HOUSTON– Three National Science Foundation-funded projects teamed up March 8-9 at Rice University to explore using modeling and visualization to transfer university research to high school math and science classrooms.

Representatives from the Texas Rural Systemic Initiative (TRSI), Texas A&M University’s Information Technology in Science (ITS) Center for Teaching and Learning, and Rice University’s Center for Excellence and Equity in Education (CEEE) presented “A Texas Leadership Conference: Using Modeling, Visualization and Data Management as Tools for Transferring Current Research into High School Mathematics and Science.”

Conference participants included university researchers, administrators and graduate students; NSF, Texas Education Agency (TEA), business and industry representatives; high school mathematics and science teachers; and administrators from NSF-funded projects in Texas.

CEEE Executive Director Cynthia Lanius said science traditionally has been done in a laboratory, but computers have made possible a powerful new way of doing science. The conference explored methods of incorporating this new way into high school classrooms.

“As computers have become more powerful and data sets more complex, modern science and engineering have become increasingly reliant on modeling, visualization and data management as aids to research, development and design,” Lanius explained. “In fact, an engineering or science project can hardly be imagined that does not call upon some aspect of computation.”

In addition to introducing new technologies and teaching methods, the conference created a Texas-wide network of teachers, administrators, scientists, education researchers and industry representatives interested in taking university research into high school classrooms as effective tools for teaching and learning science and mathematics.

“The ITS Center master teacher and graduate student participants working toward becoming science education specialists will be directly involved in the planning and implementation of research and professional development projects based on the ideas that emerged from this conference,” said ITS director Jane F. Schielack.

Friday’s morning session featured a keynote speech by CEEE director Richard Tapia and a graduate student panel that explored student involvement in the use of modeling, visualization and data management in scientific research. The afternoon featured breakout sessions in which participants had the opportunity to see examples of computer-based modeling and tools that can be used in classrooms.

Saturday’s events were designed to identify strategies that can be used in creating programs that take advantage of technology to transfer university research into high school mathematics and science classes.

“We’re excited about the potential of this unique event that brought university faculty and teachers from both large urban and small rural school districts together to work on something that is going to impact students all across the state,” said TRSI executive director Judy Kelley.

TRSI, headquartered at West Texas A&M University, and the ITS Center, a partnership between Texas A&M’s Colleges of Science and Education, are administered by the Texas Engineering Experiment Station. Rice’s CEEE is supported by the Education, Outreach and Training Partnership for Advanced Computing Infrastructure.

For more information about the conference, please visit http://ceee.rice.edu/meetings/mvsk12/

—Shana Hutchins
   Originally published in Texas A&M Engineering News, News Story 97, March 5, 2002