Rice helps local teachers study science

Rice helps local teachers study science
MATS conference attracts more than 300 Houston teachers

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

More than 300 teachers from 26 school districts in Greater Houston attended the recent Metropolitan Association for Teachers of Science (MATS) conference led by Wallace Dominey, Rice University’s director of K-12 science outreach for the Center for Education.

	COURTESY PHOTO
	Teachers at the Metropolitan Association for Teachers of Science conference get a lesson in aerodynamics.

Dominey is the president of MATS, which was established more than 30 years ago to support Houston-area K-12 teachers and to promote science education. In the same vein of K-12 education is the Rice Elementary Model Science Lab program, which Dominey created. The program promotes science education by providing training to elementary school teachers about the latest science concepts and new teaching methods aimed at students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

During the recent MATS conference, meteorologist Gene Norman of Channel 11 spoke about news coverage during Hurricane Ike and the impact that former science teachers had on his life. After his talk, 40 breakout sessions focused on a variety of science and education topics. Attendees were able to network with other area teachers, learn about new teaching strategies and earn six hours of continuing professional development. Sessions include hands-on activities such as “Earth Science Jambalaya” — discovery stations that target general and second-language learners — and interactive posters and bulletin boards for hallways, designed to keep students engaged and immersed in material as they change classes.

Sponsors of the event included BP America, CenterPoint Energy, CPO Science, Delta Education, LyondellBasell Industries, University of Houston’s College of Education and School Science and Technology in Rice’s Center for Education.