TREX:Texas Research Experience Experiment
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Project Description
PROJECT NARRATIVE The Texas Research Experience eXperiment (TREX) project will establish partnerships for the development of high school curricular modules and career development activities designed to stimulate interest in and preparation for careers in science, technology, engineering, and medicine through longitudinal mentoring of teachers and students by university faculty and summer research internships for students in faculty laboratories. The project is focused on rural school districts that are in medically underserved communities and have high proportions of students who are of low socioeconomic status and underrepresented in science and medicine.
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Abstract
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The overall goal of the Texas Research Experience eXperiment (TREX) project is to create a sustainable model for culturally relevant STEM learning environments that engage students’ interests and prepare them for careers in medicine, science, engineering, and technology. To this end, TREX will enhance training of high school educators and students through a coordinated set of programs and activities that will build an enduring mentoring “triad.” The triad will include (1) Texas A&M University (TAMU) faculty and trainees in the Schools of Medicine and Public Health, and Colleges Education and Engineering, and (2) administrators, educators, and students at a science magnet high school, and (3) a traditional public high school in south Texas. These longitudinal mentoring relationships within the triad will promote sharing of resources and best practices, facilitate the development of exportable, career centered, curricular modules, and provide enhanced professional development for teachers and focused career development for students. Integrated components that will provide longitudinal mentoring and career preparation include two-semester remote TAMU faculty mentorship of high school teachers and students linked with on-campus TAMU summer research internships for students. TREX focuses on school districts that are rural and have a high proportion of students who are underserved and underrepresented in science and medicine. The multi-disciplinary Project team, which includes experts in biomedical, health disparities, public health, and biomedical engineering research, as well as educational theory, curriculum development, and evaluation, will work with classroom teachers to develop innovative, career based, educational modules focused on 21st century skills. Specifically, TREX aims (1) to provide high school teachers longitudinal mentorship to promote the development of STEM instructional modules leading to an accredited, two-semester course for high school juniors and seniors that includes journal clubs, hands-on experiments, and a seminar series to enhance STEM foundation knowledge open to teachers, students, and community members; and (2) to provide rigorous, mentored instruction for high school students on scientific inquiry fundamentals (semester 1) and authentic research experiences (semester 2) through the creation of capstone projects that can be further actualized in the laboratories of the TAMU faculty mentors during summer research internships. All activities and products will be extensively evaluated using a quasi-experimental, mixed methods approach, with a variety of instruments designed to collect and analyze the most pertinent data. These will assess the effectiveness of the model in achieving the objectives of enhancing student interest and developing the skills needed for educational and career success. The curriculum and framework developed as part of TREX will be made publicly available to high schools and universities to encourage high school research collaborations that spark similar programs.
