March 22, 2019 11:29 amPublished by Jack StatesComments Off on What does research tell us about team-based learning?
The Effect of Team-Based Learning on Content Knowledge: A Meta-Analysis: As educators struggle with finding interventions that make a difference, focus increasingly shifts to pedagogy and how teachers deliver instruction. This meta-analysis examines the impact of team-based learning strategies on achievement and student engagement. The study finds that team-based strategies were found to have a positive impact on grades, test performance, and engagement. This research specifically looked at Team-Based Learning (TBL), a collaborative learning teaching strategy designed around small-group learning. Students are organized into teams of 5-7 students that work together throughout the class. The program is designed around preparation (reading prior to class), in-class readiness assurance testing, and application exercises. The overall mean effect size of 0.55 indicates a moderate positive effect of TBL on content knowledge when compared to non-TBL comparison groups.
Citation: Swanson, E., McCulley, L. V., Osman, D. J., Scammacca Lewis, N., & Solis, M. (2017). The effect of team-based learning on content knowledge: A meta-analysis. Active Learning in Higher Education, 1469787417731201.
March 21, 2019 11:43 amPublished by Jack StatesComments Off on Do Smarter Teachers Make Smarter Students?
The Value of Smarter Teachers: International Evidence on Teacher Cognitive Skills and Student Performance: This new research addresses a number of critical questions: Are a teacher’s cognitive skills a good predictor of teacher quality? Using this measure, does teacher quality account for the wide variation of student achievement across ours and other nations? This study examines the student achievement of 36 developed countries in the context of teacher cognitive skills. It uses data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) which generates the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) which tests the literacy and numeracy skills of 15 year old students and the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) which tests literacy and numeracy skills of adults 16-65 (which includes teachers).
Existing research demonstrates that teachers have the greatest impact of any other school-based factor. It also tells us that teachers’ experience, advanced degrees, and professional development are not very good predictors of teacher effectiveness. There is increasing evidence that a teacher’s own scholastic performance (literacy and numeracy cognitive skills) is consistently related to student outcomes.
The study used multiple approaches to examine the data, and found that: (1) there was great variability in both student achievement and teachers’ cognitive skills across countries, (2) the higher the teachers’ cognitive skills, the more academically successful the students, (3) the effects were more pronounced within a subject area (teachers with higher numeracy skills in math produced higher student achievement in math than reading and vice versa), and (4) students performed better where teachers had higher salaries. One of the implications of the study is the value of targeting potential teachers with higher cognitive skills. High scoring Singapore, Finland, and Korea recruit their teachers exclusively from the top third of their college graduating class. Less than a quarter of U.S. teachers came from this same group.
Citation: Hanushek, E. A., Piopiunik, M., & Wiederhold, S. (2014). The value of smarter teachers: International evidence on teacher cognitive skills and student performance (No. w20727). National Bureau of Economic Research.
March 19, 2019 9:44 amPublished by Jack StatesComments Off on What are the Education Challenges Faced by Racial and Ethnic Groups?
Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups 2018: This report examines key indicators on the educational progress and challenges students face in the United States by race/ethnicity. There is extensive data on thirty indicators across home, K-12 education, and postsecondary environments, including: demographics, education participation, achievement, student behavior, completion rates, and post school results. The report also has special sections on public school teachers by race/ethnicity and characteristics of postsecondary institutions serving specific minority racial/ethnic groups.
A sample of the many analyses include: (1) the percentage of children under the age of 18 living in poverty was 31% for Black children, 26% for Hispanic, 10% for White, and 10% for Asian; (2) over half of Hispanic (60%) and Black (58%) students attended schools where the enrollment of minority students was at least 75% of total enrollment versus 38% of Asian students and 5% of White students; (3) there has been no significant change in the reading and math White-Black and White-Hispanic achievement gaps; (4) over 5% of public school students received one or more out-of-school suspensions: 13.7% of Black students, 4.5% of Hispanic, 3.4% of White, and 1.1% of Asian; (5) from 2000 to 2016 the high school status completion rate for Hispanic increased from 64 to 89 percent, for Black students 84 – 92%, and White students 92 – 94%,
Citation: de Brey, C., Musu, L., McFarland, J., Wilkinson-Flicker, S., Diliberti, M., Zhang, A., Branstetter, C., and Wang, X. (2019). Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups 2018 (NCES 2019-038). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved [date] from https://nces.ed.gov/ pubsearch/.
March 14, 2019 11:27 amPublished by Jack StatesComments Off on Wing Institute Requests Applications for the 2019 Graduate Research Grant RFP
Graduate Research Grant 2019 RFP
The purpose of the Wing Institute Graduate Research Funding Program is to:
Sponsor and promote new research in areas of evidence-based education, including: efficacy research, effectiveness research, implementation, and monitoring
Sponsor and promote new research across disciplines, types of research, and venues
Encourage graduate students to focus their future professional work in this subject area, increasing the number of professionals dedicated to the field of evidence-based education
Disseminate research findings for application in real world” settings, further bridging the gap between research and practice.
FUNDING
Grants vary in size; the maximum grant is $5,000 per annum. These funds will be available to recipients as they achieve agreed upon “benchmarks” in the research process.
Applications available: Immediately Application deadline: May 15, 2019 Funding decisions: June 15, 2019
ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must be enrolled full-time and be in good standing in a masters or doctoral at a regionally accredited university or college.
February 26, 2019 12:28 pmPublished by Jack StatesComments Off on An examination of one program designed to increase teacher praise.
Increasing Teachers’ Use of Behavior-Specific Praise with the Teacher vs. Student Game. Research has long supported the importance of teacher behavior specific praise in the classroom. This study examines the impact of a Teacher Versus Student Game, a program that is based upon The Good Behavior Game (GBG). GBG has been in use since 1967 and is an evidence-based behavioral classroom management strategy that helps children learn how to work together to create a positive learning environment. Pressure for teachers to show academic results is hindered by challenging student conduct. Maintaining control of student behavior is a critical factor in teacher’s ability to effectively deliver instruction that results in increased student academic outcomes. Using group contingencies found in the Teacher Versus Student Game provides teachers another program designed to accomplish this important goal. This paper found that the game increased teachers rates of praise; however, the teachers gradually decreased their use of BSP over time.
Two additional papers on practices to increase teacher praise are identified under citations.
Gage, N. A., MacSuga-Gage, A. S., & Crews, E. (2017). Increasing teachers’ use of behavior-specific praise using a multitiered system for professional development. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 19(4), 239-251.
White, K. (2018). Increasing Teachers’ Use of Behavior Specific Praise Via a Smart Watch.
February 26, 2019 11:32 amPublished by Jack StatesComments Off on Is the US producing enough STEM graduates to meet the county’s needs?
STEM Performance and Supply: Assessing the Evidence for Education. Policy. Concerns that the United States is not training a sufficient number of students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) has been of ongoing concern for policy makers for decades. This study examines the evidence and concludes that U.S. education system is producing ample supplies of students to respond to STEM labor market demand.
Bachelor’s degree graduates: rate of growth from 1970 base year (Source: Digest of Education Statistics, 2015 NCES . (calculations by authors)
Citation:Salzman, H., & Benderly, B. L. (2019). STEM Performance and Supply: Assessing the Evidence for Education Policy. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 28(1), 9-25.
February 26, 2019 10:52 amPublished by Jack StatesComments Off on How can educators harness big data to benefit students?
Big Data and data science: A critical review of issues for educational research. Big data proliferates across a wide spectrum of fields in the 21stcentury. Education is no exception. This paper examines critical issues that must be considered to maximize the positive impact of big data and minimize negative effects that are currently encountered in other domains. This review is designed to raise awareness of these issues with particular attention paid to implications for educational research design in order that educators can develop the necessary policies and practices to address this complex phenomenon and its possible implications in the field of education.
Citation: Daniel, B. K. (2017). Big Data and data science: A critical review of issues for educational research. British Journal of Educational Technology.
February 25, 2019 10:08 amPublished by Jack StatesComments Off on How valid are curriculum-based measures?
Meta-Analysis of Criterion Validity for Curriculum-Based Measurement in Written Language. A shout out to one of the Wing Institute’s past student grant recipients, John Romig. A recent study in which he was the lead author, looks at valid measures of student progress as critical tools in effective and efficient progress monitoring. One of the most frequently adopted instruments is curriculum-based measures. Curriculum-based measures (CBM) have been used to assess student progress in reading, arithmetic, spelling, and writing. For CBM to be widely embraced these tools should meet standards for reliability and validity. This study examines the technical adequacy of curriculum-based measures for written language, one of the critical skills required for student success in school. The study concludes two scoring procedures, correct word sequences and correct minus incorrect sequences met criterion validity with commercially developed and state or locally developed criterion assessments.
Citation: Romig, J. E., Therrien, W. J., & Lloyd, J. W. (2017). Meta-analysis of criterion validity for curriculum-based measurement in written language. The Journal of Special Education, 51(2), 72-82.
February 1, 2019 10:20 amPublished by Jack StatesComments Off on What are the negative health impacts of student absenteeism?
The Link Between School Attendance and Good Health. The American Academy of Pediatrics just released a policy statement regarding the negative impact that chronic student absenteeism has on children’s health. They cite numerous ways the two are linked. First, evidence clearly documents that chronic absenteeism puts children at a much higher risk of dropping out of school and not graduating. There is a significant amount of research associating poor school performance (resulting in lower education attainment) and poor adult health outcomes, including increased mortality risk and lower life expectancy. The act of missing school itself is also linked to increased risk behaviors, including alcohol consumption, drug use, smoking and risky sexual behavior. Also, children with chronic absenteeism are 3.5 times more likely to be arrested or referred to the juvenile justice system. The policy statement finishes with a discussion of roles the medical community can play working with schools and families to help address this problem. It reviews the evidence regarding possible physical and mental health interventions, including: infection prevention programs, school nurses, school-based health centers, mental health care, health awareness school policies and programs, parent interventions, and coordinated school health models.
Citation: Allison, M. A., & Attisha, E. (2019). The Link Between School Attendance and Good Health. Pediatrics, e20183648.
January 31, 2019 1:54 pmPublished by Jack StatesComments Off on Digest of Education Statistics 2017 Released
Digest of Education Statistics 2017: The Digest of Education Statistics 2017was just released by The Institute for Education Sciences (IES) National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). This annual publication is thedefinitive compendium of data on virtually every aspects of education from pre-kindergarten through graduate school. Its chapters include: All Levels of Education, Elementary and Secondary Education, Postsecondary Education, Federal Funds for Education and Related Activities, Outcomes of Education, International Comparisons of Education, and Libraries and Use of Technology. It draws from a wide range of government and private sources and applies rigorous review to everything published. It has been published annually since 1962, providing over 50 years of data with which to benchmark education performance at the system level in this country.
Citation: Snyder, T.D., de Brey, C., and Dillow, S.A. (2019). Digest of Education Statistics 2017 (NCES 2018-070). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.
