annual conference, bi-annual journal)•the Education Committee of the Geological Society•the Earth Science Education Forum (England and Wales)•the Scottish Earth Science Education Forum•ES2K in Northern Ireland

Geology teacher demand - summary

We need geology teachers to teach A-level and GCSE geology:•to supply an important percentage of students for undergraduate geology recruitment•… and an important group of other students with an understanding of geology

We also need geology-trained teachers:•to contribute to the teaching of broad science at KS3 and KS4

Geology teacher supply

PGCE geology teacher training

• Although in the distant past there were up to six institutions training geology teachers

• in the past 15 years, there have been only two– Bath University– Keele University

PGCE Geology in recent yearsBath University – total 21 since 2003, average 2.6 pa

PGCE Geology in recent yearsKeele University – total 127 since 1997, average 9.5 pa

PGCE geology teacher training

• Although in the distant past there were up to six institutions training geology teachers

• In the past 15 years, there have been only two– Bath University– Keele University

• Average no. of geology teachers trained nationally since 2003 = 10.9 pa

PGCE geology teacher training

Keele University last year (2009/10):• decided in March, since recruitment was low, to close

the course• were given three ‘no cost’ options to convince them to

re-open the course• agreed to the third ‘no cost’ option, providing a

‘distance learning’ course in Geology teacher training was developed in the longer term

• reopened recruitment in May• since recruitment had been closed between March and

late May – recruited only 4 trainees

PGCE geology teacher training

Science teacher training at Keele:• involves 57 two hour sessions in science teaching

(including elements of biology, chemistry, geology and physics)

• two residential field visits• 13 sessions (26 hours) of subject specialist teaching –

aimed at A-level in, biology, chemistry, geology and physics

Thus the Keele geology teacher training course would have been closed to save 26 hours of specialist geology teacher training

PGCE geology teacher training

Keele University this year (2010/11):– has trained the trainees using the ‘no cost’ option– this involved the trainees observing the teaching of a geology

module to students on a pre-PGCE ‘Subject Knowledge Enhancement’ (SKE) course

– addressing different learning outcomes from the SKE students– discussing the teaching afterwards– with good student feedback

• Keele was planning to do the same next year (2011/12) – providing there was progress towards a ‘distance learning course’

PGCE geology teacher training

PGCE geology teacher training

Keele University this year:• The distance learning course in geology teacher

training idea is important because the course not only could be offered to Keele students, but also to:– PGCE science students in other ITT institutions– PGCE geography students in other institutions– in-service science and geography teachers with geology

degrees– in-service and training science and geography teachers in

Scotland– international students– other educators interested in geology teaching

(eg. adult education, museum education or outdoor education)

PGCE geology teacher training

Bath University this year (2010/11):• is training only two specialist geology students• decided earlier this year not to continue the course• closed recruitment for 2011/12 onward

PGCE geology teacher training

Keele University for next year (2011/12):• was planning to recruit geologists to be taught

alongside the SKE students• received 19% cuts in science PGCE figures (from 70 to

57)• within these cuts, the numbers of chemistry and

physics students was protected• this left only 12 students for ‘biology and other science’• Keele decided that, in order to maintain a viable

biology group, the geology course would have to be closed

PGCE geology teacher training

Keele University for next year (2011/12):• the TDA was lobbied suggesting that, through the cuts

imposed, an ‘unintended consequence’ would be that geology teacher training would be discontinued in this country

• TDA allocated an additional six geology teacher training places to Keele for 2011/12

• … and indicated that they would keep small subjects like geology in mind during future allocations

Geology teacher supply - summaryKeele University is the only institution that will train

geology teachers in the future

Keele has been allocated six places for 2011/12

The current Keele training model is only viable if:– a lecturer with expertise in geology teacher training remains at

Keele– SKE courses continue to run– there is a commitment to develop a ‘distance learning course’– funding can be found to develop such a ‘distance learning

course’

The long term provision of geology teacher training in the UK is in severe doubt

Name of presentationEarth Science Education Unit

Geology Teacher Training

Stakeholder Meeting

Earth Science Education Unit

www.earthscienceeducation.com

Geology teacher demand and supply

17th May 2011