Hi everyone! I am Carolyn and I work with an amazing team of science and math education specialists and Rice faculty with a goal of broadening participation in STEM. In this video, we highlight how in 2021, our Rice University NSF Noyce Texas Leadership Initiative for Inquiry Science Teaching (TLIIST) program supported elementary and secondary teachers during the summer and throughout the year with new strategies to engage students in virtual learning and leadership development. In our second year of this five year project with 20 master science teachers, we found multiple ways to bring creative inquiry science into classrooms and equity into Houston classrooms. Teachers were able to share their knowledge\with other teachers on their campuses  school districts and became resources for their districts. Please watch our video and ask us questions!

This project is exciting. There are many components of your approach- which all seem necessary to engage teachers in meaningful ways. Can you share more about how leadership training specifically helped your teachers?  I loved to see the models the teachers made from everyday material from their homes.  Can you speak to what the teachers took away from their experience working on their investigations? Did the teachers report any differences in their students' experiences as a result of the teacher's participation in the leadership project?

I love the partnership of leadership training along with pedagogy expertise.  How did you best identify the teachers with leadership potential to participate?

Carolyn - sounds like you program did a nice "covid-pivot" to address the needs of your teachers both as instructors and as potential leaders in need of collaboration. I am assuming that like your students - your teachers professional development also became primarily remote - I'm curious what sort of virtual collaborations you found effective and engaging for teachers to work together?  Was it regular videoconference, sharing of work remotely through some sharing platform . . . or perhaps something else?   My work is trying to create such a network for teachers in Uzbekistan and curious what you have found to work that just might transfer to that context?  

Thank you for this presentation, which tells a relatable story about responding to the challenge of providing inquiry based instruction in the midst of the pandemic. Was applying universal design a part of this pivot, or were you already using that strategy? What other lessons have you learned in the process? 

I really appreciated your decision to start with having your master teachers engage as learners in virtual inquiry science experiences that used materials around their house - I have always been a strong proponent of "experiences as learners" as one of the most powerful strategies to help teachers realize the value of new practices, and this is another piece of evidence in support to it!  

Thank you for your comment.  It is very important for teachers to engage as learners, especially when it comes to science instruction.  We believe the experience allowed our fellows to be more reflective about  their teaching during the pandemic.

Investing in teachers is crucial and helping them see the leadership potential is a unique twist to providing professional learning opportunities. Do they play a process in peer recruitment upon completion?

Thanks for your comment.  We have just entered into Year 2 of our first NSF Noyce grant. It is our hope that our fellows will be able to assist in the recognition of potential science leaders upon the completion of our program.