The goal of the current research is to develop the MPLANS (Motivation-Planning Lessons to Activate eNgagement in Science) toolkit and professional development model for supporting student motivation and engagement in ambitious science instruction. Changes in science standards, such as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), increasingly call for students' active engagement in lessons.
Teachers, however, rarely receive targeted professional development with accompanying resources to help them support student motivation and engagement.
Additionally, larger societal goals of creating science literacy and developing a highly-trained STEM workforce further highlight the importance of supporting students' science motivation.
The M-PLANS research group , funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), will collaborate with experienced secondary science teachers in Michigan and Nevada to develop the M-PLANS toolkit and create a reasonable and sustainable PD model aimed at supporting student motivation in science.