After "A Nation at Risk" was released, the state of American education was widely discussed, and not just by educators. The 1980s produced a number of reports on the status of science education that complained of declining science and mathematics achievement, falling enrollment in the subjects, and a shortage of qualified teachers. All the attention sparked renewed federal interest in science and mathematics education, school/industry coalitions were established, and a call for help was issued to all interested parties. The continued reports of the unsatisfactory state of U.S. science education and the predicted consequences for the nation's economic and intellectual vitality attracted the attention not only of educators and politicians but also of an increasing number of professional scientists and engineers. Consequently, a remarkable number of science professionals have become involved in attempts to improve public school science education. Scientists and mathematicians generally operate in parallel spheres, with relatively little interaction, and cognitive scientists who study the learning of mathematics and science have tended to follow suit, with the result that there are distinct literatures on these topics. And then there are the pedagogists, those who study how to teach. Bringing these disparate groups together to develop mutual respect for and understanding of their very different approaches to research is a major challenge. In this article, the author describes a collaborative effort at the University of Texas in El Paso that is helping to increase the scientific literacy of teachers. (Contains 3 footnotes.)