Engaging the 21st-Century Learner in Collaborative, Cross-curricular Literacy

During Phase I in 2023, the project team developed a new prototype component for use during an existing group-based intervention, with an interface to formatively assess and scaffold how well students read, write, and speak during and after the missions. At the end of Phase I, the team conducted a pilot study within the context of a STEM-based mission focusing on the environment, with 17 middle school educators and 225 students. Results demonstrated that the prototype functioned as intended, educators were able to implement the intervention as a part of classroom practice, and a majority of students indicated that they were more willing to read and write during missions compared to normal class activities.

In Phase II of the project, the team will fully develop the product, including: finalizing features to support closer reading, writing, and speaking and enhance data-driven planning during STEM missions; create 30 missions that can be delivered across disciplines for delivery on a weekly basis; and strengthen accommodation tools such as text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and alt-text features, and captions and translation features on student screens. After development concludes, a pilot study will test the feasibility and usability, fidelity of implementation, and the promise of the product for improving reading, writing, and discussion of STEM content. The team will collect data from 30 grade 8 classes with approximately 20 students per class for a total of 600 students, with half randomly assigned to use the product and the other half to use business-as-usual activities for the same course content. Researchers will compare pre-and-post scores using district-administered common, standardized literacy assessment including i-Ready and Star. Researchers will gather cost information using the "ingredients method" and will include all expenditures on things such as personnel, facilities, equipment, materials, and training.