StarrMatica Learning Systems, Inc. — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase II: 8.6

Description

Today's elementary teachers must address the needs of an increasingly diverse population of students--ranging from those who enter their classrooms reading at many years below grade level to those who are many years above grade level. This discrepancy is often the most profound in rural school districts. This impacts teachers' abilities to help students acquire strong skills in reading--for instance, nearly two-thirds of American 4th graders can only read at or below a proficient level, and these students scored worse on informational texts than on literary passages--with students eligible for free lunch scoring the worst on informational texts. Beginning readers are primarily exposed to literary texts, and when they begin to read informational texts, they have difficulty with comprehension--which requires a different set of strategies and skills than those they have previously developed. Rural school districts face additional challenges, with fewer resources, geographic isolation, difficulty in attracting and retaining experienced teachers, and higher poverty rates. The Phase II development of StarrMatica Texts: Science Your Way is intended to offer a digital solution to rural districts. This software combines an online professional development component with an innovative process for enabling teachers to tailor informational texts to their students of diverse reading abilities. Rural districts under tight budget constraints will benefit from the fact that StarrMatica's new program is expected to cost as little as 10% of currently available 'informational texts' programs.The overall goal of the Phase I project was to demonstrate the feasibility of this digital program to more effectively support teachers in helping students read and comprehend informational texts. In Phase I, we achieved each of our objectives and demonstrated that elementary teachers were able to customize multiple features of an informational text, individualize informational text comprehension instruction for students, and combine Common Core-aligned ELA instruction with NGSS-aligned instruction. Phase II will continue this research by developing the library of informational texts to include: a) selections that address all Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS); b) Lexile-leveled texts above and below grade level; c) supplementary materials that support NGSS instruction; and d) a robust online professional development program. In Year 1, data will be gathered from thirty teachers participating in a usability study that includes evaluation of the software and professional development. In Year 2, fifty teachers will participate in a validation study to demonstrate improvement of informational text instruction, increased student informational text comprehension, and effectiveness of online professional development. Data will be collected through classroom observations, interviews, surveys, and beginning and end-of-the-year student reading assessments and compared against control classrooms to evaluate success for Phase II objectives.StarrMatica Texts: Science Your Way is expected to enable teachers to effectively individualize informational text comprehension instruction for all students in their classrooms; improve student informational text comprehension; facilitate the integration of informational texts with standards-aligned science instruction; and enable teachers experiencing online professional development to use the platform as effectively as teachers who receive in-person professional development. Our product's very low cost, digital delivery, ability to meet multiple curricular goals, alignment with Common Core and Next-Generation Science Standards, and online professional development make it uniquely relevant and valuable for meeting the needs of rural schools.