Educational Programs

The Partnership for Environmental Educational and Rural Health (PEER) program is a collaboration between the Texas Rural Systemic Initiative (TRSI), the College of Education at Texas A&M University, and the Center for Environmental and Rural Health (CERH) also situated at Texas A&M University.  One of the main objectives of the PEER program is to increase the number of public school students who enter and remain in academic tracks in science.  Environmental health has been spotlighted because there is a growing concern regarding the increasing number of environmental health related diseases in rural areas in Texas. 

PEER is committed to achieving its objective by developing engaging multimedia (environmental science) modules that are specifically tailored for rural middle school students.  These modules advance the understanding of environmental health science education for grades 6-8.  They are aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards.  Children will learn about such things as the toxicants in the air, water and food, and how to prevent being exposed to these dangers.  Most importantly, students will learn about these important issues within an interactive and fun learning environment. 

PEER's educational approach is to provide access to activity based curricular materials over the Internet and to complement that with on-line opportunities for students to interact with each other, with teachers, and with faculty mentors at Texas A&M University.  In addition, PEER will be providing: 

  • professional development staff courses for science teachers who wish to integrate web based environmental and rural health science curriculum units. 

  • a one week technology/environmental science intensive training program with scholarships for 21 teachers/ year. 

  • a six week experience in a research laboratory with stipends for 5 teachers/ year. 

  • visiting scientists/college students to classes and/or interacting on-line to set-up classrooms.

PEER has been funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Science with a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA).  Larry Johnson, professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, is principal investigator.  Jon Denton, professor and Associate Dean of the College of Education, is co-principal investigator of the program.  Trina Davis, program coordinator for SCR*TEC, is the director.

 

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