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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KCBS) - A new study from the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley shows that a stunning number of Bay Area teachers spend less than an hour on science instruction in their elementary school classes each week. Teachers claim they lack time and support.
Consequently, kids are getting very little exposure to science, the study concluded. The last time anyone measured the amount of time dedicated to science in the classroom was in 2000. "The national survey said that there were about 125 minutes per week, closer to two hours, being taught nationally," explained Dr. Rena Dorph, director of the Center for Research, Evaluation and Assessment at the Lawrence Hall of Science. "Now we're seeing less than 60 minutes in 80% of the classrooms that responded to our survey and we're seeing 16% of teachers not teaching science at all."
Of the 900 teachers surveyed, 41% responded that they felt simply unprepared to teach the subject matter. "It doesn't bode well for many of these kids if they don't have good exposure to science in the early grades to be prepared to take on the challenges of science both in high school and college," Dorph said.
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KCBS' Holly Quan reports
