May 2024

The Learning Systems Institute (LSI) at Florida State University, in conjunction with FHI 360, Save the Children and the Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB), have been working together since 2021 to enhance the pre-primary education system to develop, promote and improve students' emergent language and literacy skills, as well as strengthen the lower primary education system, school environment and classroom instruction to enhance students' literacy outcomes.

Dr. Adrienne Barnes-Story, a Research Specialist at the Learning Systems Institute, has been awarded a 2024 SEED Award from the Council on Research and Creativity. Work on the project titled “Large Class Pedagogy in Low-Income Contexts: Exploring Methods with Teachers in Malawi” will begin later this year.   

Florida State University’s Ukraine Task Force and the Center for Global Engagement held a celebration for Vyshyvanka Day Wednesday, May 15, in The Globe Auditorium that featured Ukrainian appetizers, special presentations and an opportunity for the FSU community to engage with the Ukrainian diaspora in Tallahassee.

Dr. Anna Romanova, a former member of the Ukrainian Parliament, has joined the Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University. As a researcher, Dr. Romanova utilizes her passion, expertise, and network to inform FSU's Ukraine Task Force.

In 2022, the Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University was chosen to lead a U.S. Agency for International Development sponsored project to improve teacher training in Malawi. Now in its third year, the STEP Malawi Activity is continuing to meet expectations and making successful strides to impact the entire primary education system.