Project Director: Dr. Namsoo Shin, Michigan State University
Project Partners: Alabama A&M University, Accelerate Learning, Inc., and WestEd
Funder: Education Innovation and Research (EIR), U.S. Dept. of Education
Award Amount: $10M
Building on the award-winning Multiple Literacies in Project-Based Learning (ML-PBL) curriculum, a dynamic new initiative—Collaborate Science (ColSci)—is set to transform science and literacy education for 4th graders across Alabama and the rural south.
A $10 million Education Innovation and Research grant from the U.S. Department of Education is funding this ambitious project, a collaboration between Michigan State University, Alabama A&M University, Accelerate Learning, Inc., and WestEd. Over the next five years, the ColSci curriculum will be rolled out and rigorously evaluated in 80 schools—both rural and urban—reaching over 6500 students.
ColSci brings science to life by connecting classroom learning to the real-world environments students know and care about. Each lesson taps into local phenomena, sparking curiosity and increasing engagement by making science personal. And it’s not just science—students will also see gains in literacy, thanks to ColSci’s integrated, hands-on approach. The curriculum is adaptable to local environments, boosting achievement by making learning relevant and meaningful. Teachers will be provided ongoing professional learning to help them bring project-based learning to life, while innovative AI scoring models will help refine instruction and support student success.
Innovation Strategies
This project utilizes two key innovation strategies to scale the program:
- Promote teachers' pedagogical knowledge to increase and sustain students' engagement in learning experiences.
- Prompt design: Revise existing prompts and create new ones for teachers to support and sustain students' interest and motivation.
- Support teachers to effectively use embedded assessments to advance student learning in science through:
- Rubric and feedback design: Develop clear rationales for rubrics, include sample evaluations of student responses, and offer actionable feedback to promote teacher learning.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) analysis: Support teachers in assessment practices by leveraging AI to provide teachers with timely performance data at individual, class, and aggregate levels.
Goals
For more information about this project, contact Project Director Dr. Namsoo Shin at namsoo@msu.edu.
