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RITES: The Rhode Island Technology Enhanced Science Program

The Rhode Island Technology Enhanced Science (RITES) program is designed to improve secondary science learning statewide. The core partners are the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, Johnston (RI) Public Schools, and the Rhode Island Department of Education. Supporting Partners include Brown University, The Concord Consortium, the Community College of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, and The Education Alliance at Brown University which will evaluate the project. Funding comes from the National Science Foundation.

As part of a comprehensive statewide effort to improve education in Rhode Island, RITES will transform the quality of science teaching and learning at all secondary schools with the goal of increasing the number and diversity of students who are proficient in science and pursue STEM careers. RITES will reach all 686 Rhode Island middle and high school science teachers and all 83,339 of their students. Alignment of teacher preparation programs in the four Partner institutions of higher education will impact three-quarters of the secondary teachers produced in state. Features of the program include a flexible, school-based approach, a central role for learning through guided inquiry, extensive use of technology, a statewide approach that leverages a wide range of state resources, and research on the project features. Its materials, software, and reports will be freely available on a community portal. All software and materials will be free for nonprofit educational use.

Middle and high schools working together to develop science improvement plans that will utilize project resources to solve their most pressing problems. In close collaboration with schools, the Partners will develop an extensive series of short courses for teachers with the goal of implementing effective teaching strategies and research-based content closely tied to the 64 state standards for secondary science and applied mathematics. The courses will feature computer-based materials that address specific standards through guided inquiry using probes as appropriate for laboratory investigations, computational models of virtual environments, and software tools that access science databases. The materials will include embedded assessments that will give students and teachers prompt and accurate data on student proficiency in each standard. Teachers will use these materials, study their impact on students in their classrooms, customize the materials accordingly, and share their observations and adaptations in a RITES Online Community portal.

The RITES vision of high-quality science education for all using 21st century technology has mobilized outstanding resources across the state in all levels of government and education. The project makes innovative and pervasive use of technology for learning, assessment, community building, and research, which is unprecedented at a statewide scale. The experience of the project and its research findings will have broad implications of interest to educators and policy makers everywhere.