We are looking forward to the first year of classes aboard the Texas Mobile STEM lab and are excited to have you on board.  Below are some helpful tips for what to expect before, during, and after your mobile laboratory visit. If you have any additional questions, please contact Desurae Matthews, Education Program Manager.

Learning Undefeated staff will send an email to the lead contact reminding them of the dates selected for their upcoming school visit. At that time, the Learning Undefeated team and teacher will work together to select a date for a pre-visit meeting in which all teachers utilizing the program will discuss visit logistics.  Pre-visit meetings will be conducted virtually and typically are scheduled four to six weeks prior to the school’s mobile laboratory visit.

Learning Undefeated staff will schedule a time for a virtual pre-visit meeting with the main contact of your school. The pre-visit is scheduled so that teachers and Learning Undefeated staff can discuss parking, Covid-19 policies, scheduling, activities, and expectations. Pre-visits should be scheduled four (4) weeks prior to the school visit. During this meeting, the school’s main contact should be ready to show pictures of the proposed trailer parking space to Learning Undefeated staff. Teachers should come prepared with all questions and concerns.

Pre-Visit Expectations

• Attendance: All teachers utilizing the program must be in attendance for the pre-visit meeting
• Preparedness: The current menu of laboratory activities will be shared prior to the meeting and teachers should identify activities of interest and bring any questions about the program to pre-visit.
• Participation: Schedule development will be left up to participating teachers. It is strongly recommended that all STEM teachers at the school collaborate to create the schedule of classes for the visit. Learning Undefeated instructors will provide advice, equipment needs, and logistics recommendations for the proposed schedule.
• Readiness: The lead school contact should print all important documents for each teacher prior to pre-visit.
• Parking: Parking location will be discussed during the pre-visit. Each school is asked to come prepared with a proposed parking location(s) to the pre-visit meeting.

Participant safety is Learning Undefeated’s number one priority. Learning Undefeated aims to provide a safe learning environment for students, teachers, and all guests who participate in programs in the classroom and mobile lab. As such, we ask that you help us enforce Learning Undefeated’s Safety Rules and Regulations.

Each school will receive a copy of Learning Undefeated’s Mobile Laboratory Safety Plan prior to their visit. Please contact Education Program Manager Desurae Matthews if you need additional information.

• Standard Operating Hours: Learning Undefeated staff will work with teachers to create a schedule of classes to accommodate as many students as possible.  When creating a schedule, teachers should allow time for staff to take a one hour lunch break daily.
• On-Site Support: Learning Undefeated staff members will be on site to assist teachers with activity prep, setup and delivery. Group or individual teacher trainings can be scheduled as requested to build teacher capacity on the activities provided.
• Student Handouts: Teachers are responsible for printing student handouts prior to the day the lesson will be taught. Student handouts may be found on this website at the time of your pre-visit.
• On-Lab Student Experience: The Texas Mobile STEM Lab offers TEA-approved one-of-a-kind experiences for K-8 students and teachers to solve engineering design challenges that integrate content knowledge aligned to the TEKS.  A representative from the school must be present inside the lab at all times while students are participating in mobile lab sessions.
• Evaluation Plan: Students and teachers will be asked to participate in the Learning Undefeated evaluation program to help provide feedback and improve future programs. No personal or identifying data will be collected from participants. Individuals may opt out of participating in the program at any time.

• Parking space area should be cleared of all cars to allow removal of lab.
• Teachers and campus administrators should complete the teacher survey that will be sent out by LU staff.
• Teachers can always check our website for upcoming events and online learning — new content is added regularly.

Learning Undefeated will monitor the pandemic’s spread in the communities we serve and may cancel a school visit or community event based on the data from the state’s COVID-19 county dashboard or the Risk Level dashboard provided by Harvard Global Health Institute, as well as data provided by state authorities.  Final decisions will be made after evaluating data, community input, and any additional factors. Schools will be informed of any COVID-19 related cancellations no later than two weeks before the visit.

School visits may be canceled if it is deemed unsafe to have students on the laboratory based on one or both of the following criteria:

• Positivity rate:  A community COVID-19 seven day (7) positivity rate over five percent (as recommended by the World Health Organization)
• COVID Risk Levels:  A county COVID Risk Level of Accelerated Spread or above in the based on the Harvard Global Health Institute’s tracking (10+ daily new cases over a seven day period per 100,000 people)

All schools with pandemic-related cancellations will be able to reschedule for a later date.  Learning Undefeated will attempt to reschedule the visit during the current school year or offer priority access to the next school year’s schedule.