HRI Fast Facts

The HRI is a program that values authentic research experiences in open-inquiry and collaborative research. The program, therefore, is working with research faculty at UT, on developing stand-alone modules that can be used in a variety of courses. 

The original HRI program was created to be a yearlong course in which students were engaged with three different inquiries throughout the year. For one of the inquiries, teachers and students worked with one member of the UT research faculty. The yearlong course was taught at high schools in central Texas close to the UT campus.

The new focus of the grant is to work with educators in rural school districts across the state of Texas. The new iteration of the HRI program will give teachers across Texas in rural districts access and training to inquiry modules lasting anywhere from one to five weeks. Teachers can pick and choose from the modules to implement throughout their course. Teachers will have the ability to teach up to seven modules from seven different UT Research Faculty. Teachers and students will also have the opportunity to visit and learn from research faculty members and undergrad mentors throughout the school year during virtual office hours. 

The target audience for the HRI modules are students in rural districts across Texas. However, the modules will be accessible to everyone. These modules will fit best within CTE health science classes, life sciences, and the scientific research and design course. 

The high school teacher selects and teaches the inquiry modules they want to integrate into their course. After an intensive, virtual, 3-4-week professional training over the summer, the high school teacher is equipped with the curriculum and training to teach the modules. The teacher can choose which module to teach. 

“…Not only is [HRI] super fun, but you're actually doing real science with the kids, and it's just super hands on. So, I've been really fortunate to be involved with the program so far and to, develop my own science teacher skills as well.”

"I love how the training is so interactive."

"I really like how organized it is. You don't have to buy anything. All the supplies are provided."

"The bacteria was overnighted. We planned exactly when I would be here, so that we could get it straight into the correct storage. No issues with it."

"Really good back and forth communication."

"We have sent things to troubleshoot to the mentors. We couldn't figure out what was going on and they figured it out for us."

“I love it, I feel like it's a good community of like teachers who…are still trying to be teachers and care about what they're doing."

“I try to tell as many people as possible [about HRI]…I think it's really organized. It's very teacher friendly. And…if there's really a question or something that’s at all confusing, everybody's very helpful and willing to help you out. You don't always receive such, nice PD and professionalism and friendliness as you would in other PD. So, honestly, I literally try to tell all my teacher friends I know personally [about HRI].”

The modules are currently available to teachers that complete the summer professional development training.

Yes! We value your time and want to ensure you are compensated for you work. Participants receive a stipend of up to $1450 for participating in the program. 

The HRI modules are taught on the high school campus. The summer professional development takes place online. 

This work is supported by an NIH Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA).

The NIH SEPA-funded HRI program is at no cost to high school students. Currently, the HRI program receives most of their funding from the NIH SEPA award, with additional support from the school and/or school district. The program does have a small budget to provide teachers with equipment and consumables. 

Please talk with your school counselor to learn if these modules are offered at your campus. And – thank you for your interest!

Please contact one of the program administrators. And – thank you for your interest!

Both the HSRA and the HRI offer inquiry-based research experiences for at least a portion of the experience. However, the two experiences differ in that the HSRA offers a non-credit research course over the summer for students, while the HRI offers training to teachers to implement inquiry-based research experiences in their high school classrooms. 

• Austin ISD
• Del Valle ISD
• Lockhart ISD
• Leander ISD
• May ISD
• Rising Star ISD
• Sidney ISD
• Mt. Enterprise ISD
• Alamo Heights ISD
• Central Heights ISD
• Pflugerville ISD
• Round Rock ISD
• Cypress- Fairbanks ISD
• Clear Creak ISD

Private Schools

• Renaissance Academy
• ACE
• St. John's School
• St. Michael's Prep
• St. Dominic Savio Catholic School
• Meadow Creek Academy

Yes! This year we have 10 returning teachers. 

• "Learning about chrome boxes and a new way to count bacteria was fun and informative. Also gaining new skills in how to work google sheets was cool too.”

• “One very memorable part is learning to use a micropipette. It was interesting because it was very sophisticated equipment and felt like a real experiment.”

• “I liked getting to aim for a perfect R value and working with a team to be precise. I also enjoyed getting to see our progress from the first and second trial.”

• “I really liked going outside to the park and conducting experiments. I enjoyed working with nature, I guess.”

• “The most memorable parts of the UT experiment was the zoom call because it was really fun talking to the Professor and students who designed this lab. I also enjoyed this because we got to see what the data we collected really meant and got to ask questions about college and the class itself.”