Teacher Professional Development

Application: Science Education Partnership Award, Teacher Cohort 1

The application for Cohort 1 is now closed. Applications for Cohort 2 will open in January 2024.

Texas Biomedical Research Institute has been awarded the NIH Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA). The SEPA program, It’s Contagious! Promoting the Biomedical Workforce Pipeline through Infectious Diseases, is seeking secondary STEM content teachers (high school and middle school science, math, and technology) to participate in this educational research program. The SEPA aims to: 1) increase connections between infectious disease research and classroom content, 2) increase student awareness of biomedical career opportunities, and 3) support teachers in the application of data to inform their teaching practices.

Teacher Eligibility Requirements: This is an educational research project requiring the collection and analysis of data, including student data. Eligible teachers must be at a school or district with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Texas Biomed. The following districts/schools have an MOU:

  • San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD)
  • Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST campuses)
  • Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District (SCUCISD)
  • Incarnate Word High School
  • Brooks Academy (Collegiate Academy and STEM Academy)

Additional Requirements

  • Anticipate teaching a science, math, or technology course in the 2023-24 academic year.
  • Teach at the high school or middle school level (grades 7 through 12).
  • Attend a 4-week summer professional development program at Texas Biomed, June 12 – July 7, 2023. Weeks 1 – 3 will meet Monday through Thursday. Week 4 will meet Wednesday through Friday.
  • Participate in monthly Community of Practice (CoP) meetings during the school year. Meeting times will be determined by the cohort consensus. Options include weekday evenings and/or Saturday.

Compensation

Successful applicants will be consultants for Texas Biomed. For full participation in the year-long cohort study, teachers will be compensated a maximum of $6,000, divided over the course of the year ($4,000/summer and $1,000 for each semester).