Shell-Texas Regional Collaboratives Partnership Joining Forces To Advance Educational Excellence For All Students Presented by Marsha Willis Special Projects Coordinator Texas Regional Collaboratives

Shell-TRC Team Members

Goals of Four Year Initiative Improve the teaching and learning of the geosciences and environmental science through high quality, intense, and sustained teacher professional development. Promote and encourage academic career paths and student experiences that prepare students for careers in the geosciences, engineering and environmental science.

Key Components Information and strategies for replicating the Texas Regional Collaboratives statewide network in Louisiana. Service Learning Projects that involve students, teachers, and the community that promote teaching and learning about the environment and the geosciences.

Key Components Field experiences for teachers focusing on the geology and ecology of Texas with special emphasis on earth science topics and careers. Support for students and teachers to establish and promote science fairs locally. Emphasis on program sustainability and content dissemination through the development of teacher leadership capacity.

Key Components Teachers are expected to share their experiences in the program with other educators through mentoring, professional development workshops, and conference presentations. Approximately 2,000 teachers of science representing 20 Regional Collaboratives across the state of Texas will be trained through this partnership.

Year One Professional development that is designed to improve earth and environmental science content knowledge will be delivered through programs such as: Project WILD Service Learning Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS)

March 3, 2005 Promotes neutrality on controversial issues, treating such issues fairly and honestly without advocating any particular point of view. Recognizes that people need information from a variety of sources to make their own informed decisions.

Project WILD was honored at the White House in 1991 as one of the first recipients of a Gold Medal for Education and Communications in the President’s Environment and Conservation Challenge Award program. This award was bestowed “for excellence in developing innovative solutions to the nation’s environmental challenges.”

Once children feel connected to nature and “the environment,” physically and emotionally, they’ll be compelled to seek the hard facts, and they’ll take a vested interest in healing the wounds of past generations while devising feasible, sustainable practices and policies for the future.

March 4, 2005 Environmental projects that serve the community show students the relevance of the curriculum and give community organizations an injection of youthful energy. Emphasizing hands-on and real world learning experiences helps students develop stronger ties to their community, enhances students’ appreciation for the natural world, and creates a heightened commitment to serving as active, contributing citizens.

A well grounded learner understands that his/her actions matter; that they affect the community beyond the school. It is out of this particular formulation that the “student as a resource to the community” takes shape. Students need this understanding to be thought of as productive assets to the health of their community.

June 6-8, 2005 Lauded by the Department of Education's Expert Panel on Mathematics and Science Education, GEMS is a growing resource for the advancement of inquiry-based science education.

Program Evaluation indicates GEMS Makes a significant and measurable difference in and impact on student learning Improves student and teacher understanding and practice of inquiry

Has the demonstrated capability of reaching all students, including historically underrepresented groups, special education and gifted students, in a wide variety of settings and regions Fosters positive attitudes and motivation of students and teachers in science and mathematics Has considerable additional evidence of effectiveness and success.

GEMS Associate Training Geo-science Focus: Global Warming & The Greenhouse Effect Plate tectonics On Sandy Shores Mapping Fish Habitats River Cutters Stories in Stone

Research The collaborative will research an array of experiences and resources related to TEKS/TAKS based earth science/environmental education that will enhance students’ science content knowledge. Tools and strategies will be identified for promoting careers in the geosciences, engineering, and environmental science throughout the following years of the partnership.

Year Two-Year Four Provide additional professional development institutes in conjunction with two-three day field experiences focusing on the geology and ecology of Texas. Continue emphasis on science fair, service learning, and geo-science careers.

Improvements In Science Instruction The students will benefit from greater exposure to rigorous and content-rich TEKS/TAKS based science experiences both in the classroom and through field experiences. Students will have the opportunity to explore and identify different geo-sciences and environmental careers that are available to them.

In Conclusion “It’s good to have an end to journey toward; but it’s the journey that matters in the end.” - Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula K. Le Guin is the author of more than three dozen books. She was awarded a Newbery Honor for the second volume of the Earthsea Cycle, The Tombs of Atuan, and among her many other distinctions are the Margaret A. Edwards Award, a National Book Award, and five Nebula Awards. She lives in Portland, Oregon.