U.S. Department of Education selects Legends of Learning platform for $8 million grant to study effectiveness of game-based learning in Florida as part of the Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant program.
Summary
Game-based learning aims to address post-COVID challenges in student engagement and declining standardized test scores.FULTON, Md., April 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Legends of Learning has been selected to partner with Impact Florida, a non-profit, non-partisan organization advancing excellence in classroom instruction, and WestEd, a national non-partisan leader in research, development, and service focused on education and human development, to examine the efficacy of game-based science instruction in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS).An $8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Educations Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant program will fund a five-year study to explore how a standards-aligned, game-based learning (GBL) experience will impact student performance on the fifth-grade state standardized science test. "Students are struggling to stay engaged in school, especially post-COVID, and this has led directly to lower test scores in math and science. During this period, proficiency scores were negatively impacted, as Florida fifth-grade science performance fell from 55% proficiency in 2018 to 47% in 2021.In response to pandemic-induced instruction challenges, teachers scrambled for instructional tools to engage a student population that shifted to more screen-based engagement for learning, social connection, and entertainment. Reacting to the award, Dr. Jose Dotres, MDCPS Superintendent, said, "We pride ourselves on building networks that collaborate to maximize the potential of every student in our district. The U.S. Department of Educations Education Innovation and Research program will provide a grant of $7,997,993 to support the research, which will be matched by an in-kind contribution of more than $800,000 from Legends of Learning.To request an interview with Legends of Learning CEO Vadim Polikov, contact Jose Ramos at (925) 261-8586 or [email protected]To request an interview with Impact Florida President Mandy Clark, contact Trey Csar at (415) 215-4994 or [email protected].To request an interview with WestEd staff on this project, contact Gretchen Wright at [email protected].