A Study of the Present Status and the Trends of General Science in the High Schools of the State of Iowa

Abstract

The Iowa Association of Science Teachers meeting in conjunction with the Iowa State Teachers Association, in Des Moines, Iowa, on November 5 and 6, 1936, set as its objective the improvement of science education in Iowa. To accomplish this objective, plans were made to determine what standards the Association should recommend concerning the following issues:

a. Minimum qualifications and training of science teachers.

b. Maximum teaching loads.

c. Accessories for teaching such as laboratories, equipment (both student and demonstration), and visual materials.

d. Place of science in the curriculum.

e. Time allowance for each science in the daily schedule.

From the open discussion it became evident that the status of physics in the curriculum of the high schools of Iowa is more definitely determined than that of the other sciences. More schools now teach it and have taught it for a longer period of time. For many years it was a required subject of the examination of teachers for the first grade county certificate as well as all state certificates. While recently the candidate for certification may elect either physics or general science, the former is considered by many to be the better choice, and the selection of the latter is interpreted ordinarily as the inability to. master the principles of physics. As a result the students in the high schools of Iowa are usually taught by teachers who are familiar with the laws of physics and the approved methods of teaching it.