Rice University Regional Collaborative / Houston
Mission
To create a science and technology learning community for Houston area teachers, schools, and districts through program development and sustained teacher professional development in science content, pedagogy, systemic school reform, and technology. A new initiative of the Rice Collaborative for 2008-09 is the creation of a new training laboratory housed in Spring Branch ISD: the ConocoPhillips-Rice Elementary Model Science Lab. This training laboratory will train 80 elementary science teachers each year from districts throughout the Greater Houston area beginning in Fall 2008. The aim of the new Lab program is no less than to transform the nature and effectiveness of elementary science instruction in the Greater Houston area.
Accomplishments
The Rice Collaborative now serves hundreds of schools and thousands of teachers in the greater Houston area and beyond. The program has grown to include science and technology teacher professional development for grades K-12, and technology support and web-based applications for teachers. There are currently more than 20 full time science specialists supporting science instruction in Aldine ISD as a continuation of a partnership with the Rice Collaborative that received a special recognition partnership award in 2002 at the Governor’s Conference on Mathematics, Science & Technology education. The teacher and professional development eLearning website, http://Learn.Rice.edu, now has more than 5000 users. An additional website, www.TAKScopes.com provides curricular resources to elementary science teachers across the state.
A large scale systemic program for improving elementary science instruction in Houston ISD was initiated in 2006-07, the Rice University Elementary Model Science Lab . This innovative, one-of-a-kind program trains 80 teacher participants one full day each week throughout each academic year in science content knowledge, best practices for science teaching, and teacher mentoring and leadership skills. With financial support from ConocoPhillips, this Lab program was expanded to reach teachers throughout the greater Houston area in 2008-09. The ConocoPhillips Rice Elementary Model Science Lab program is located in Spring Branch ISD at Treasure Forest Elementary.
Contacts
Wallace Dominey, Ph.D.
Project Director
email: wdominey@rice.edu
phone: 713-348-5461
Web Site: http://Learn.Rice.edu
Partners
Rice University Center for Education
Rice University Earth Science Department
Rice University Chemistry Department
Rice University Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department
Houston ISD
Aldine ISD
Spring Branch ISD
Odyssey Academy
ConocoPhillips
Participating Districts and Schools
| Aldine ISD Alief ISD Clear Creek ISD Crosby ISD, Katy ISD Deer Park ISD Dickinson ISD Ft. Bend ISD Galena ParkISD Goose Creek ISD Crosby ISD Klein ISD North Forest ISD Sheldon ISD |
Galveston ISD Hitchcock ISD Houston ISD Humble ISD Klein ISD LaMarque ISD North Forest ISD Pasadena ISD Spring Branch ISD Tomball ISD |
