$2.4 Million Program Aims to Revive Earth and Space Science Teaching - March 3, 2008

The University of Texas at Austin is starting a $2.38 million initiative to train eighth through twelfth grade earth science teachers working predominantly in minority or underserved public schools in Texas.

The initiative, the TeXas Earth and Space Science Revolution (TXESS Revolution), aims to restore the state’s capacity to teach earth and space science following the Texas State Board of Education’s 1998 decision to remove the subject as an option for credit towards high school graduation. The board restored an earth and space science option in 2006, but by then fewer teachers around the state were qualified to teach the subject.

By 2011, the board will require all Texas public students to take four science courses in high school instead of three. Earth and space science will be taught as a “capstone course,” integrating material from a range of disciplines to help students make connections across subjects.

The program, based at The University of Texas at Austin, received $1.48 million from the National Science Foundation’s Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences program with matching grants from two divisions within the university: the College of Education’s Texas Regional Collaboratives for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching and the Jackson School of Geosciences.

During the five-year program, two cohorts of about 70 teachers each will attend a series of professional development academies and two-week summer institutes.

The academies will last two-and-a-half days and include training with geoscience data, field trips, guest lectures and other special programs. The first academy, “Poking Holes Into the Planet” (Feb. 14-16), focuses on how geologic cores and geophysical logging can help scientists better understand Earth processes and improve the search for resources.

The training program addresses another critical need in Texas, retention of minority students. As minority students advance through school, at every level their numbers dwindle. Few go on to pursue degrees in earth sciences. TXESS Revolution seeks to reverse that trend.

In addition to the College of Education and the Jackson School, major partners include The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, TERC, a nonprofit education research and development organization, and the University of South Florida.

—Kay Randall, Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs, 512-232-3910
—J.B. Bird, Jackson School of Geosciences, 512-232-9623