Using Scientifically Based Research in SchoolsUse science to improve teaching. This idea has surfaced repeatedly in
education literature since the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB),
where the term “scientifically based research” appears more than 100
times. Yet despite all the attention that has been given to the idea of
applying science in the classroom, principals and teachers often remain
puzzled about how to do just that. This month’s newsletter provides
practical suggestions for reading and understanding scientifically
based research and for applying the principles of scientific inquiry to
both teaching and student learning.
Why apply science to classroom practice?
When a similar question was posed at a U.S. Department of Education
(ED) Working Group Conference on the use of scientifically based
research in education, presenter Valerie Reyna, senior research advisor
at ED’s Institute of Education Sciences, offered a simple but
thought-provoking response: “If you didn’t base practice on scientific
research, what [would] you base it on?” (ED, 2002, p.5). The
alternatives, Reyna suggested, are basing practice on tradition or on
anecdotal evidence.
Following tradition (as in “we do it this way because this is the way
we have always done it”), although comforting, risks ignoring new
realities or rapidly changing circumstances found in so many classrooms
today. Relying on anecdotal evidence poses similar risks. The
observations of even a seasoned teacher might in fact prove to be
exceptions rather than the rule. As Reyna observed, “We know on the
basis of experience that anecdotes have turned out to be false and
misleading. Sometimes they are very representative; sometimes they’re
not” (ED, 2002, p. 5).
Scientific inquiry offers an alternative. “[It] is after all an
enterprise that attempts to distill from the cacophony of ideas and
anecdotes and impressions, the nuggets of really enduring value, and
that kind of knowledge upon which you would want to base important
decisions about kids, about schools and about, ultimately, ourselves”
stated Michael Feuer, executive director of the Division of Behavioral
and Social Sciences and Education at the National Academies, at the
Working Group Conference (ED, 2002, p. 20).
How can teachers use scientifically based research?
Incorporating scientifically based research into classroom practice is
a challenging and often daunting enterprise. One of the most effective
starting points can be through participation in professional learning
communities, gatherings of teachers and administrators dedicated to
improving teaching practice through reading and reflection.
Within these supportive communities, teachers have an opportunity both
to become familiar with research and to apply what they learn. The
forum of a professional learning community provides teachers an
opportunity to read research on issues they care about most. This
dedicated time, if properly structured, promotes reflection and
encourages conversations about what the research says and its classroom
implications. Engaging in professional learning communities encourages
teachers to develop practice that is “research based” and “data driven”
(Eaker, DuFour, & DuFour, 2002). For example, teachers interested
in increasing the complexity of reading comprehension skills in young
students might read the 2005 study by Joanna P. Williams titled
Instruction in Reading Comprehension for Primary-Grade Students: A
Focus on Text Structure. In a series of meetings, teachers could
examine the three experimental studies, pose questions about the
research, discuss the variety of instructional programs the author
tested, and determine the applicability of this research to their own
classrooms.
Establishing professional learning communities in the busy lives of
schools can be challenging. Some common barriers include finding
sufficient time to meet, keeping discussion focused, and struggling
with the technical language of research. If schools are committed to
using scientific research, though, these barriers can be overcome.
Discussion can begin on a small scale, during common planning time or
during a portion of faculty meetings. Discussion can be kept on track
with the establishment of a structured agenda, assigned time limits, or
even the appointment of one of the group’s members to act as a
facilitator. It might also prove useful for group members to solicit
help in interpreting the technical language of research reports from a
university professor or district research staff.
How can teachers apply scientific inquiry in their classrooms?
In addition to reading and reflecting on scientifically based research,
teachers can apply what they read by informally replicating
investigations within their classrooms and conducting scientific
inquiry of their own. For example, they might decide, alone or as a
group, to apply some proven strategies for increasing family
involvement as a means of supporting student achievement. Together they
might read the 2002 work of researchers Diane Dorfman and Amy Fisher,
Building Relationships for Student Success: School-Family-Community
Partnerships and Student Achievement in the Northwest, and implement
some of the successful strategies it identifies, such as using
instructional techniques that draw connections between students’ lives
and their families and communities; giving families tools to support
their children; and building mutually respectful relationships. As they
try out these strategies, recording their observations, discussing
their findings, and using what they find to continue to refine their
practice, teachers foster a spirit of scientific inquiry in their
classrooms and become more reflective about their own practice.
Teachers can foster this same spirit in their students. Young children
can be taught to pose important questions, suggest theories, and seek
evidence to corroborate their inquiries. A recent children’s book
indicates that it’s never too early to begin this process. In T-Rex
(French, 2004, pp. 24–27), a child visiting a dinosaur exhibit is
encouraged to pose questions about the life and times of Tyrannosaurus
Rex:
Now, do you think he walked or ran? How do you think he found his food?
Did he roar? Did he growl? Did he rumble and purr?
How did he live and how did he die?
Did he care for his babies or leave them alone?
Maybe one day we’ll really know. Maybe we’ll know what’s really true.
The person to tell us might just be you.
In Conclusion
Scientifically based research and scientific inquiry can become vital
components of school improvement efforts. Administrators can support it
by encouraging teachers to become familiar with research studies and
providing them with sufficient time to discuss and apply it. Teachers,
organized into professional learning communities, can study, question,
and reflect on proven methods of instruction and apply what they learn.
And students, schooled in the methods of scientific inquiry in engaging
and stimulating ways, can grow as thinking, questioning, and reflective
learners.
Resources:
The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement continues to
identify scientifically based research on many school improvement
issues. School teams considering texts for learning community
discussion might consult the following:
- High-Achieving Middle Schools for Latino Students in Poverty
This brief summarizes the research into the characteristics of middle
schools in which Latino students from low-income families make
significant achievement gains. The research brief is available online
at /files/Center_RB_oct05.pdf
-
What Does the Research Tell Us About Teacher Leadership?
This document provides a summary of a meta-analysis investigating
research from the past two decades into the concept and practice of
teacher leadership. The research brief is available online at
/files/Center_RB_sept05.pdf
Dorfman, D., & Fisher, A. (2002). Building relationships for
student success: School-family-community partnerships and student
achievement in the Northwest. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional
Educational Laboratory. Retrieved October 27, 2005, from
http://www.nwrel.org/partnerships/cloak/booklet2.pdf
Eaker, R., DuFour, R., & DuFour, R. (2002). Getting started:
Reculturing schools to become professional learning communities.
Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service.
French, V. (2004). T-Rex. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
Mason, S. (2003, April). Learning from data: The role of professional
learning communities. Paper presented at the annual conference of the
American Educational Research Association, Chicago. Retrieved October
27, 2005, from
http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/mps/AERA%202003/Learning%20from%20Data%204%2016%2002%20FINAL.doc
U.S. Department of Education. (2002, February). The use of
scientifically based research in education, Working Group Conference.
Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved October 27, 2005, from
http://www.ed.gov/nclb/methods/whatworks/research/transcript.pdf
Williams, J. P. (2005, March). Instruction in reading comprehension for
primary-grade students: A focus on text structure. Journal of Special
Education 39(1), 6–18.
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