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It's doubtful that members of the Tennessee legislature who passed the bill in 1909 creating Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) would ever have dreamed that the school, hatched as a Normal school tasked with training teachers and establishing teaching standards or "norms," would one day collaborate with math and science professors from China in the development of curricula and teaching instruction. This past summer in Murfreesboro, though, that's exactly what happened at MTSU, which to this day remains the top producer of teachers in Tennessee.

MTSU President Sidney McPhee first met with President Wang Li Min of Northwest Normal University in Lanzhou, China, in 2006 to discuss a partnership with the mathematician turned head of the 25,000-student Chinese university well known throughout the world for its expertise in math and science. To make it happen, MTSU received a $100,000 competitive grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), as well as additional support from Texas Instruments and university donors to underwrite a workshop.

This June, MTSU played host to 50 Chinese and 75 American researchers attending the U.S.-Sino Workshop on Mathematics and Science Education. Those scholars from about 20 Chinese and 30 American universities met to improve educational systems in both countries by learning from one another. Researchers presented topic session papers for discussion on dozens of issues—from the use of technology in the classroom to ongoing professional development for teachers. Twelve research working groups were forged, and they pledged to continue working together over the next several months—or years, if necessary—to achieve goals set at the workshop. The conference schedule included lighter fare as well—even a tour of the Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg, birthplace of an iconic American brand that is a top seller in China.

Such collaboration is in order, says Vivien Stewart, vice president for education with the Asia Society, the New York-based global and pan-Asian organization founded by John D. Rockefeller III and devoted to strengthening relationships and promoting understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of the United States and Asia. "The U.S. is behind many other countries, especially those in East Asia, in math and science," Stewart says. "The U.S. has a lot to learn from China."

Anyone thinking that only the American participants benefited from the conference, however, would be wrong. Diane Miller, vice provost at MTSU and co-chair of the conference, says the Chinese government has become increasingly interested in revised math and science curriculum based on U.S. models and has even begun permitting schools in some provinces to teach a more experimental curriculum. "It is a significant step for them," Miller says.

What's next? According to Miller, the schools plan to co-host a follow-up workshop sometime in 2009 or 2010 "to provide an opportunity to provide status reports and plan next steps."

It's more customary for international workshops that bring together the best and brightest scholars in China and the U.S. to take place at a university named Harvard or Yale, not a directional school like MTSU. The exposure could be key to the university moving forward. According to McPhee, one top NSF reviewer who participated in the conference said he didn't know much about MTSU and what it was doing prior to his four-day visit. McPhee says the reviewer knows now and has expressed interest in funding other MTSU programs in the future.