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The Research Corner includes supporting pages of resources associated with State and National Standards.
Research
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Research Resources (Page 2 of 2) includes summaries of selected research and resources related to:
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Get the latest reports on what's happening at the classroom, state, and national levels at the Center for Education Policy. You'll find reports in the categories for Testing, No Child Left Behind, High School Exit Exams, Student Achievement, and Standards-based Education Reform particularly valuable.
Readers might be interested in How and why standards can improve student achievement by Scherer (2001).
According to Dan Laitsch (2003), "To access much of the federal funding allocated through NCLB, states and districts will be required to adopt programs and policies that are supported by scientifically based research, and teachers will need to adapt their practice to reflect the competencies necessary to implement the new programs" (para. 2). Educators might require professional development in what constitutes scientifically-based research and implementation of new curricula. CT4ME's Research Corner will give you a good start on this topic, as well as how to conduct your own action research.
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (2004) discusses and provides examples of the six components of scientifically based research (SBR). SRB must:
The U.S. Department of Education set up the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) in 2002 to provide easily searchable databases containing such scientific evidence. During its first year, the WWC focused on seven topics: interventions for beginning reading; curriculum-based interventions for increasing K-12 math achievement; preventing high school dropout; increasing adult literacy; peer-assisted learning in elementary schools for reading, mathematics, and science gains; interventions to reduce delinquent, disorderly, and violent behavior in middle and high schools; and interventions for elementary school English language learners.
The WWC defines educational interventions as a product, practice, policy, or program that has been shown to be effective. In Determining 'What Works,' Therese Mageau (2004), guest editor of T.H.E. Journal and Dr. Grover 'Russ' Whitehurst, director of the Institute of Education Sciences, discussed the question of effectiveness. The WWC gives preference to studies involving randomized trials because randomized trials are the gold standard for determining effectiveness. Whitehurst indicated, however, that "there are two prongs to evidence-based practice" (p. 34). Something that may work in one location might not work in another. Therefore, evidence-based practice includes the scientific studies of effectiveness as found on the WWC, and the integration of professional wisdom based on "locally collected performance data that indicates whether changes are occurring in the desired direction when a particular program or practice is implemented" (p. 34).
Thus, in order for educators to use both SBR and their professional wisdom, it is important for educators to read and analyze professional journals. According to Simpson, LaCava, and Graner (2004), authors of such journal articles should enable educators to clearly identify the following:
HOT
NEWS: The Institute of Education Sciences announced on July 11, 2007
that the U.S. Department of Education awarded Mathematica Policy
Research, Inc. a five-year contract to take over management of the
What Works Clearinghouse (Viadero, 2007). The WWC got off to a
rocky start in identifying high-quality research that met its
standards, but "the Web site now lists 74 reviews of research on
reading instruction, dropout prevention, teaching English-language
learners, and other topics" (para. 5). Mark Dynarski, who is a
senior fellow and an associate director of research at Mathematica,
will direct the WWC. It is hoped that this change will make
the WWC more responsive and relevant to the needs of educators, as
there is a call for "expanding the range of research designs that
qualify as sound evidence, and introducing practical guides and
other products that educators and decision makers in the trenches
might see as useful" (sec.: Mission Shift).
Then in November, 2007, the U.S. Department of Education started the Doing What Works (DWW) website to assist teachers in the implementation of effective educational practices. The DWW website contains practice guides developed by the Department’s Institute of Education Sciences that evaluate research on the effectiveness of teaching practices described in the guides. The website also contains examples of possible ways this research may be used, but not necessarily the only ways to implement these teaching practices. Much of the content is based on the work of the WWC. Content addresses English language learners, psychology of learning, early childhood education, math and science with more to come on other topics.
Interested readers will find WWC reports on the following math programs at http://www.whatworks.ed.gov/ along with other materials currently under review:
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. and SRI International announced a study on February 16, 2004 of interest to mathematics educators (http://edtech.mathematica-mpr.com/Press/index.asp). The study would use a random-assignment design to evaluate 16 computer-based reading and math products over three years to determine the effectiveness of technology in bolstering student achievement. The study would assess the effectiveness of learning technology in teaching reading in grade 1, reading comprehension in grade 4, pre-algebra in grade 6, and algebra in grade 9. Pre-algebra products included in the study would be Successmaker from Pearson Digital Learning, SmartMath from CompuTaught, Inc., Achieve Now from PLATO Learning, Inc. and Larson Pre-Algebra from Meridian Creative Group. Algebra products include Cognitive Tutor from Carnegie Learning, Inc., Algebra from PLATO Learning, Inc., and Larson Algebra from Meridian Creative Group. The study actually was conducted on 15 products.
HOT:
On April 5, 2007, the U.S. Department of Education released its
report for Congress, Effectiveness of Reading and Mathematics
Software Products: Findings from the First Student Cohort. It
received immediate reaction from leaders around the country
concerned about the effectiveness of technology in education and
results of this study. A key finding noted in the Mathematica
Policy Research, Inc.
press release indicated, "On average, after one year, products
did not increase or decrease test scores by amounts that were
statistically different from zero." Read this full report:
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pdf/20074005.pdf
Readers are cautioned about making quick decisions about technology effectiveness based on the results of this study, as products were not implemented as intended, nor used to an extent to make a difference in achievement.
Readers might also be interested in the K-12 Evidence Based Math Approved Listing in the Curriculum section for the Idaho Department of Education. This is the 2008 Math Adoption Guide resulting from Idaho's efforts to identify the scientifically based research behind publishers' materials in their textbook adoption efforts. The list is effective through December 2014.
The Idaho committee of teachers rated curricular materials using an Evidence-Based Research Rubric: Continuum of Evidence of Effectiveness with three levels: most rigorous, somewhat rigorous, and marginal. The rubric addresses theory/research foundation, evaluation-based evidence of effectiveness, implementation, and replicability. Waterford Early Math and Science (K-1, version 4.2) and Connected Mathematics 2 (6-8, copyright 2009) fall into the "Most Rigorous" category. See the listing for other results.
Those who are not familiar with reading and conducting research studies will appreciate a few tips and documents on this topic. Commentary on and additional resources for conducting Action Research are also presented.
A Policymaker's Primer on Education Research: How to Understand It, Evaluate It, and Use It (February, 2004) is by Patricia Lauer at Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning. The Primer is intended to help readers understand what education research says, whether it's trustworthy and what it means for policy. Readers will also learn some of the technical statistical and scientific concepts touched upon in research reports and gain a deeper understanding of education research methodology. Practical tools, including a flowchart for analyzing research and an understanding statistics tutorial, are included.
How to Read a Research Study Article D. Blewett of the College of DuPage in Illinois provides advice on how to read a research study article. A research article generally is structured with an Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and References. Each section has specific content, which he summarizes. It will take more than one reading to fully understand the bulk of the research, but the general start is to read the abstract, the first paragraph or so of the introduction and the hypothesis, then skip to the discussion to find how the study turned out. Go back to read the sections on methods focusing on how the hypotheses were tested, results, and re-read the discussion section. Finally, read the entire report again from first page to last for greater understanding.
Identifying and Implementing Educational Practices Supported by Rigorous Evidence: A User Friendly Guide, an 18-page guide from The U.S. Department of Education, will help educators determine whether an educational intervention is supported by rigorous evidence. It contains a three-step evaluation process, a checklist to use in the process, definitions of research terms, and what to look for in research studies.
Making Sense of Research for Improving Education, an issue brief (April 2003) from the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin, will help practitioners clarify their understanding of what scientifically based research is and learn more about research designs used in education research: experimental, quasi-experimental, correlational, and case study. When using research to make decisions about teaching and learning, practitioners should consider the research's relevance, generalizability to their particular circumstances, statistical soundness, and preponderance of evidence.
The following online texts are for anyone who really wants to understand the statistics involved in research:
ANOVA Visually by T. Malloy is a tool "meant to direct your attention to relationships among the components of ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) by representing them visually." It is designed to help you understand the F test.
HyperStat Online Statistics Textbook by D. Lane also contains links to free statistical analysis tools and instructional demos.
Introductory Statistics: Concepts, Models, and Applications by D. W. Stockburger. This Web Edition also includes many examples showing how to use SPSS/WIN 7.0 to do statistical procedures.
Statistics Every Writer Should Know by Robert Niles. Learn about mean, median, percent, per capita, standard deviation, margin of error, data analysis, and more. Link to sites for data sources and interactive help to select the right statistical test.
StatSoft, Inc. (2004). Electronic Statistics Textbook. Tulsa, OK: StatSoft. According to StatSoft developers, "The Electronic Textbook begins with an overview of relevant elementary concepts and continues with a more in depth exploration of specific areas of statistics, organized by "modules," accessible by buttons, representing classes of analytic techniques. A glossary of statistical terms and a list of references for further study are included."
SticiGui by P. B. Stark is an online introductory statistics text. According to Stark, materials "include interactive data analysis and demonstrations, machine-graded online assignments and exams (a different version for every student), and a text with dynamic examples and exercises, applets illustrating key concepts, and an extensive glossary."
Statnotes: Topics in Multivariate Analysis by G. David Garson is an online text.
In general, research studies involve qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methodologies.
American Evaluation Association identifies online resources of interest to anyone doing evaluations. Their collection includes online multi-chapter handbooks and texts on various methodologies, software links for qualitative data analysis and developing and administering surveys, and more.
Brief Guide to Questionnaire Development by Robert Frary (2000, Office of Measurement and Research Service, Virginia Polytechnic Institute) is useful for collecting factual information and opinions in survey research.
Electronic Resources for Research Methods by T.D. Wilson, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Sheffield, UK., is comprehensive.
Multidisciplinary methods in educational technology research and development (2007), by Justus Randolph, is an open-source book published by Hämeenlinna, FI: HAMK Press.
Qualitative Research Web Ring is a database of resources on all aspects of conducting qualitative research.
Research 101 from the University of Washington addresses how to conduct research, including how to distinguish between scholarly/popular communications and primary/secondary sources, which are often problems for learners.
Research Methods Knowledge Base is a fully hyperlinked online text by Dr. William M.K. Trochim of Cornell University. "It covers the entire research process including: formulating research questions; sampling (probability and nonprobability); measurement (surveys, scaling, qualitative, unobtrusive); research design (experimental and quasi-experimental); data analysis; and, writing the research paper. It also addresses the major theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of research including: the idea of validity in research; reliability of measures; and ethics."
Research Randomizer, part of the Social Psychology Network, is a free "quick way to generate random numbers or assign participants to experimental conditions. Research Randomizer can be used in a wide variety of situations, including psychology experiments, medical trials, and survey research." This is a great tool for random sampling and random assignment, which includes tutorials.
Survey and Questionnaire Design is a free tutorial of over 20 pages from StatPac Inc. on the complete process to conduct a survey study and design a questionnaire. Highly recommended.
Tools for Preparing Literature Reviews from George Washington University is intended primarily for masters and doctoral learners. There are tutorials for conducting literature searches efficiently, assessing whether or not findings in reports can be relied upon, and integrating various studies on a topic.
According to John Tillotson (2000), a reason why teachers lack interest in educational research is that many of the topics chosen for study seldom have direct implications for what happens in the classroom. "One doesn't have to look far in most public schools today to find outdated teaching practices and assessment strategies, in spite of ample research findings that suggest more effective alternatives" (p. 31, par. 3). He suggests that an expansion of action research at the K-12 level is a promising solution to the dilemma of research failing to inform practice.
Action research, in this author's view, would satisfy the No Child Left Behind mandate for educators to employ researched-based instructional materials and methodologies in their instruction that get results. It fits the exercise of a district's professional wisdom based on "locally collected performance data that indicates whether changes are occurring in the desired direction when a particular program or practice is implemented" (Mageau, 2004, p. 34).
Although action research is “usually qualitative and participatory” (Dick, 1997, par. 5), Bob Dick (1998a) acknowledges that “action research is not synonymous with ‘qualitative’ either” (par. 7). Essentially, the action research cycle involves problem formulation, data collection, data analysis, reporting results, and action planning (Tillotson, 2000). The research study has many cycles, the theories of which are intended to guide actions, such as: "In situation S, to produce outcomes O1, O2, ..., try actions A1, A2, ..." Further, "[i]n specifying the important features of the situation it also allows its generalizability to be tested in other similar settings" (Dick, 1998b, par. 7). The potential to generalize results is key.
The following resources provide more information on the process and examples from completed studies:
You don't need perfect research to support a proposed change!
Douglas Reeves (2006) reminds us, "There are hardly any true randomly assigned groups in educational research, largely due to ethical constraints" (p. 97). "The quality model that prevails throughout successful organizations is not waiting for perfection but rather 'Try it, test it, improve it.' " (p. 98).
Don't forget to teach your students how to conduct research!
ReadWriteThink.org from the National Council of Teachers of English has a series of six lessons that illustrate what research looks like in the elementary classroom. Look at grades 3-5 lessons on Research Building Blocks, which take students through the process of finding sources, exploring information in those sources, gathering details, and citing the sources that they use.
Searching the Web with key phrases will yield some education research and there are scholarly search engines and academic databases that you can use, which CT4ME provides on our technology integration page for Building Internet, Search and Citation Skills. In addition to resources below, journals are a good source for education research. See the list of Journals at CT4ME.
Best Evidence Encyclopedia: http://www.bestevidence.org/ "The Best Evidence Encyclopedia is a free web site created by the Johns Hopkins University School of Education's Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education (CDDRE) under funding from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. It is intended to give educators and researchers fair and useful information about the strength of the evidence supporting a variety of programs available for students in grades K-12. The Best Evidence Encyclopedia provides summaries of scientific reviews produced by many authors and organizations, as well as links to the full texts of each review" (sec: About the Best Evidence Encyclopedia).
Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy: http://depts.washington.edu/ctpmail/ at the University of Washington "investigates efforts to improve the quality of teaching and learning, the teacher workforce, and the systems of support for teachers’ work, in various contexts and at multiple levels of the K-12 educational system."
Center for Applied Research and Technology: http://caret.iste.org/ "CARET bridges education technology research to practice by offering research-based answers to critical questions."
Directory of Open Access Journals: http://www.doaj.org/ DOAJ aims to be comprehensive (i.e., all subjects and languages) and covers free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals to guarantee content. Quality control means that the journals "must exercise peer-review or editorial quality control to be included." This is a huge plus for researchers.
Education and Information Technology Library: http://www.editlib.org/ EdITLib, sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, is a digital library of "peer-reviewed and published international journal articles and conference papers on the latest research, developments, and applications related to all aspects of Educational Technology and E-Learning."
Education Policy Analysis Archives: http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/ a peer-reviewed online journal of education research.
Education Resources Information Center (ERIC): http://www.eric.ed.gov/ sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.
Institute of Education Sciences: http://ies.ed.gov/ is the primary research arm of the United States Department of Education. IES brings rigorous and relevant research, evaluation and statistics to our nation's education system.
International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA): http://www.iea.nl/ is an independent, international cooperative of national research institutions and governmental research agencies. IEA has conducted more than 23 research studies of cross-national achievement since 1958. Examples include Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007), the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (2001, 2006), the TIMSS-R Video Study of Classroom Practices, information technology in education (SITES-M1, SITES-M2, SITES 2006), and the Teachers Education and Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M), initiated in 2005. Publications are available, as well as current studies (e.g., TIMSS Advanced 2008 and PIRLS 2011).
International TIMSS and PIRLS Study Center: http://timss.bc.edu/, located at Boston College, is IEA's principle site for reporting on the Trends in Mathematics and Science studies and the Progress in International Reading Literacy studies.
Library of Education Research at UCLA: http://research.cse.ucla.edu/ "contains access to reports produced by university-based education research centers, largely funded by the U.S. Department of Education from 1995 to 2005." Research is presented by categories, such as assessment, mathematics & science, teaching policy, at-risk, and much more.
MERLOT: http://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm Find peer-reviewed online teaching and learning materials in numerous categories. Education, and mathematics/statistics are among those.
Metiri Group: Technology Solutions That Work: http://www.metiri.com/techsolutions/Default.asp There's a fee.
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the Nation's Report Card: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ "is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. Assessments are conducted periodically in mathematics, reading, science, writing, the arts, civics, economics, geography, and U.S. history. Assessments in world history and in foreign language are anticipated in 2012." Representative samples of students from grades 4, 8, and 12 are selected for main assessments, but not all grades are assessed at the same time.
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES): http://nces.ed.gov/ is the primary federal agency for collecting and analyzing data related to education. Publications and annual reports are available.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics: Research, News & Advocacy: http://www.nctm.org/news/default.aspx?id=160 Read summaries, clips, and briefs connectings math education research to the classroom. You'll also find a list of books on research.
Promising Practices Network: http://www.promisingpractices.net/default.asp For example, see Team Accelerated Instruction [TAI]: Math, a program rated as "promising." TAI is a component of the MathWings program from the Success for All Foundation. Probable implementers are elementary schools. Other math programs (e.g., Everyday Mathematics, I CAN Learn Pre-Algebra and Algebra, Saxon Middle School Math, The Expert Mathematician, University of Chicago School Mathematics Project Algebra) not yet fully evaluated by PPN, but highly valued by other credible organizations, are listed among "Screened Programs": http://www.promisingpractices.net/programs_topic_list.asp?topicid=21
U.S. Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml Use the search phrase "education research." For a list of National Research and Development Centers, see: http://www.ed.gov/help/site/expsearch/nrdc.html
What Works Clearinghouse: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/
The Amazon widget below shows books using the search phrase: research in education. You can also use the widget to search with other key words. Suggestions include:
Dick, B. (1998a). Rigour (1). Occasional pieces in action research methodology, # 13. Available: http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/arm/op000.html
Dick, B. (1998b). Grounded theory (2). Occasional pieces in action research methodology, # 17. Available: http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/arm/op017.html
Dick, B. (1997). What is "action research"? Occasional pieces in action research methodology, # 2. Available: http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/arm/op002.html
Laitsch, D. (2003, August). Into the mix: Policy, practice, and research. ASCD InfoBrief, Issue 34. Available in Archived Issues: http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/infobrief/archived_issues.aspx
Mageau, T. (2004, January). Determining 'What Works'. T.H.E. Journal, 31(6), 32-27.
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (2007, April 5). New report released on congressionally mandated evaluation of 15 educational technology products. [Press release]. Available: http://edtech.mathematica-mpr.com/Press/index.asp
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (2004). NCREL quick key 7: Understanding the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001: Scientifically based research. Naperville, IL: Learning Point Associates. Available: http://www2.learningpt.org/catalog/category.asp?SessionID=825996520&ID=13
Reeves, D. (2006). The learning leader: How to focus school improvement for better results. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Simpson, R. L., LaCava, P. G., & Graner, P. S. (2004). The No Child Left Behind Act: Challenges and implications for educators. Intervention in School and Clinic, 40(2), 67-75.
Tillotson, J. W. (2000). Studying the game: Action research in science education. The Clearing House, 74(1), 31-34.
Viadero, D. (2007, July 12). U.S. gives What Works Clearinghouse to new contractor. Education Week, 26(43). Available: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/07/18/43whatworks.h26.html?tmp=541546481
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Last revised 06/22/09
CT4ME Author: Dr. Patricia Deubel
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