Alex Berezow and Brayden Olson

It is no secret that the U.S. spends more money per K-12 pupil than most other countries, yet American students consistently rank in the middle of the pack against their peers. In the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment, measured against their counterparts in 34 developed nations, U.S. students ranked 27th in mathematics and 20th in science.

Americans can and must do better if we want to maintain our edge in scientific research and technological innovation. We believe that a radically innovative approach to early science education could boost international test scores. And the best part is that it is fun and wouldn’t cost any additional money.

Most K-5 teachers do not have adequate science training. This is understandable, because you don’t need a degree in a hard science such as chemistry to have the qualities desirable in elementary school teachers — compassion, patience and the ability to work with inattentive children. As a result, K-5 teachers often place more emphasis on the topics with which they are more familiar, such as reading and math.

There is, however, a large force of highly trained individuals in college towns all over the country. They’re called graduate students, and most of them are required to teach undergraduates while they pursue their master’s and doctoral degrees. Those students should be given the option to teach elementary school students instead.

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This approach, developed in conversation with Erin Jones (a candidate for superintendent of public instruction in Washington state), has three enormous advantages:

First, it would provide K-5 teachers with a bona fide science expert in the classroom. Any elementary teacher whose expertise is not in science or math would appreciate the assistance (as well as the relief of having another adult in the room). Furthermore, children that age are still in awe of scientists, who in their view have a Mr. Wizard mystique. Inviting a graduate student to make fog from dry ice, mix color-changing chemicals, write in invisible ink, or construct a tornado in a bottle would dazzle and inspire young children.

Second, this plan would offer graduate students a valuable opportunity to get work experience outside academia. The job market inside academia for new Ph.D.s is tight and getting tighter. Scientists are often stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of post-doctoral positions. According to Inside Higher Ed, 70% of doctorate recipients had a job or post-doctoral position lined up in 2004; by 2014, that number had fallen to 61.4%. Providing graduate students with an experience outside the ivory tower could help ease this problem, and it just so happens that we desperately need more passionate, intelligent young people to choose teaching as a profession.

Finally, such a policy might lead to reforms that make it easier to go into teaching. Elementary school teachers are required to have certification in order to be allowed to teach in the classroom. As a result, many master’s and doctoral graduates shy away from pursuing this career because they are understandably reluctant to undergo yet more training. But if these students were allowed to teach kindergarten through fifth-grade as part of their graduate training, perhaps some states would allow a certification waiver.

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We recognize that our proposal is not a silver bullet for improving elementary education in America. Many other reforms are necessary, some of them expensive and politically difficult. But we believe our idea would be broadly appealing as well as rewarding for universities, elementary schools and teachers, and society as a whole. As Albert Einstein once said, “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” We can’t think of a better way to achieve this than by bringing young scientists into K-5 classrooms.

Alex Berezow, Ph.D., is senior fellow of biomedical science at the American Council on Science and Health. Brayden Olson is CEO of Recurrence, an education technology start-up in Seattle.

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