May 19, 2015 12:47 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

Michigan State University received a $5 million grant from filmmaker George Lucas' foundation for science, math and literacy education, Toledo News Now reported.

Lucas Education Research, a division of the George Lucas Educational Foundation, donated a five-year grant to help the school plan to create a model for teaching elementary students science while also improving their skills in math, reading and writing. The goal is to bring the benefits of project-based learning - an approach that encourages kids to explore real-world problems - to more classrooms throughout the nation.

 "Educators are in agreement based on classroom experience that project-based learning keeps students engaged and promotes deeper understanding," Executive Director Kristin De Vivo said in a statement. "However, very little research currently exists to prove the benefits of PBL and also to help educators develop and implement this kind of leading-edge curriculum. This grant supports a team with exceptional credentials and ideas."

They will and develop materials for grades 3 and 4. Teachers working in under-resourced communities will assist in testing and enacting the new learning units with as many as 1,800 students over the five years, focusing not only on making the curriculum effective but also personally relevant in students' lives. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

"We are pleased that Lucas Education Research shares our excitement about what project-based learning can do for our schools and our students," Joseph Krajcik, director of Michigan State's CREATE for STEM Institute, said in a statement. "This grant makes it possible for us to design a curriculum that will bring science to life for young learners with thoughtful incorporation of literacy, mathematics and learning technologies to promote collaboration and agency."

Krajcik said the project will build on previous research and help teachers make stronger connections between two sets of education standards now being implemented in most states: the Next Generation Science Standards and the Common Core State Standards in language arts and mathematics.

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