A STATUS REVIEW - WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE WILL BE
A Royal High School-Prairie View A&M University Partnership
Funded by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Annual Peer Learning Network Meeting
Baton Rouge, November 11-13, 2007
Nicole Poenitzsch, Traci Toler, Sarah Wakefield (English)
Allan Kaster (Chemistry and Physics)
Sion Mitchell, Premkumar Saganti, Brian Cudnik (Physics and IPC)
A. Anil Kumar (Physics and Electrical Engineering)

Curriculum
Enhancement
• Depth
• Breadth
• Supplementary
Materials
• Novel Laboratories
• Interconnection of ideas, incorporation of technology
• Frequent field trips
• Curricular alignments
• Exposure to real life scenarios
• “Concrete to
Abstract” approach
Student
Development
• PVAMU faculty teach at RHS
• Visits to PVAMU classes
• Shadowing students at PVAMU
• Project involvement
• Awareness for college & careers
• Test preparation assistance
• College & financial aid application assistance
• Peer Networks
Teacher
Professional
Development
• Teachers teach at
PVAMU
• Training in course materials
• Training in specialized equipment
• Frequent visits to
PVAMU
• Interaction with
PVAMU faculty & students
• Frequent collaborative meetings
• Peer Networks

…….
…….
Optics
Magnetism
Electricity
Energy
Force
Linear Motion
Rotational Motion
connection almost never made
Real life systems are complex.
Each particular phenomenon requires an understanding of multiple, interconnected key ideas.

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Design paper planes of various shapes and sizes and discuss their flying dynamics.
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Build Your Own Roller Coasters, Program Your Own Robots.
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Learn How An Automobile Works.
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Learn how many different disciplines make up a Dyson vacuum cleaner.
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See how fluid flow principles are the same in the design of airplanes and golf balls and soccer balls.
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And So On …

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!
What does an engine do?
"
Converts potential chemical energy in fuel into kinetic energy or power.
!
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Work
Kinetic energy/motion
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Ideal Gas Law
Internal Combustion Engine
!
!
Four-stroke
Two-stroke

Rollercoasters :
Linear Motion, Angular Motion, Rotational Motion, Energy, Friction, Gravity,
Human Tolerance
Earthquakes :
Potential Energy, Energy Storage, Kinetic Energy, Seismic Energy, Vibrations,
Resonant frequencies, Seismic waves, Friction, Social Impacts
Hurricanes :
Pressure gradient (produces the winds), Heat / Energy Transfer (from the water surface to the storm), Latent (heat energy carried in water vapor and transferred through phase changes in water) vs. Sensible (convection, conduction, and radiation) heating, Coriolis effect, Steering currents / prevailing winds, Social Impacts
Volcanoes :
Density, buoyancy of molten rock, Thermodynamics, Fluid Dynamics,
Capillary action, Energy transfer / release, Effect on Climate, Social Impacts

• No ball is a perfect sphere, but the closer it is to one, the smoother the trajectory.
• After goaltenders during the 2006 soccer World Cup in Germany complained that the latest design had an unpredictable trajectory, South African geologist Jos Lurie decided to use his expertise in polyhedra and his 15 years of studying soccer ball designs to come up with a better pattern: 12 panels of a pentagonal dodecahedron and 30 of a rhombic triacontahedron.
• That makes for 42 panels--10 more than the popular Buckminster design and 28 more than the newer 14-panel Adidas Teamgeist. "The more panels you have, the more spherical the ball becomes," he says.
• Ready for the next World Cup, which will be held in
South Africa in 2010.

• Raise the standards within the Royal High School English Department to better prepare high school students for the standards and expectations set at the college level.
• This approach also helps students move beyond the minimal skills required by the Texas state curriculum, and begin mastering a more rigorous level of work to more acutely define their skills.
• Incorporate collegiate standards into the Royal High School English curriculum through the development of writing rubrics that focus instruction on and evaluate student mastery of specific writing skills.
• Elevate instruction from focusing on student mastery of the basic traits of good writing to addressing and assessing specific and intentional aspects of writing such as thesis, content, organization, sentence structure, word use and tone, punctuation and mechanics, critical thinking, and students’ research process and use of sources.

Previous Focus
• Ideas
• Organization
• Voice
• Sentence Fluency
• Word Choice
• Conventions
(Generated by Great Source)
Elevated Focus
• Thesis
• Content
• Organization
• Tone
• Sentence Structure
• Word Use
• Punctuation and Mechanics
• Critical Thinking
• Research Process and Use of
Sources (Generated by PVAMU)
While many basic elements of writing are fundamentally the same, working with PVAMU, the English Language Arts Teachers at RHS have been able to acutely address upper level writing skills and set higher expectations for the level of mastery expected for fundamental writing skills.

Example Rubric
STUDENT NAME: ___________________________________________
DATE:__________________________________
ESSAY TITLE:_______________________________________________
ESSAY GENRE:___________________________
Element
Thesis
Content
Description
The extent to which the essay exhibits a purpose for writing.
The extent to which the essay exhibits evidence of effective content, including clear main ideas, strong details and examples, is appropriate for assignment, showing strong critical understanding of the assignments under examination or strong critical thinking.
Indication of
Mastery
Well developed and defined or workable thesis (subject, position, hint at organizational strategy) that establishes a clear motive for writing
Central purpose/thesis supported with sound generalizations and with substantial, specific, and consistently relevant details; content distinctive because of its originality, perceptiveness, persuasiveness, or thoroughness; gains strong reader interest.
Possible
Points
14
15
Points
Awarded

Audio Analysis of Modern Literature
• Incorporate an audio analysis of historically important speeches.
• Students learn to analyze the impact of text structure and employment of literary devices in order to evaluate the overall effectiveness a person’s speech.
• Students will then involve themselves in a discussion of the various speeches that have been analyzed in the class, comparing the various literary devices and modes of argumentation employed by the given speaker.
• These aspects of the speeches will be considered within the given context of the speech, noting the intended purpose and audience.

TEXT MESSAGING
2day u r going 2 transl8 n article n2 a txt MSG
• It is a proven fact that a student learns better when he/she is able to relate in some fashion to the information that is being presented.
• In our vast growing world of ever changing technology, it is detrimental for an educator not to keep abreast of the latest innovations.
• One of the most popular means of communication is a cellular phone and text messaging.
• Using magazine articles and text messaging to teach the students many different aspects of literature is one way to draw the students back into the world of learning.
• This lesson teaches the students to explore the author’s intended audience, summarize the article, figure out the tone, learn new vocabulary and investigate new ideas.

• Knowledge, not just information or data, is brought to the teachers better than a “come and get it” approach.
• A customized webpage for each teacher and a webpage of Best
Practices will be maintained on the Physics Department’s website.
• A Teachers’ Community Of Practice Network (TCOPNet) will be formed and maintained.
• A Students’ Community Of Learning Network (SCOLNet) will be formed and maintained.
• Technology incorporation - multi-media animations and simulations
(including the Wii set ups) as well as Virtual Worlds - should make the delivery more interesting.
• Project based learning - via K’Nex and Lego Mindstorms/NXT - has already proved to be a major asset in attracting students.
• An “integrated” approach to learning.
• A more scalable and sustainable approach.

Formulate a physical problem or a business scenario, express in terms of variables, explore dependencies, use computational software, …
Examine the impact of technology in various ages - Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin,
Circuits, …
Eli Whitney and Manufacturing, Integrated
Involve them in “ what if ” scenarios - rewrite history, …
Have them watch specific programs on TV - news, analyses,
Myth Busters, Extreme Engineering, …
Involve them in case studies -
Kroger, IBM vs . Dell, Intel vs
Betamax vs
. AMD,
. VHS, Albertson iPod vs . Zune , …
’ ’ s vs .
.

In-service teacher professional development
• Teacher training
• Mutual visits
• Faculty exchange
• Special seminars/workshops
• Interaction with pre-service teachers
Pre-service teacher education
• New courses in Physical Science
• Preparatory course for Student Teach
• Extensive training in writing and panel discussions
• Interaction with in-service teachers

• 90% Pass Rate on TAKS
• 50% of Student Body in AP/IB classes
• 100% prospective graduates completed college applications
• 50% Junior and Senior Student Body participated in Regional/
National Level Project/Paper Contests/University Interscholastic
League Competition
• 25% of Student Body having participated in research experiences at PVAMU
• EVERY Student completed an Individual Career Plan

Project XLR8 Webpage: http://www.pvamu.edu/MarshallGates