COE Partners with Jacksonville State University to Validate the Collaborative Regional Education Model: Technology in Rural Classrooms

In 2013, the highly competitive U.S. Department of Education, Investing in Innovation (i3) Grant Program, funded Jacksonville State University’s Validating the Collaborative Regional Education (CORE) Initiative. Jacksonville State University is partnering with eight regional universities, including Louisiana Tech University to participate in a national study to expand the CORE model and implement a rigorous study of approximately 40 control and treatment classrooms in 8th-12th grades across the nation. The initial grant awarded by the USDOE was 12.5 million. 

On Thursday, April 14, 2016, Louisiana public school partners (grades 8-12) and participating teachers met to have their project roles “revealed” as part of the national study, Validating the Collaborative Regional Education Model: Technology in Rural Classrooms (CORE), a project conducted by Jacksonville State University in collaboration with Louisiana Tech University's SciTEC Center in the College of Education.

The mission of CORE is “To fuel transformation in K-12 and higher education classrooms through professional development, project-/challenge-based learning, technology, classroom support, change management and partnership building, evaluation and research, dual enrollment, and innovative teacher preparation.”

The goals of CORE are:

1. To prepare students for college and career through increases in 21st Century skills.
2. To expand methodologies and technologies in the classroom.
3. To create sustainable support for system-wide change management.