Georgia State University & The University of Toledo are partnering with WestEd on the NURTURES Impact Study, a research project funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
NURTURES is an award-winning STEM-focused research-based program with 13 years of experience in 8 states that designs, develops, and implements teacher professional development and provides family learning opportunities.
NURTURES has been shown to improve:
• Student achievement in science, mathematics, and literacy for early elementary students, and gains in these areas persisted through 5th grade.
• Teacher content knowledge and confidence in teaching science was also improved.
The NURTURES program consists of an online institute, six virtual professional learning community meetings throughout the school year, and family engagement materials.
A year-long experience designed to support your teaching, your students, and your families:
A 10-week online Institute (Sept–Nov) to build confidence in inquiry-based teaching
Six PLC sessions (Dec–April) to apply your learning in your classroom with peer support
Family Engagement experiences throughout the year to extend learning beyond the classroom
The following section outlines the NURTURES Impact Study and what participation involves.
This research study will examine the impact of the NURTURES program on teachers’ content knowledge and confidence teaching inquiry-based science lessons, students’ science, literacy, and math achievement, and families’ STEM engagement.
We are looking for Georgia schools willing to enroll their 2nd-3rd grade teachers in COHORT 1 of the study.
The goal is to better understand how NURTURES impacts student learning. This study compares the classroom outcomes for teachers who have completed the NURTURES program to those who have not. Participating schools will be randomly assigned to one of two groups:
Treatment group
Teachers will complete the NURTURES program and associated activities for the 2-year study period (Fall 2026 – Spring 2028).
Control group
Teachers will NOT complete the NURTURES program but will instead continue with their business-as-usual classroom activities. A subset of teachers in the control group will be selected to receive the NURTURES program in the 2029-30 academic year.
NOTE: There is a 50% chance of schools being assigned to the Control group.
Teachers in both groups will receive stipends for each year of participation.
If you are interested in joining the study complete this interest form and the research team will reach out to you.
