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 jamesb@mail.utexas.edu

• Kamil A. Jbeily, Ph.D. Executive Director Texas Regional Collaboratives 512-471-9460 kjbeily@mail.utexas.edu

www.theTRC.org

Carol L. Fletcher, Ph.D. Assistant Director Texas Regional Collaboratives 512-232-5690 carol.fletcher@mail.utexas.edu