Texas Regional Collaboratives:
Dynamic Partnerships for
21st Century Education
Presented byJames P. Barufaldi, Ph.D.
Kamil A. Jbeily, Ph.D.Carol L. Fletcher, Ph.D.
CAST Administrators and Policymakers Institute
November 6, 2008
TRC - Who We Are• An award-winning statewide network of
60 P-16 partnerships that provide sustained and high intensity professional development to P-12 teachers of science and mathematics.
• An infrastructure of over 43 institutions of higher education collaborating with education service centers, school districts, informal science educators and business partners.
• A program with a 17-year track record of designing and implementing exemplary science professional development using research-based instructional models, materials, innovative technology, and best practices.
TRC Achievements• Improved the knowledge and skills and developed the
leadership capacity of over 14,000 Texas science teachers who in turn are sharing their experiences with other teachers through mentoring, peer coaching, and technical assistance. In addition, over 8,500 mathematics teachers received workshop training across Texas.
• Benefited over 1 million students across Texas through improved instruction and performance of participating teachers.
STEM Challenges
• Teacher Content Knowledge• Relevant, Real World Applications of Science and Mathematics
• Quality instructional resources aligned to the TEKS
• Adequate equipment and materials to implement inquiry lessons
TRC Partnerships
State and FederalTexas Education Agency
U.S. Department of EducationNational Science Foundation
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Statewide Corporate and FoundationAT&T Foundation
El Paso CorporationShell Oil Company
Toyota USA FoundationThe Cynthia and George Mitchell
Foundation
Higher EducationUT System
Texas A&M SystemTexas Tech
Community CollegesPrivate Universities
Local Education Agencies853 Public School
Districts and Private Schools across Texas
Geographic Distribution
Regional Collaboratives are located in all 20Education Service Center Regions in Texas.
36 Science Regional Collaboratives
24 Mathematics Regional Collaboratives
Statewide Impact
Data compiled from August 1, 2007 - July 31, 2008
37 COLLABORATIVES 22
784 DISTRICTS 818
2,324 CAMPUSES 2,153
7,894 TEACHERS 8,033
497,322 STUDENTS 433,782
SCIENCE MATHEMATICS
Total Number of Students Impacted100 Elementary to 750 Secondary
Students20-150
Students20-150
Students20-150
Students20-150
Students20-150
One Science Teacher MentorElementary/Secondary
Cadre Member
Cadre Member Cadre Member Cadre Member
Cadre MemberMENTORING IMPACT
STUDENT IMPACT
Activities: PDAs and PDPs
Professional Development Programs (PDPs) provide an average of 105 contact hours of TEKS-based professional development through Instructional Teams to 25 or more teachers of science per region to prepare and support them to become Science Teacher Mentors (STMs) serving other teachers at the campus, district, and regional levels.
Professional Development Academies (PDAs) are provided to Instructional Teams that consist of professors of Science and Science Education, Science Specialists and Master Teachers. PDAs enhance the knowledge and skills necessary to develop, sustain, and facilitate high quality Professional Development Programs.
Professional Development Focus 2008-
09Supporting schools and districts in meeting the challenges of the 4x4 requirement
– New programs in HS Chemistry
– Continued support for HS Physics
– Continued training in HS Geosciences with the TXESS Revolution
– Geometry
Extended support for high quality elementary and middle school instruction
K-8 GeosciencesK-12 ChemistryAlgebraic ThinkingMeasurement
Program Evaluation
Component #1Teacher science content knowledge
Statewide Impact: Teacher Content Knowledge
61
82
0
20
40
60
80
100
Mean Scores
Average STM Science Content Knowledge Gains 2006-07
Pre-testPost-test
Summary of 42 different tests of science content knowledge administered to classroom teachers. Test content covered a range of topics including physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and science process skills.
Program Evaluation
Component #2Teacher practice
Statewide Impact:Teacher Practice
37
63
8
92
0
20
40
60
80
100
Percent of Teachers
Pre-survey Post-survey
Less than adequatelypreparedAdequately or verywell prepared
Improvement in STM Preparation to Provide Instruction in BIITAKS 2005-06
Statewide Impact:Teacher Practice
5347
14
86
0
20
40
60
80
100
Percent of Teachers
Pre-survey Post-survey
Less than adequatelypreparedAdequately or verywell prepared
Improvement in CM Preparation to Provide Instruction in BIITAKS 2005-06
Based on data collected from a sample of 831 K-8 science teachers trained in Bridging II TAKS curriculum during the 2005-06 project year.
Program Evaluation
Component #3Student achievement
Socioeconomic Status of Participating
Students
16%
24%
33%
28%
0%
5%
10%15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
TRC Campus Poverty Level 2006-07
Low (<35%)Medium (35%-50%)High (51%-75%)Very High (>75%)
Poverty Levels for public schools are determined by the percentage of students who receive free or reduced lunches.
Title I Status of Participating
CampusesPercentage of Teachers at Campuses Eligible for Title I Funding 2006-07
Title I
Not Title I 67%
33%
Ethnicity of Students Served by
TRC Teachers
African American
Asian American
Caucasian
Hispanic
Other
12%
41%
44%
Based on actual classroom data reported by TRC teachers from August 2006 - July 2007.
2%
1%
Statewide Student Achievement Gain - Longitudinal Data
64%69%
26%30%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Met StandardCommended
State
TRC Campusesw/ Grade 5 TRCteacher 2002-05(N=21campuses)
Elementary Science State Test/Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS)
A Three-Year Analysis (2002-05)
Student Achievement GainA Multi-Grade Regional
Snapshot East Texas Regional Collaborative Science TAKS (2007)
Student Achievement GainGrade 8 Regional Snapshot
Region 8 Science Collaborative Grade 8 Science TAKS Scale Score Improvements
(2007)
Student Achievement GainA Multi-Grade Regional
Snapshot Region 7 Science Collaborative
Middle and Elementary Science TAKS Passing Rates (2007)
District-Specific Student Achievement Gain - Aldine
ISDStudents in the Aldine Independent School District (ISD) taught by teachers in the Rice University Regional Collaborative showed significant improvement as compared to non-participant teachers in the same school district on a test consisting of items from the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) and released TAAS tests.
Rice University Regional Collaborative
51.5 52.2 53.5
63.3
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Average Student Score
Pre-test Post-test
Non-participant Students
Participant Students
District-Specific Student Achievement Gain - Austin
ISDTAKS Improvements for
AISD/TRC/AMD Focus Schools
0
20
40
60
80
2005 2006
TAKS Administration
Percent Meeting
Standard
AISD/AMDFocusSchoolsAll AISDSchools
CLOSING THE GAP: 25 Austin Independent School District (AISD) schools that received intervention through the support of the TRC and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) posted significantly greater gains on the elementary TAKS test than other AISD schools. TRC support contributed to closing the gap in achievement between these high poverty, high minority schools and the rest of the district.
District-Specific Student Achievement Gain -
Galveston ISDGalveston ISD Elementary Science TAKS
2003 - 2006
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
2003 to2004
2004 to2005
2005 to2006
TAKS Scale Score
Improvement
TRC Campuses
Non-TRC Campuses
CLOSING THE GAP: Galveston Independent School District (GISD) campuses that were selected to participate in the TRC/Rockwell program improved an average of 22 points each year between 2003 to 2004 and 2004 to 2005. In contrast, other GISD campuses improved 46 and 52 points during this same time period. After TRC intervention, TRC campuses showed an average improvement of 51 points, catching up with their comparison campuses who improved an average of 47 points during this same time period.
TRC Intervention
District-Specific Student Achievement Gain - Round
Rock ISD
-2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Percentage Point Change
% Meeting Standard % Commended
0% LessonImplementationSome LessonImplementation100% LessonImplementation
Improvement on Elementary TAKS passing rates and commended rates from 2004 to 2005 was positively related to implementation of Bridging II TAKS lessons in Round Rock ISD schools that participated in the
Austin Community College Regional Collaborative.
Relationship between Bridging II TAKS curriculum and Elementary TAKS/State Tests (2004-2005)
Contact Us• James P. Barufaldi, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator Texas Regional Collaboratives 512-471-7354 [email protected]
• Kamil A. Jbeily, Ph.D. Executive Director Texas Regional Collaboratives 512-471-9460 [email protected]
www.theTRC.org
Carol L. Fletcher, Ph.D. Assistant Director Texas Regional Collaboratives 512-232-5690 [email protected]