Designing School District Infrastructures that Support Elementary Science Learning through Leveraging Students’ Communicative Practices

NSF Award Search · 04002526DB NSF STEM Education · $1,581,066 · view on nsf.gov ↗

Abstract

Throughout the United States, elementary classrooms include students with a range of communicative practices and strengths, including strengths in speaking one or more languages, and strengths in generating and understanding different types of representations. Although an emerging body of research has begun to explore how individual teachers can productively leverage these communicative strengths toward enhanced science learning and further develop language through science, there is currently little research on how larger-scale district infrastructures can be designed to support science learning that leverages and supports language development. This project will address this critical gap by developing a process through which school districts can design comprehensive infrastructures that leverage a broad range of linguistic and communicative practices for enhanced science learning among elementary students. Specifically, researchers will partner with district experts in multiple roles, including supervisors, specialists, coaches, principals, and educators. Together, they will envision, co-design, implement, and refine materials that foster the use of research-based practices in science learning, such as using multiple forms of language and communication in the context of standards-aligned tasks in which students explain phenomena or use engineering design processes to develop solutions to problems. Research will explore whether and how different components of the district inf

Key facts

NSF award ID
2509474
Awardee
Trustees of Boston University (MA)
SAM.gov UEI
THL6A6JLE1S7
PI
Eve I Manz
Primary program
04002526DB NSF STEM Education
All programs
STEM Learning & Learning Environments
Estimated total
$1,581,066
Funds obligated
$1,581,066
Transaction type
Standard Grant
Period
09/15/2025 → 08/31/2029