Project Description
The 3DLP project focuses on developing and empirically testing a three-dimensional learning progression (LP) for middle school physical science that integrates Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs), Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), and Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) as articulated in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
Rather than treating the three dimensions as separate instructional goals, the project brings them together to model how students develop knowledge-in-use over time as they engage with complex phenomena and problem-solving tasks. The learning progression is designed to capture multiple intermediate pathways that students may follow as they integrate ideas about matter, energy, and interactions while constructing explanations and developing models. This approach supports a more coherent understanding of how students’ scientific reasoning develops across contexts and instructional experiences.
Project Information
Project Period: 2022–2026
Project Lead: Peng He
Funding Agencies:
This project is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the Discovery Research PreK–12 (DRK–12) Program.
Project Vision
Three-dimensional science learning requires more than aligning standards—it requires coherent models of how students’ knowledge-in-use develops over time across instructional contexts.
The 3DLP project is designed to integrate DCIs, SEPs, and CCCs together within a learning progression framework that supports teachers’ instructional decision-making and advances equitable science learning opportunities for diverse student populations.
Project Goals
- Goal 1: Develop and test a three-dimensional learning progression
Design and iteratively revise a theoretically grounded learning progression that integrates DCIs, SEPs, and CCCs for middle school physical science. - Goal 2: Examine teacher use of learning progressions
Study how teachers use the learning progression to adapt curriculum, instruction, and assessment to support students’ knowledge-in-use development. - Goal 3: Investigate student learning over time
Analyze how students’ 3D understanding develops in classrooms that use learning progression–aligned instruction and assessments, with attention to diverse learning pathways and equity.
Team & Collaborators
Project Team:
Yu (Abby) Xue, Honglu Liu, Timothy Fisher, Zeyuan Wang
Collaborators:
Michigan State University CREATE for STEM Institute
Partners
Washington Educational Service Districts (ESD 101), Pullman School Districts, Moscow School Districts, Fenton Area Public Schools