Connecting Teachers to Content Intensive Professional Development

Room: Mayfair

presented by Siva Kumari, Associate Dean, Rice University

Corresponding to a national need to focus on content in professional development programs, Rice University has implemented a unique workshop model of professional development to connect IB teachers to higher education faculty. In each workshop, teachers are connected to about four or five faculty presentations. With a focus on current content in the subject area and a connection to researchers in the field, this innovative model has been most enthusiastically received. The presentation will discuss the pedagogical value of this successful model, showcase examples, provide a summary of the evaluations and discuss this model in the continuum of teacher professional development.

Siva Kumari, Associate Dean, Rice University
Siva Kumari serves two roles in Rice University as Associate Dean at the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies and as Advisor to the Provost on K-12 Initiatives. At the school, she oversees teacher professional development and information technology programs and has received funding for several programs in the K-12 area. She led the Advanced Placement Summer Institute at Rice to become the largest in the nation and started International Baccalaureate professional development for teachers, making Rice the only organization in the country with both AP and IB programs. With an NSF grant, she created the AP Digital Library, with over 10,000 national and international users.