NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch.
Writing in the Northeast Times (October 15, 2024), which serves the northeast Philadelphia community, NCSE deputy director Glenn Branch congratulated Pennsylvania for adopting, in 2022, a new set of state science standards that includes climate change at the middle and high school level (as NCSE previously reported). The new standards take effect in 2025.
"But having taken such a huge step forward, Pennsylvania must not falter," he warned. "In particular, it will be necessary to equip teachers to meet the increased demands of the new standards. A national survey conducted by the National Center for Science Education and Pennsylvania State University revealed a striking lack of preparation for teaching climate change: more than half of the teachers surveyed reported having never taken a course in college that devoted as much as a single class session to the topic." (The survey is described in detail in "Mixed Messages" (PDF)).
Observing that Pennsylvania's climate is already changing, Branch concluded, "It is encouraging that science education in Pennsylvania is on its way to changing as well. But it is necessary for the state to follow through on its commitment to improve science education by ensuring that its teachers are ready, willing, and able to teach climate change effectively."
