A nearly $1.7 million National Center for Education Research grant shared between Michigan State University and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) will integrate culturally relevant teaching and advanced technology to enhance middle school science education in underserved school districts.
Spartan scholars Kui Xie, Red Cedar Distinguished Professor, and Joseph Krajcik, Lappan-Phillips Professor, are co-principal investigators on a four-year project led by Principal Investigator Christine Bae (VCU School of Education). Launched in August 2024, the project will bring approximately $600,000 in grant funding to MSU.
The project targets urban middle schools in Virginia and Michigan, including districts with high percentages of Black and Latinx students and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds.
Dubbed “Hybrid²,” the project blends two innovative approaches to science education. The first, led by Bae, focuses on integrating students’ cultural backgrounds and everyday experiences – known as “funds of knowledge” – into scientific discourse. The second, led by Xie, utilizes technology to bridge in-class learning with online platforms, extending educational opportunities beyond traditional classrooms.
Krajcik, an expert in science curriculum design, will provide guidance on project implementation and support connections with Michigan schools.
“A fundamental issue in science education is the curriculum textbooks currently are written in mainstream language, therefore, science discourse in classrooms do not reflect students’ real-life experiences,” said Xie, adding when students feel relevancy to the content, it directly affects performance outcomes by boosting motivation, self-efficacy, interest and belonging.
Teachers as co-designers
The project incorporates an action research approach, engaging teachers as co-designers of the intervention. Using iterative cycles of “study, plan, teach, and reflect,” educators collaborate with researchers to adapt the Hybrid² framework to their unique classroom needs.
“The key of our approach is to put teachers in charge in design and development of the instruction, which results in much higher implementation fidelity because they are the creators,” said Xie, who serves as chairperson for the MSU College of Education’s Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education. “It’s easier for them to implement and it’s more tailored to the context of their classrooms.”
During the first two years, researchers will train Virginia teachers to implement the Hybrid² framework, which combines cultural relevance and technology in science education. In years three and four, the program will expand to Michigan. Virginia-trained teachers will help train their Michigan counterparts.
Success will be measured using a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative data such as student surveys and standardized test scores with qualitative insights from classroom observations and interviews with teachers. The Hybrid² framework is designed to be scalable across subjects and educational contexts, with the goal of influencing science education nationwide.