Tallahassee, Fla. – The Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University has been building systems to improve learning and human performance for 54 years. LSI’s blend of experience and innovation was on full display during the recently completed Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by RTI International. From direct training to developing new curriculum standards to building a nationwide digital platform, the LSI staff has once again impacted how the world learns.

Developed and launched in December 2019, the project aimed to support sustainable improvement in Uzbek Language Arts (ULA), mathematics, information and communication technology and English as a foreign language (EFL) skills among students in public schools. Implemented by RTI International in partnership with Florida State University and Mississippi State University, the program brought together the necessary expertise and experience to help the Ministry achieve its educational goals.

“The work LSI contributed on the Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program was a perfect illustration of how our staff develops innovative solutions for learning and then successfully implements those in a real-world setting,” said LSI Director and project principal investigator Rabieh Razzouk. “We are extremely proud to have collaborated on this project and of the technology we helped develop to advance the goals of The Ministry of Preschool and School Education and USAID.”

The LSI team provided training, facilitation and guidance on developing these new curriculum standards for math, ULA and EFL. In addition to developing EFL standards, the LSI team supported textbook selection and customized a series of student books, teacher books and workbooks for EFL in grades 1-11. This involved making appropriate changes to the books and developing instructional videos to assist teachers in effectively using the new materials.

Nationwide distribution of the series of English textbooks for all grade levels was completed for the 2022-2023 school year. These high-quality materials ensure that over 6,000,000 students in Uzbekistan have access to quality textbooks, while comprehensive teacher's guides support over 40,000 English teachers. In 2023, the LSI team conducted a Status of Instruction Study focusing on adopting the new English language teaching textbooks introduced in all public schools during the 2022-2023 academic year.

“I am truly proud and privileged to have collaborated with a dedicated team from RTI International, the Ministry of Preschool and School Education in Uzbekistan, as well as our FSU colleagues, including LSI and the College of Education,” said Dr. Flavia Ramos-Mattoussi, co-principal investigator on the project. “The LSI team has been at the forefront of change within the Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program. Their resolute dedication has not only guided the creation of advanced curriculum standards and materials but has also driven the development of essential supporting technology. By providing innovative learning tools, eLearning modules, and a groundbreaking digital platform, the LSI team enhances the capabilities of both educators and learners. This dynamic partnership with local stakeholders, encompassing teachers and ministry personnel, truly exemplifies their profound impact on Uzbekistan's educational landscape.”

The LSI team led the development of the educational digital platform that houses all curriculum standards and materials, including textbooks and supplemental resources, accessible to all 300,000 teachers in Uzbekistan. This unprecedented effort provides immediate and direct support to all teachers, enabling them to access materials made available by the ministry of education. This one-stop shop for all their curricular needs brings significant day-to-day support to teachers in Uzbekistan.

Razzouk, co-PI Rob Lengacher and staff from LSI co-designed the system, developed the software, configured and provided the hardware, provided training on the use of the system to all stakeholders and delivered it in July. The system is built to house all the primary and supplemental educational resources and materials to support instruction. The system comes with an extensive backend platform that allows management of all the content at all times making sure the content is always up to date and supporting the current and new standards.

“The initial plan was for us to build a system for math, ULA, EFL, and information/computer technology but we built it to support all the subjects,” said Razzouk. “During the project, more than 5,000 educational resources and more than 1,500 standards have been built and added to the system to support all subjects.”

LSI has been at the forefront of developing innovative solutions that bridge theory and practice in education. For over 50 years, LSI has delivered systems that measurably improve the learning and performance of organizations and individuals here in Florida and globally. To learn more about LSI, please visit LSI.FSU.edu.