Strategic Plan
In The Meaning of the New Institution, Edgar Odell Lovett wrote
It is hard to come up with a better statement of the goals of University outreach than this. Only the method of delivery, limited by Lovett to lectures, needs to be upgraded.
Despite this expression of concern for outreach at the beginnings of our University, the role of outreach has changed dramatically over its history. It is safe to say that if a planning process had been undertaken ten years ago there would not have been an Outreach Subcommittee. Outreach has become more important, again, in the last ten years. This has been the result of several factors. First there has been the increase in pressure for the accountability in education and research. While this primarily impacts public universities, there is a carry over effect on private institutions such as Rice. A second factor is the changing patterns of support for scientific research subsequent to the end of the cold war. There is a greater call for federally supported research to be more applicable to the problems facing American society. In particular, funding agencies are calling on the scientific community to play a more active role in public science education. Finally, there is the realization that universities have skills that can contribute to the solution of some of societyŐs problems, such as the improvement of K-12 education.
In addition to such external forces, there is the increasing realization within the University that outreach activities have important benefits for the University itself. These include the effect of an improved public image and better community relations on fund raising. Many faculty believe that outreach activities can lead to the enrichment of our primary activities of teaching and research. Outreach to our K-12 schools systems can lead to better prepared undergraduate students. Outreach to other undergraduate institutions can help us recruit better graduate students. Outreach to business, industry, and government can help us in placing our students after graduation and in developing important intellectual and research ties.
Outreach encompasses any activity inherent to the mission of the University that contributes to the community outside the Division, and from which the Division derives benefit as well. Thus, our participation in outreach is derived both from what we can contribute, i.e., from our stake in the health of the community, and from what we gain in terms of visibility and support from outside the University. Our involvement must be based on our institutional mission.
The outreach mission of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences is to support University, community, regional, national and international interactions that enhance education and research, specifically
As a start to its considerations, the Outreach Subcommittee conducted a survey of current outreach activities in the School of Natural Sciences. The following summary gives a flavor of the total activity.
There are four large teacher enhancement projects in the sciences. These are the Model Science Lab in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, the Galveston Bay Project and Project Advance in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, and the Rice School Mathematics Project. These projects are described in more detail in the Addendum to this section.
There are many faculty who visit K-12 classrooms, some on a regular basis. These visits involve giving presentations, advising students, judging contests, and a variety of other activities. There are a large number of faculty engaged in curriculum development aimed at high school math and science courses. Some Rice faculty are working with local school districts. Others are developing courses on the world-wide Web. Faculty and staff frequently provide inservice training programs for teachers. At least one department occasionally has summer research positions for high school teachers.
Many departments have programs which occasionally bring K-12 students to campus. These visits usually feature lectures or laboratory demonstrations, but they all provide opportunities for the students to meet Rice faculty. Some departments provide tutoring programs for inner-city students. One program provides two-week summer internships for high school students.
The inventory disclosed relatively little outreach activity aimed at business and industry. There are weekly seminars in the Geology and Geophysics Department which attract local geologists. The Computational Mathematics Laboratory has several joint projects with local businesses and continues to develop more. The Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering interacts with state and national trade associations, as well as with local biotech companies. This area is clearly a venue where more should be done.
Faculty in all departments serve on boards and committees of local and national institutions. These include professional organizations, national funding agencies, and regulatory agencies. Rice has a long history of allowing faculty to take short-term positions at the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies.
Some faculty have appeared on radio and TV to discuss science issues. Others have given interviews to print media representatives. Others have authored articles that appeared in popular magazines. Rice faculty present lectures in public forums and to local institutions. The Space Physics department provides opportunities for the public to participate in special events, such as lunar and solar eclipses and comet watches.
Web pages with scientific content are being developed in several of the science departments. This seems to be a growing trend. There is a lot interest in doing more of this, but there are significant barriers inhibiting rapid proliferation of Web pages. We have included in the Addendum a list of Web pages with scientific content that have been prepared by Rice faculty and staff.
The Public Connections program, a joint project of Department of Space Physics with the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences, and the Glacier Project of the Geology and Geophysics Department are described in more detail in the Addendum.
In some departments, faculty are encouraged to include recruiting as a goal when they make a professional visit to other colleges and universities. Some give short courses and evening courses at neighboring minority colleges and universities. More activities aimed at undergraduates at other institutions, such as undergraduate conferences, could have a significant impact on the recruitment of graduate students.
The School of Continuing Studies provides the opportunity for scientists to offer courses to the general public. There are relatively few courses with scientific content among the long list of courses offered.
In the past ten years Rice has recognized that many research problems are interdisciplinary in nature by forming several research institutes that cross departmental and divisional boundaries. The list of these includes the Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering, the John W. Cox Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering, the Center for Research on Parallel Computation, the Computer and Information Technology Institute, the Computational Mathematics Laboratory, the Energy and Environmental Systems Institute, the Rice Quantum Institute, and the Keck Center for Computational Biology. The Center for Education is a multidisciplinary umbrella organization which fosters outreach to K-12 education.
The interdisciplinary nature of research is also increasingly reflected in our educational programs. There are a number of interdisciplinary majors such as the applied physics major. The list is increasing. We specifically point to the proposed bioengineering undergraduate major and the proposed double major in environmental sciences.
Other activities include the Rice University Scholars Program, and a small number of interdivisional courses.
Undergraduate students in the sciences are also active in outreach. Specifically noted are the Rice Association of Biologically Inclined Students (RABIES), Owlchemy, the Society of Physics Students, and the Rice Eulers. Each of these student groups sponsors significant outreach activities. In addition, a new student group recently sponsored a Science Olympiad for high school students.
The immediate conclusion reached by almost everyone on the subcommittee, and by others who saw the results of the survey, was that there is an impressive amount of outreach activity already taking place. Most of the outreach is being done by individuals. The fact that so many people were surprised indicates that much of the outreach activity is unnoticed by colleagues and by administrators.
The dollar cost to the University of all of the outreach activities has been minimal. For large projects most costs are usually covered by grants or are paid for by the clients. The University does have to provide office space for staff. For individual projects there are few dollar costs to the University, if any. The cost in time and effort to the people involved is far from negligible, however.
The benefit to Rice of these activities cannot be computed, but without doubt the good will generated by outreach alone far outweighs the cost to the University.
There is a significant amount of outreach that is aimed at public awareness of science. Most of this is in EEB, BCB, SPAC, and GEOL. However, this is an area where more could be done. One avenue that is not being sufficiently exploited is the courses offered by Continuing Studies. There are a small number of Web pages with scientific content prepared by faculty and staff of the Wiess School. Links to these have been added to the Wiess School home page (http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~nsci). There are a couple of very interesting outreach activities aimed at undergraduates at other universities and at the recruitment of graduate students. These might be emulated by other departments.
Faculty are rewarded for research, teaching, and service. Outreach activities must be included in the service category. We conclude from the results of our inventory that most current outreach activities are done by individuals, and they generally go unnoticed by colleagues and by the administration. It is not to be envisioned (or even to be hoped for) that the highly individual nature of outreach will change. However, some encouragement can be very effective in raising oneŐs interest. Two things are needed to make outreach activities more attractive to our faculty: proper recognition and facilitation of these activities.
Proper recognition that outreach activities are valued by the University is highly important. The first step the Division should take is to ensure that outreach activities are rewarded. Of course, this is done most effectively at the Department and Division level, but recognition at the highest level of the University is also important.
It should be possible to start this policy with the next Annual Report to the President. The cost is minimal.
Another way in which outreach can be rewarded is by publicizing these activities on campus and with our alumni.
Much of this is currently happening, but more can be done. The onus here is on the publishers of the magazines, and on Information Services, but the individual doing the outreach has some responsibility as well. Again, the cost is minimal.
There are a number of actions the Division can take to facilitate outreach activities. However, in doing so it must be remembered that there is a delicate balance between facilitation and requirement. The highly spontaneous nature of most outreach activities must be recognized. In particular, no person at the University should be required to be involved in outreach. Nevertheless putting in place some mechanisms for the support of outreach could have good effect.
Usually what is needed to get started in outreach is the proper contacts, and maybe some guidelines. The people best situated to provide what is needed are those already involved. Information like this can be at the disposal of departmental and divisional staff, as well the staff of existing outreach activities.
It should be possible to have plans in place by June, 1998. Again the cost should be minimal.
While not universal, it is a feature of outreach activity that the monetary cost to the University is small. However, the cost to the individuals is often quite high in terms of the time that is involved. The University should recognize this in the most effective way.
In departments with relatively low teaching loads, this may be possible by simply rearranging priorities. In others it may be necessary for the Dean to provide funds for a teaching substitute in the form of a temporary appointment.
The world-wide Web has created new venues for outreach. New opportunities exist in almost every area of outreach. Web pages with scientific content are high impact programs. They reach a large number of teachers and students. They are particularly attractive to funding agencies, and they greatly increase the visibility of the university. The world-wide Web provides a vehicle for Rice faculty and students to reach an international audience with their creative ideas and projects. Clearly the educational impact of the Web does not end with K-12. It also serves to improve public awareness of science. Increasingly the Web is the primary source of information about our graduate programs. Currently every department, and in some cases every individual, is facing alone the challenge of designing attractive Web pages. There is a need for expertise in this area.
Web-based projects should be encouraged by providing on-campus technical support. We should take full advantage of the software and expertise gained in the development of existing programs and see that these resources are readily available through an on-campus clearing house. This is an activity where students, both graduate and undergraduate, can make very significant contributions. Nevertheless, there are times when no student can be depended on to have the necessary knowledge. While there is not enough of a need in any individual department to justify a staff person with Web expertise, there is enough need within the Division as a whole.
It is anticipated that this will cost about $60,000 per year. The need is sufficient now and mounting. It should be done by July, 1997, but July, 1998 is a more reasonable goal.
Finally, while we worry about improving the atmosphere for outreach activities, we should try to ensure that these activities are done at a level of excellence that is comparable to our teaching and research. While assessment may be difficult in small projects, it should be attempted.
Increasingly large projects are required to have assessment procedures as an integrated part of what they do. These assessments are meant for the funding agency, but they should be designed so that they can also be used for internal assessment at Rice. For smaller projects, Department Chairs should attempt to make assessments when rewards for outreach are being made.
Our survey shows that Rice University is fortunate in having significant K-12 outreach activities. Any goal for the future must start with the existing programs and build upon them. Our starting point should be better communication and cooperation.
At present there is no central office for coordination of the projects. Indeed, some of the PI's on individual projects did not learn about other projects in the division until after the Strategic Planning Committee began its task. Better coordination of existing projects would have significant benefit for all involved. Ideas learned in one program can be used in another. Contacts made by one program might be useful to others. The principals and staff of existing outreach programs can serve as facilitators to foster a greater level of participation of Rice faculty and students in existing programs and to encourage the development of new programs.
This action should take place immediately.
It is the feeling of the Subcommittee that programs based on the world-wide Web have particularly high potential impact. They reach the largest number of students and teachers, they are particularly attractive to funding agencies, and they greatly increase the visibility of the university. Other more innovative projects that target a smaller audience in order to test curricula and teaching methods should also be encouraged.
What is needed is faculty time and expert help.
The constant quest to balance state and federal budgets places academic research and education under constant scrutiny by the public and politicians. The National Science Foundation has begun to impress upon scientists that they must play a stronger role in educating the public about the value of basic research, as emphasized by Neal Lane in a recent address on campus. We can no longer rely on K-12 teachers to carry the full burden of increasing public awareness of the value of basic research and education. Rice should encourage its faculty and students to view public education as everyone's responsibility, not just professional educators. Our students must be better prepared to meet this challenge. They should be encouraged to become more involved in public education by judging school science fairs, by giving guest lectures at area schools and community groups, and by participation in other such endeavors.
Another factor affecting outreach to K-12 education is the quality of the education programs at Rice. Too few Rice undergraduates in science and engineering become secondary teachers. When they do, they become very good teachers. The Subcommittee has become aware of significant concern among the faculty of the Wiess School over the quality of the preparation of secondary school teachers in science and mathematics at Rice. Some faculty are reluctant to suggest to students that they take education courses.
The Subcommittee feels that science education courses for teachers should be taught by scientists, or at least by specially qualified professional educators. It is necessary to have an appreciation both for the science and for the pedagogical problems involved in teaching science. Keeping such courses within the Division will allow the departments to maintain their quality. Individual departments should re-examine their course offerings and consider whether they should be offering courses for area teachers. The focus of these courses should be to update teachers on recent discoveries and re-kindle their excitement in the sciences and mathematics. These courses could be taught by non-tenure track faculty. Our own students should be encouraged to participate in these courses, presenting lectures about their own science, and learning important education skills.
Courses such as these could be taken by Rice undergraduates who want to prepare themselves for careers in K-12 education. However, such courses should not be accepted for credit toward a science major.
These courses would also be useful to individuals who are already teaching, but who want to improve their art. There are currently at least two such courses being offered, and there are indications that there is an demand among the teachers in Houston for courses of this sort that is not met currently. There is a potential income stream here, but probably not at the level of the current Rice tuition. If Rice wishes to pursue this avenue, it may be necessary to be accommodating in this regard. Perhaps the University could initiate fund-raising programs to pay for this activity.
Finally, courses such as these could form the basis for interdisciplinary graduate degrees in science and mathematics education. Such programs would be of interest to existing teachers. In addition they would make it possible for some of our own graduate students to pursue teaching careers.
The growing importance of research on problems which bridge the borders between disciplines is already recognized at Rice. It is incumbent upon departments and divisions to encourage and facilitate the participation of faculty in such projects. The interdisciplinary nature of research should also be reflected in our educational programs. Academic research is often less multidisciplinary and more individualized than is industrial research. Students trained in multidisciplinary science and accustomed to teamwork will be better prepared for industrial research. The atmosphere at Rice is unusually conducive to interdisciplinary cooperation, and Rice is uniquely positioned to offer joint degree programs between different departments within the sciences, and between science and engineering. These programs would be facilitated by faculty members holding joint appointments between different departments, including crossover between science and engineering.
In addition there are benefits to be reaped in the participation of other divisions in our outreach activities.
Achieving this goal will require closer communication between departments and divisions. The following actions will help to achieve this goal.
The Rice University Scholars Program is a fine example of how interdisciplinary programs can enhance the education of our students. Other programs may be possible and should be considered.
The responsibility for achieving this goal lies with the Dean and Department Chairs. However, individual faculty must carry out the effort. These actions should be ongoing activities. They should not add significantly to the Departmental operational costs.
Greater emphasis of interdisciplinary research and study should be a goal of the University; however, the University should not forget that research and study within individual disciplines will continue to be important.
Study after study has indicated the abysmal state of the publicŐs awareness of science. The average person learns only a little about science in school and nothing thereafter. In an increasingly technical society, this situation is not acceptable. The University must bear some responsibility to correct this problem. All Rice faculty and students should be encouraged to assume more active roles increasing the awareness of the public regarding the results, importance and benefits of university-based scientific research.
The world-wide Web provides a unique opportunity to present science to the general public. There are a variety of Web-based activities that will enhance the awareness of science, and of RiceŐs part in the scientific education and research.
Too often our research and educational efforts are unknown because we do not publicize them sufficiently.
An area of outreach that has not received enough emphasis is to undergraduate students at other institutions. The benefit to Rice is the recruitment of better graduate students. The departments in the Wiess school have all tried a variety of tactics. There should be more exchange of ideas between departments. Our action here is more general because what is really needed is new ideas.
Most Universities have a recruiting officer who serves the entire university. Rice does not. Given the fact that this kind of activity is becoming more common, the absence of any representation for Rice is undoubtedly hurting our recruiting efforts.
The School of Continuing Studies has a record of offering some courses with scientific and mathematical content. However, the number is few in comparison to those in other fields.
Our graduate students will be the scientists and mathematicians of the future. They will undoubtedly face even more than we the need to explain their fields to students and nonscientists. We should do what we can to improve their ability to do so. We should impress upon our students that the University is serious about public education.
Some years past there was a University-wide Speakers' Bureau, which provided faculty who interact well with the lay community to speak at retirement communities, civic/community associations, and K-12 classrooms. Those who were involved in this activity remember it as being very successful.
Our survey disclosed that there exists relatively little interaction between faculty in the Wiess school and non-academic organizations. The Subcommittee sees significant opportunities that are available in both our research and education missions. It also sees significant problems.
Academic researchers and those from outside academia have fundamentally different goals. Academic researchers are interested in moving beyond the frontiers of current knowledge and making the new knowledge available to the world. Industrial researchers are most interested in improving the profits of their company. These goals are natural to the different organizations, but they are very likely to be in conflict.
Nevertheless, collaboration with industry can provide direct benefit to academic researchers in their goal of pushing back the frontiers of knowledge. Where faculty research interests do not conflict with industrial goals, enormous potential exists to harness industrial resources, including industrial equipment, facilities, and technical expertise that are often foreign to universities. For this reason non-academic research collaborations should be sought out, but with a great deal of caution.
National trends indicate that in the future more of our students (especially our graduate students) will be taking jobs outside of academia. It is incumbent upon us to tailor our degree programs to prepare them for the jobs of the future. To help us do this, we should seek the advice of the potential employers. This is one of several reasons why the Subcommittee proposes the existence of advisory panels which include members from outside of academia.
Meanwhile, there are several things that can be done. We should recognize that academic research is often less multidisciplinary and more individualized than is industrial research, and students trained in multidisciplinary science and accustomed to teamwork will be better prepared for non-academic research. This provides the motivation for the emphasis on interdepartmental and interdivisional cooperation we called for earlier (See Goal #3).
Students usually must make poorly informed choices when considering industrial careers, having spent their formative years in an academic environment, but often lacking significant exposure to industrial settings. Industrial internships would be an invaluable experience for many students.
Frequently the education required in industry is less than that provided by a Ph.D. In addition, we should be concerned with meeting the needs of non-academic scientists for continuing education. Both of these needs could be met by offering professional MasterŐs degrees.
Too few academic-industrial interactions occur on campus at Rice, although numerous vehicles might be utilized to bring industrial scientists to the University. Industrial adjunct professors with defined roles and durations might contribute to teaching in courses which are aimed primarily at the professional Master's students, as well as courses directed towards conventional students.
There are other activities which would contribute to the continuing education of non-academic scientists.
Which forms of academic-industrial programs are most productive will vary between disciplines, and, when possible, these programs should be organized and governed at the departmental level.
Programs that facilitate academic-industrial interactions promote mutually beneficial relationships and should consequently be self-sustaining. As educators, our mission is to prepare students for future employment. Industry relies on the continued influx of enthusiastic, well-trained, and up-to-date people, and for industries to invest time and resources in education is simply good business.
This addendum contains information about some of the outreach activities at Rice. First, there is a list of the URLs of Web pages at Rice which have scientific content. Next, descriptions of several relatively large outreach projects at Rice are presented. These projects are:
This is a list of Web pages authored by individuals associated with Rice and usually with the Wiess School.
This program is funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and involves two separate programs. One targets middle-school science teachers and provides a three-week summer program with internet and computer instruction and curriculum development based on information related to Galveston Bay. The second one involves a two-week summer science camp for middle-school girls including extensive computer and internet training along with science studies and communication skill development.
Another program funded by HHMI involves a two-week summer intern program for students from the Science Academy of South Texas, a science magnet school in the Rio Grande Valley. This on-campus program has 32 students who have communication workshops, various science and other field lectures, visits to local companies and other activities to enhance their interest in careers in science and engineering. The program has been expanded to include Milby High School and likely the Engineering Professions High School this coming summer.
We also do curriculum development with the United Independent School District in Laredo and with Westbury High School in Houston. We also work with local groups for the Expanding Your Horizons Program for middle-school girls.
Antarctica. Images of frozen landscapes, penguins, and blizzards. Visions of unknown frontiers that are very different from "home." What child or adult would not be intrigued by the opportunity to explore this place at the bottom of the world?
GLACIER is a three-year project funded by the National Science Foundation branches of the Office of Polar Programs and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources. GLACIER involves:
Through GLACIER, Antarctica is a vehicle for hands-on exploration of geology, geomorphology, geography, meteorology, oceanography, and environmental sciences. Students investigate the past history of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, assess its current activity, predict its future behavior, and evaluate its potential impact on the global environment.
The underpinnings of GLACIER are founded on
GLACIER activities reflect how science is accomplished in the real world. Students, as scientists in multidisciplinary exploration groups, connect with on-line data bases and with Antarctic researchers to conduct their investigations. They pose questions, acquire, organize and interpret real data, and present their conclusions for discussion to their classmates. Scientific exploration often reveals more than one possible solution; students evaluate the possible answers to research questions and assess how future research can be designed to narrow the field of possibilities.
Development of the GLACIER instructional materials brings together a diverse team of researchers and educators headed by Rice University of Houston, Texas and the Education Development Center of Newton, Massachusetts. Collaborators include educators from Texas, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Maine, and researchers involved in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Initiative.
GLACIER curriculum components include:
At the close of the project the GLACIER curriculum will be prepared for dissemination on a national scale.
To increase representation of females in science, engineering, and mathematics professions, Project Advance has been designed to improve classroom practices with respect to engaging and developing the interests of female students, primarily in science and mathematics classrooms, and to provide encouragement and role models for young women interested in these areas.
Project Advance has three major components:
The training targets administrators, secondary mathematics and science teachers, and all elementary teachers at the 44 campuses of the Central and Southwest management districts of the Houston Independent School District. Mentoring will target female students interested in science/mathematics and will create a network of secondary and university students and female professionals from universities and other local institutions.
The anticipated outcomes include higher quality instruction in science and mathematics in an atmosphere that provides female students with opportunities to succeed from kindergarten to high school graduation and an institutionalized support network for female secondary students interested in science and/or mathematics.
Elnora Harcombe, Project Director
1996-1997
The Rice/HISD Model Science Laboratory Project serves as a catalyst to change how Houston school children gain scientific knowledge and experience. This collaborative project of Rice University and the Houston Independent School District (HISD) joins university and community scientists with middle school teachers to create a model laboratory classroom. Teachers become the leaders who engage colleagues and students in science and technology investigations.
This teacher enhancement program has four major components in a multifaceted approach designed to provide an interactive support system to bring about sustained teacher change:
Thirty-six teachers have graduated from the intensive Residency training over the past five years. During this span of time they have provided constructivist learning opportunities for 15,560 students in their own classrooms. The Residents have also impacted 470 peer science teachers who instruct around 40,000 students each year.
The workshops presented by the Residents are usually full-day training sessions. Substitute teachers are provided to release twenty-four teachers to participate in hands-on activities at the Model Laboratory facility during the school day. There are also evening and Saturday workshops, as well as week-long and three-week-long summer institutes. Participation is usually restricted to HISD middle level science teachers; however, some summer institutes and a yearly full-day conference are open to all teachers in the greater metropolitan area. The workshop content is usually focused on a major science concept and participants practice inquiry activities from a variety of curriculum sources, as well as from units created by Resident Teachers. Other workshops are devoted to technology and how to utilize computers in a classroom for data collection, data analysis, presentation, information gathering, or inquiry practice. Yet other workshops focus on skills such as experimental design or proposal writing or identifying appropriate resources in Houston.
The impact on students is strong and measurable. The effectiveness of the project was assessed by pre- and post-tests of students in twelve classrooms taught by graduates of the Model Lab and students in twelve matched control classrooms using a modified NAEP test. The two populations scored the same at the beginning of the year, but the Model Lab students achieved a statistically significant increase over their peers by the end of the year. There are also individual students whose lives have been changed by the Model Lab and by the teachers who have been trained there. One boy was so engaged by the Model Lab experience that it motivated him to return to get his G.E.D. and enroll in a medical technology program after he had dropped out of high school.
Additional program evaluation has been conducted by both internal and external reviewers. Scientists, educators, and administrators have submitted positive reports, especially commending the impressive development of the teachers. The school district felt the Model Laboratory Project was so beneficial that it has assumed funding for the project for two years past the end of the NSF grant.
Our multifaceted constructivist approach to teacher learning has produced dramatic results. It has provided the knowledge base, experience, and confidence to inspire the teachers to become dynamic facilitators in their classrooms and to model life-long learning. The teachers have been stimulated to develop their own professional specialties. Thus, one has sent a series of three experiments up on NASA missions and has taken inner-city students to Cape Canaveral to see the lift off. One has written a book, and another is in the process of doing so. One has published a quality journal for student work on environmental issues, and several have journal publications related to science education. Most have given workshops at regional and national conferences of the National Science Teacher Association (NSTA), and all have presented at state professional conferences. One received an AAUW Roosevelt fellowship for her girls' science club and was invited to speak about the results at the Edinburgh International Science Festival. The Model Laboratory teachers have developed a strong sense of professional responsibility and they have assumed leadership roles in their schools.
The residency program in the Model Laboratory has created a paradigm shift in most of the teachers. The focus on student understanding leads to on-going modification of teaching strategies. Thus, the graduate Resident Teachers continue reflecting on their own teaching and exchanging ideas with their peers. This response has caused the effects of the program to become richer with each succeeding year.
This project has provided a productive extension of Rice University into the community in two areas where Rice can offer great expertise: science and education.
The "Public Connection" is a partnership of Rice University and the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences to bring real-time NASA imagery to the general public by means of interactive computerized exhibits in museums and schools, planetarium shows, online Challenger Center simulations, and online "Ask the Scientist" CU-SeeMe video conferences.
Our project brings the power of the internet to people without the technical or financial ability to surf on their own, without allowing unlimited access to the often inappropriate material on the Web. The modules are all "point and click" or touchscreen, requiring no technical ability to use. We update the modules automatically in the background, making ours the first truly online museum exhibit. Since our system is not a Web browser, images, movies and sound play immediately, and the user can not "get lost in cyberspace." Yet the images are always fresh.
The software is safe for unattended use in schools and museums. Schools and museums without internet connections can run the software directly from our CD. Even dialup users can update the images using anonymous ftp. Loss of internet service does not crash the program!
We also have fully-updating modules at The Rice K-8 School, Seabrook Intermediate School, and the Austin ChildrenŐs Museum. Two computers running the "Space Weather" software are part of the touring "Electric Space" exhibit (presently in Maryland). In addition, we have supported three planetarium shows, daily Challenger Center simulations, internet summer camps and weekly "Ask the Scientist" CU-SeeMe video conferences, with our 96-97 lineup including "Life on Mars?" with David McKay and Nobel laureate Robert Curl on "Buckyballs."
Preview Mac versions of our "Connected" software on CD are available. Over 185 copies are in the hands of teachers for testing and evaluation.
The Rice University School Mathematics Project (RUSMP) was established in 1987 to serve as a bridge between the Rice University mathematics research community and Houston area mathematics teachers. The goals of RUSMP are to:
During the four-week summer program, Master Teachers instruct teachers, modeling the Standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Rice University mathematics and science faculty, visiting mathematicians and mathematics educators address issues of importance in precollege mathematics content, curriculum, school reforms, applications of mathematics, and gender and minority issues in mathematics education.
In 1995, RUSMP introduced its Houston Urban Program which places RUSMP Support Teachers at summer school sites to work with both teachers and students. Support Teachers plan the summer school mathematics curriculum, instruction, and assessment and demonstrate teaching, using manipulatives and technology that emphasize problem solving and student-centered lessons. During the school year, Support Teachers continue to work with teachers to ensure that the summer training is implemented into classrooms.
During the academic year, RUSMP hosts two workshops on the Rice campus, the Fall and Spring workshops, at which distinguished educators speak and former participants present workshops. After each workshop, a luncheon is held. Each workshop and luncheon is open to all former participants, providing a networking mechanism for participants. Teachers are introduced to new resources and new ideas. RUSMP offers assistance to schools and school districts desiring to implement campus-wide and district-wide reforms in the teaching of mathematics.
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Anne Papakonstantinou; apapa@rice.edu
Executive Director, RUSMP
(713) 527-6076
FAX: (713) 285-5428
This page is maintained by Rachel Miller (mail to:
rmiller@rice.edu)
Created 21-Mar-97
Updated 06-Jun-97