Department of Education grants Rice $1 million to train K-12 teachers as historians
Glasscock School's innovative new program furthers teacher training
BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff
Read this article at Rice News
With the support of a $1 million grant from the Department of Education, Rice University will work with Fort Bend and Spring Branch independent school districts to give American history teachers intensive training to improve their content knowledge and pedagogy. With the goal of raising student achievement by bettering teachers' understanding and techniques, the Teachers as Historians program will serve 90 middle and high school teachers through the Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies.
Each year for the next three years, a cohort of 30 teachers will focus on one period in American history – "A Nation is Born: 1492-1815," "Transformation of the Republic: 1801-1920" and "Modern America and the Global Community: 1914-present" -- through a two-week summer seminar, one-week experiential field study and workshops throughout the academic year.
From the intensive training, the teachers will develop curricula that will be published and stored in a digital archive so that American history teachers from around the world can access the content and deploy it in their own classrooms. Teachers will be expected to create two lessons throughout their training, which will yield 180 high-quality lessons.
The unique program pairs teachers with members of Rice's history faculty: John Boles, the William Pettus Hobby Professor of History; Alexander Byrd, associate professor of history; Edward Cox, associate professor of history; and Allen Matusow, the W.G. Twyman Professor of History and academic affairs director of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy. The Rice professors will serve as faculty advisers and content lecturers and help connect the teachers to other university faculty, resources and research.
"One of the aspects that makes our program so special is the access we're providing to Rice faculty members," said Jennifer Gigliotti-Labay, director of the Teachers as Historians program at the Glasscock School. "It's a rare opportunity for K-12 teachers to be able to work so closely with university professors in this way. Not only will Rice faculty teach during the summer session, they'll mentor the teachers throughout the academic year."
Teachers as Historians will also have master teachers who will serve as a bridge between the curricula and lectures and provide pedagogy training. Jim Smith taught Advanced Placement U.S. History for 25 years and has received numerous fellowships for his work, including the James Madison Senior Fellowship. He was named the New Mexico Teacher of the Year in 2003 and the U.S. History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder-Lehrman Institute in 2004.
"The quality of our instructors is reason enough for teachers to want to participate in this program," Gigliotti-Labay said.
The social studies curriculum specialists for Fort Bend and Spring Branch school districts will select the teachers who will participate. While the priority will be given to teachers from underperforming schools, the program will be available to all American history teachers from the two districts.
The Bill of Rights Institute, Law Focused Education Inc., Museum of Fine Arts Houston, LBJ Presidential Library, Bush Presidential Library and Colonial Williamsburg will also be involved in training during the program.