Part 2 of 2: State and Local Governments

08-21-08

SC3 Pre-Service Teacher Training Script

{We will start by introducing ourselves and state briefly the purpose of the focus group}

• As you all know, the goals of the Schools Chemical Cleanout Campaign (SC3) program are to:

  • Remove accumulations of potentially dangerous chemicals from K-12 schools;

  • Prevent future accumulations through improved chemical management; and,

  • Raise national awareness of the issue.

• To help us reach these goals, the EPA SC3 team is calling on your expertise as we embark on our outreach to pre-service and student teachers.

• Your passion for and knowledge of the importance of training pre-service teachers before they enter the classroom about responsible chemical management will lend great credibly in reaching this audience.

Background/Context

{We will ask a background/contextual question to gauge the level of familiarity each person has with the issue of pre-service teacher training}

• Briefly describe your background and why you are interested in pre-service teacher training in responsible chemical management.

• In your experience, how do pre-service teachers generally learn about responsible chemical management?

• Are you aware of existing pre-service teacher trainings in responsible chemical management?

Curriculum-Specific Questions

• Have we identified the all the various elements included in existing responsible chemical management training with which you are familiar? [Existing training will be identified ahead of time]

  • Briefly discuss additional elements that should be added or deleted.

  • Briefly discuss whether existing elements should be modified.

• What do you think would be the best way to present pre-service teacher training [Existing ways to present training (e.g., classroom course; part of an existing classroom course; on the Internet.) will be identified ahead of time]

• What, if any, modifications to existing pre-service training should be based on the type of school that the student will eventually teach in [ identified ahead of time, e.g., public, private, charter, magnet, vocational] or subject that the pre-service student will eventually teach [identified ahead of time, e.g., science, art, vocational, etc.)? What about for programs such as "Teach for America?"

• Have we identified typical state policies [identified ahead of time] that would support pre-service teacher training in responsible chemical management? Do you think we should add or delete any of the identified policies?

Barriers to Developing, Improving, and/or Instituting Pre-service Teacher Training

• How would you rank barriers to adding responsible chemical management training to pre-service teacher course work?

  • Cost?

  • Lack of knowledgeable personnel?

  • University procedures?

  • Lack of accreditation?

  • Other?

• Are you aware of strategies that have been tried to overcome barriers to instituting pre-service teacher training in responsible chemical management?

  • Were they successful?

  • How could they have been improved?

  • Where have these strategies been implemented?

Promotion of Curriculum

• Do you know of approaches that have successfully resulted in responsible chemical management training being added to teacher course work?

• Do you know of policies that would help create a mandate for colleges and universities to provide pre-service teacher training on responsible chemical management?

• Who do you think would best promote pre-service teacher training within a state?

• What agencies or persons might serve as champions for instituting pre-service teacher training in colleges and universities?

• To you knowledge, what are the critical factors and steps to successfully incorporating a new concept into teacher certification/licensure?

• Do you know of any training or licensure programs for teachers of which we should be aware?

• What do you think is the role of the SC3 partners in promoting pre-service teacher training?

• Can you suggest an approach to pilot any curriculum we may develop or modify?

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