Smithsonian Science for NC and SC Classrooms

About the Project

In 2019, the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) was awarded a $4.5 million early-phase Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant (PR# U411C190055) for its proposal “Smithsonian Science for the Classroom: Improving Student Achievement Across State Borders and State Standards.” The grant program, administered by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) at the U.S. Department of Education, supports the development, implementation, and initial evaluation of evidence-based innovations to improve student achievement.

The project, titled Smithsonian Science for North and South Carolina Classrooms, launched in October 2019 and ran through September 2024, impacting third, fourth, and fifth grade classrooms in 37 schools across seven districts in North and South Carolina. For more information, contact Katie Gainsback (gainsbackk@si.edu).

Project Goals

The goals of the project were to provide curriculum and content professional development to teachers in an ongoing manner, focused on student learning in science and engineering to result in increased teacher confidence and preparedness that translates to increased student achievement in science, math, and reading.

Project Activities

Participating schools received:
• Smithsonian Science for the Classroom modules at grades 3-5 totaling 406 curriculum modules delivered.
• Professional learning opportunities for each module taught. Ten workshops totaling nearly 190 hours of training were offered.
• Modest stipends for participating grade 3-5 teachers.
• Increased local capacity via a cadre of teachers trained in inquiry-based teaching currently totaling 266 teachers.
• Insight into the impact of phenomenon-based curriculum on student achievement in each state.

North and South Carolina

In North Carolina, the North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center is the regional partner and liaison and identified Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, and Polk County School Districts to participate. In South Carolina, the South Carolina's Coalition for Mathematics and Science is the regional partner and liaison and identified Marion, Marlboro, and Orangeburg County School Districts to participate.

Evaluation

The Center for Research in Educational Policy (CREP) at the University of Memphis evaluated the impact of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom modules and professional development on student achievement using standardized assessments, classroom observations, teacher surveys, and focus groups. Participating schools were randomly assigned as either “treatment” or “comparison” schools. Treatment schools receive both an engineering and science module at grades 3-5 with two levels of accompanying professional development. Comparison schools taught science using “business-as-usual” for years 1-4 of the research study, and received one module and one level of professional development in the final year of the project.