Introducing Relevant Classroom and Stating Our Commitment to Science Education
Welcome to Relevant Classroom, a team dedicated to advancing high-quality, high-impact STEM education and workforce development through strategic partnerships and innovative learning solutions. We’re here for education leaders, scientific experts, and industry leaders who seek a collaborative partner to plan, develop, and execute programs that bridge the gap between academic science and real-world applications. Our mission: make STEM education more relevant, more connected, and more impactful.
Background: Our Unique Perspective
Relevant Classroom is a division of Vivayic, a full-service learning solutions firm established in 2006. Vivayic has always worked with a variety of clients – public agencies, NGOs, industry associations, and companies – developing curriculum, designing training programs, and supporting learning technology platforms. From the beginning, Vivayic has had teams that work on projects to improve education and other teams that help clients train and develop talent already in the workforce. For more than a decade, one sector of our clients has noted great concern about the future of available talent and their ability to meet the needs of the future – our clients in agriculture and food production.
This workforce challenge isn’t just about filling job openings—it’s about ensuring that students see the connection between STEM education and real-world careers. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), an estimated 59,400 job openings will be available annually in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources, and environmental sectors. Within that, more than 18,400 positions each year require college graduates with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) degrees—jobs that often go unfilled due to a lack of qualified candidates (USDA, 2020). At the same time, changing climate and global political instability continue to threaten food security for billions of people. Addressing these challenges demands a new generation of skilled scientists, researchers, and engineers—talented problem-solvers who can drive innovation and build a more sustainable, resilient future.
The National Research Council of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine recognized the need – not just for our global food supply, but for the myriad of challenges across society – and released “A Framework for K-12 Science Education” that cast a vision for a more robust and focused system of STEM education in America.
Since that release, Vivayic has been working with education institutions and industry partners to find opportunities to bring real-world scientific and engineering challenges into formal K-12 science education for mutual benefit:
- help more young people see the relevance of science; and,
- cultivate a larger pipeline of talent interested in STEM careers.
For the past decade, our team has learned from leading-edge innovators in STEM education, piloted programs, and established a network of connections across STEM education, the scientific community, and industry.
We’ve done this work in support of the vision expressed in the Framework for K-12 Science Education and to contribute to a more secure and sustainable future—particularly in the context of food and agriculture systems.
Our Experience and Expertise
The first program we helped a client pilot was an immersive, field-based professional learning experience for 30 STEM educators. That project launched in 2013, shortly after the release of the Next Generation Science Standards. We worked with science specialists at state education agencies to inform our understanding so that the program we helped designed was supporting the goals of the new science standards. Since then, we’ve co-created and delivered a variety of professional development programs, consistently refining our methods to better serve science educators.
Feedback from that early professional learning experience was clear: to fully realize three-dimensional learning as envisioned in the Framework, educators needed access to instructional materials specifically designed for teachers, schools, and systems to achieve this vision. Working through a funding partner, we embarked on our first unit writing effort in the fall of 2016. We engaged leading experts from Northwestern University, Achieve, and state science specialists to help shape and inform our efforts. This formative experience taught our team the intricacies of creating comprehensive units that meet the EQuIP rubric’s rigorous standards for high-quality instruction.
Today, our team has earned three NGSS Design Badges, making us one of only a handful of organizations to receive this recognition on multiple units. Notably, we are the only developer—to our knowledge—whose materials have been reviewed and approved across three critical entities: EQuIP (for educational rigor), USDA (for scientific accuracy), and industry review through Checkoff programs (for real-world relevance). These units, the only badged units funded and offered by industry-affiliated partners, demonstrate our commitment to producing high-quality, unbiased educational materials. By adhering strictly to peer-reviewed, publicly funded research and undergoing rigorous multi-sector review, we’ve shown that industry-aligned collaborations can yield educational resources that meet the highest standards of both education and workforce relevance.
Through strategic partnerships with education institutions, workforce organizations, and industry leaders, we help organizations create learning experiences that not only meet academic standards but also build pathways to STEM careers.
Our success has attracted interest from additional partners in the science education field. We regularly share our insights and experiences at forums such as the NSTA conferences and actively expand our network of collaborators with a shared commitment to high-quality science education.
Our network of collaborators includes leading institutions in STEM education, research, and workforce development, such as:
- Boston University, Center for STEM Professional Learning at Scale
- Washington University in St. Louis, mySci School Partnerships
- Northwestern University, NextGen Storylines Team
- Georgia Tech University, Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing
- University of California, Davis
- SCALE Science at WestEd
- NextGenScience at WestEd
- Contextus
- Food and Agriculture Center for Science Education
- Children Learning through Outdoor Experiences (ChLOE)
- Seed Your Future
- Nebraska Department of Education
- Missouri Department of Education
- Oregon State Extension
- Washington State Extension
- Field of Hope
- Asia Society
- East Foundation
- The World Wildlife Fund
Working with Our Team
If you share the vision outlined in the Framework for K-12 Science Education and are committed to relevant and authentic science education, we’re here to help. Our team is ready to support you with:
- Navigating the K-12 science education landscape
- Strategic planning for new initiatives
- Connecting with key stakeholders and partners
- Defining program activities and desired outcomes
- Developing high-quality instructional materials
- Designing and delivering high-impact professional learning experiences
- Building the capacity of your existing team
We believe that improving STEM education is central to preparing young people for the problem-solving and innovation required to drive society forward.
We are proud to make this commitment visible through the Relevant Classroom division of Vivayic.
References
National Research Council. (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. National Academies Press.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2020). Employment opportunities for college graduates in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources, and the environment, United States, 2020-2025. Purdue University. Retrieved from https://www.purdue.edu/usda/employment/