A team of Husker researchers from the Center for Science, Mathematics and Computer Education is partnering with a Nebraska-based, education-focused startup company on a project that paves the way for enhanced professional development opportunities for Nebraska’s K-8 math teachers — and better outcomes for students across the state.
University of Nebraska–Lincoln math education researchers Amy Bennett, Wendy Smith and Rachel Funk, in partnership with ImpactED Global — founded and led by Nebraska career teachers and education professionals Dannika and Merritt Nelson — recently completed the first phase of the project. It was funded in part by a grant from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development’s Nebraska Academic Research and Development program.
Using ImpactEd’s proprietary professional learning needs inventory — the Personalized, Differentiated Professional Development, or PD2, tool — the Husker team gathered critical information about Nebraska math teachers’ perception of and capacity to teach the state’s mathematics standards.
Their results highlight the need for individualized, standards-based professional development for Nebraska’s K-8 math teachers.
“Our results from phase one of this study underscore our center’s longstanding belief that one of the best ways to help Nebraska’s K-12 students learn math is to support their teachers with learning opportunities and more expansive resources,” said Bennett, research assistant professor in the center and Husker team lead. “By partnering with ImpactED for this project, we’ve been able to use innovative technology to gather more extensive data about what Nebraska teachers need the most to succeed in the classroom.”
The project showcases the potential of ImpactED’s PD2 tool to deepen math teachers’ understanding of the content they teach, leading to higher math test scores across the state.
“Our company’s research indicates that one major reason math proficiency levels nationwide have been at record lows is a disconnect between teachers’ understanding of the material and state requirements for student proficiency,” said Merritt Nelson, ImpactED CEO. “Our PD2 tool is aimed at correcting that mismatch by providing teachers tailored knowledge, tools and strategies. The partnership with UNL is enabling us to further develop PD2 and continue to scale our impact by supporting teachers in eight districts across Nebraska, which will ultimately improve learning outcomes for thousands of Nebraska students.”
The project extends the center’s trajectory of work that aims to elevate Nebraska students’ academic achievement in STEM by strengthening professional development opportunities for teachers. Previous work in this area has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the Nebraska Department of Education, among other sources.
Now, by accessing ImpactED’s unique PD2 tool, center researchers were able to glean more details about math teachers’ perspectives and professional development needs. The mixed-methods study, which surveyed 82 educators from eight school districts in Nebraska, indicated that although most Nebraska math teachers feel they have a strong general awareness and understanding of the state’s mathematics standards, a significant percentage of them — 30-45% — lack confidence in their ability to teach the standards effectively.
But they want to bridge that gap: Roughly 70-80% of surveyed teachers reported a desire to gain expertise in the content covered by Nebraska’s math standards and improve their teaching effectiveness in these areas. To accomplish this, the teachers voiced a need for expanded access to curriculum resources and instructional strategies to deploy in the classroom.
With these results, the team is now poised to launch the second phase of the project. ImpactED recently secured a Phase 2 Academic R&D Program grant approved by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. The researchers will explore the influence of ImpactED’s personalized, differentiated professional development program on teachers’ depth of knowledge related to K-12 Nebraska math standards and their students’ learning of this content. The overall goal is to improve student performance on state math assessments.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to continue this collaboration with ImpactED, leverage their commercial resources and partnerships, and work to improve student learning of mathematics across the state of Nebraska,” Bennett said.
The center’s partnership with ImpactED Global, facilitated by the Industry Relations team in the university’s Office of Research and Innovation, was pivotal to the project’s success in phase one. The company’s PD2 tool enabled the researchers to pinpoint how a larger group of Nebraska teachers most need support, which is critical for high-quality instruction, increased teacher efficacy and confidence, and increased student proficiency of math standards. The results of phase one emphasize that teachers would benefit from engaging in professional development that focuses on guiding them from “general” toward “expert” level status, with individualized lessons intentionally targeting particular content domains and standards.
The work illuminates the potential of university-industry partnerships to leverage expertise and resources to amplify impact and contribute to conquering major societal problems. These collaborations also drive economic growth and expand student opportunities in the private sector.
“The Industry Relations team was able to make key connections between ImpactED, UNL faculty members and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, which allowed these three entities to come together and successfully complete this research project,” Merritt Nelson said. “This study is a prime example of how UNL’s Industry Relations team and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development support Nebraska-based businesses and the Nebraska economy.”
ImpactED Global Inc. is an education technology solutions company based in Oakland, Nebraska. It is a leader in personalized professional development solutions for K-12 educators, focusing on fostering teacher growth through innovative, data-driven approaches. The company’s mission is to build highly effective educators who drive positive outcomes for students across the world.
The Center for Science, Mathematics and Computer Education fosters education research in the STEM fields and supports efforts to improve STEM teaching and learning from preschool through college. The center builds partnerships among leaders in higher education, leaders in PK-12 education and other education-focused organizations that further its mission.
The Business Innovation Act (2011) authorized a suite of grant and investment programs for Nebraska-based startups and small businesses. These programs are administered by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development’s Innovation Team, with support from Invest Nebraska. BIA programs assist with product development (prototype grants), university research or university tech transfer (academic R&D grants), applying for federal Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer programs (SBIR/STTR matching grants) and access to capital via equity investment (the Nebraska Seed Investment program). Descriptions, guidelines and application links for the BIA programs are available here.
