| With the recent arrival of a highly competitive $390,000 grant from the
Toyota USA Foundation, the UT College of Education's Texas Regional Collaboratives for
Excellence in Science Teaching will more than double their mentoring initiatives for K-12
science teachers statewide. The award-winning Texas Collaboratives, recognized last year
by both the Governor's Office and the Texas State Legislature for its transforming effect
on the state economy, offers both professional development and individualized teacher
mentoring to 20 regional collaboratives blanketing Texas.
"For the State of Texas economy to compete globally, we must have a good supply of
talented scientists, engineers and mathematicians," said Manuel J. Justiz, dean of
the UT College of Education. "It really all begins in elementary and secondary school
classrooms; in order to produce a talented workforce, it's even more important to have
gifted, talented science teachers at all levels of the K-12 pipeline."
The three-year grant will launch the Toyota USA--Regional Collaborative Partnership,
joining more than 50 other national and state corporations, which now contribute funding
and equipment to the Texas Regional Collaboratives (TRC).
After Texas teachers receive special science education training at TRC sessions, they
are expected to return to their school districts, which number more than 1,000 in Texas,
and each train an additional five to ten teachers.
Dr. Kamil Jbeily, the TRC director, who operates from the UT College of Education's
Science Education Center--chaired by Dr. James Barufaldi-- often paraphrases
Nobel-laureate physicist, Kenneth Wilson:
"Imagine that you want to climb a mountain. You have some new equipment, but
you've never climbed a tree before. There are two ways to approach it...
"You can take a practice run with somebody who has lots of experience and the
ability to share it--that's called mentoring. The other way is to be taken to the base of
Mt. Everest, dropped off, and told to get to the top or quit," he says.
"If you don't make it, your enthusiasm disappears, and you seek ways to avoid
similar challenges in the future."
More than one-third of all U.S. states now require new teachers to participate in some
type of formal mentoring program to attack formidable attrition rates for newly trained
teachers, which can approach more than 50 percent after five years.
"Competition in scientific endeavors is intense and global in nature," said
Larry Faulkner, UT Austin President. "To remain competitive, it is essential that we
in this country, and especially in Texas, start intriguing students at an early age so we
can graduate more scientists and engineers."
"We are pleased to support this outstanding, innovative science education program
that will provide substantive professional development and mentoring for so many teachers
during the next three years," said Yoshi Inaba, Toyota USA Foundation president.
"The Texas Regional Collaboratives is an excellent example that seeks to address
the critical needs of today's students."
Toyota USA Foundation, a $35 million charitable endowment created and funded by Toyota
Motor Sales, U.S.A., supports innovative educational programs that serve kindergarten
through 12th grade classroom education, particularly emphasizing science and mathematics.
The TRC, which also receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the U.S.
Department of Education Eisenhower Program, the Texas Education Agency, Shell,
Exxon-Mobil, Southwestern Bell, Casio, Holt Rineheart & Winston, Delta Education, Frey
Scientific, and TexaServer, also includes other Texas colleges and universities, Education
Service Centers, school districts and business corporations--each working collaboratively
through cost-sharing and in-kind contributions.
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