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MSU professors using grant to bring science to youngest students

Posted at 9:24 AM, Nov 23, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-23 09:49:55-05

A grant will help teachers introduce science to the youngest students.

Educators at Michigan State University are using a four-year, $2.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation. They say the key is to mix science with literacy standards, as children learn to read and write.

Tanya Wright, assistant professor in the MSU College of Education, said in statement: "If we want to prepare young people for future science learning, we can’t wait until they are done learning how to read.”

Wright and Amelia Wenk Gotwals, associate professor of science education, worked together to create lesson plans. The researchers found that students who took part in the research outperformed other children on tasks like using evidence to support their claims.

Gotwals says in a news release that they heard from teachers who helped with the project they needed more support to implement changes. The grant will develop teaching tools to help for kindergarten through second-grade teachers.

Online training will help teachers watch and watch their students and teach the best ways to encourage students to question the world around them.

Read more about the program here.