Home » Professional Development » HEC
- About the HEC
- HEC Online Participating Institutions
- Contact
- Marty Hougen, Ph.D.,
Project Manager
512-232-5573
mhougen @ mail.utexas.edu
About the Texas Reading First Higher Education Collaborative
Overview
The Texas Reading First Higher Education Collaborative (HEC) is designed to engage faculty members from Texas colleges, universities, community colleges, and alternative certification programs in active efforts to improve the reading achievement of Texas students. Established in 2000 with 15 faculty members from four institutions, HEC has grown quickly and now includes hundreds of educators from more than 80 institutions. In 2003, HEC became an integral facet of the Texas Reading First Initiative. Faculty of educational administration and educational leadership joined the collaborative in 2005 to ensure that principals and other school administrators understand their important role in supporting scientifically based reading instruction for all students.
Project Goal and Objectives
The primary goal of HEC is to support the Reading First Initiative by assisting teacher educators and educational administration faculty in the alignment of preservice course curricula with scientifically based reading research (SBRR).
Objectives include:
- Assuring that teacher educators are knowledgeable about components of SBRR and are incorporating those critical components into teacher preparation courses.
- Providing materials based on SBRR to teacher educators for use in preparing teachers of grades K-3 and special educators, K-12.
- Establishing a community of members who collaborate in the ongoing process of adjusting their instruction and materials to enhance the preparation of teachers.
- Supporting the Texas Reading First Initiative through direct support of schools identified as Reading First as well as schools eligible but not funded for Reading First.
- Assuring that educational administration faculty members are knowledgeable about the components of SBRR and the essential role of school leaders in supporting effective reading instruction.
To meet the project goal and related objectives, several activities are planned. Members are invited to attend collaborative seminars where they discuss research-based practices with leaders in the field of reading and engage in discussions with peers on how to best incorporate these practices into their courses. Members receive materials designed to assist with the integration of SBRR into their courses, including complete modules (slides, handouts, videos), books, and other resources. Collaboration is enhanced through the implementation of on online community, HEC Online, a site where faculty members can post comments and information to share with their colleagues.
In addition, project staff members provide ongoing technical assistance through site visits, online support, and observations of members teaching. The integration of SBRR into courses is documented through classroom observations and the careful review of revised syllabi. The effectiveness of the project is determined though member evaluations, surveys that are administered each semester to preservice teachers, and by evaluation forms that members complete at the collaborative seminars. Based on these data, HEC staff offer activities to support HEC members in the implementation of SBRR in preservice courses.
HEC Online
HEC provides an online forum for teacher educators participating in the collaborative. HEC Online aims to 1) support the Reading First Initiative by sharing ideas to support identified schools, 2) provide a forum for communication among HEC members, 3) facilitate sharing of assignments, syllabi, and experiential narratives that reflect effective teaching practices, and 4) support members in their efforts to provide research-based strategies for reading instruction to their students.