What Works Clearinghouse

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What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) is a digital library of educational research which focuses on evidence-based education.

Contents

A 2006 report described that many researchers perceived the WWC to be passive cataloger of available research. [1] In contrast to that view, the paper described a series of opinionated subjective decisions which the WWC made about providing some educational research and declining to index another sort. [1]

WWC was established in 2002 as a project of the Institute of Education Sciences. [2]

The WWC recommendations for interpreting the results of single-case educational studies is the subject of discussion. [3] [4] [5]

The WWC has systems for evaluating the effectiveness of educational research in general [6] and curricula. [7]

Various researchers use WWC itself as the platform through which they access other research. [8]

Some of the concerns expressed about WWC are that it appears to have difficulty keeping up with the research so it may not be current; and when a program is not listed on their database, it may be that it did not meet their criteria or they have not yet reviewed it, but it's not clear which. [9] In addition Straight Talk on Evidence, authored by the Arnold Ventures LLC’ Evidence-Based Policy team , on January 16, 2018 expressed concerns about the validity of the ratings provided by WWC. It says WWC in some cases reported a "preliminary outcome when high-quality RCTs found no significant effects on more important and final educational outcomes". [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathematics education</span> Mathematics teaching, learning and scholarly research

In contemporary education, mathematics education—known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics—is the practice of teaching, learning, and carrying out scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical knowledge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Child Left Behind Act</span> 2002 United States education reform law; repealed 2015

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals could improve individual outcomes in education. The Act required states to develop assessments in basic skills. To receive federal school funding, states had to give these assessments to all students at select grade levels.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the idea that occupational practices ought to be based on scientific evidence. While seemingly obviously desirable, the proposal has been controversial, with some arguing that results may not specialize to individuals as well as traditional practices. Evidence-based practices have been gaining ground since the formal introduction of evidence-based medicine in 1992 and have spread to the allied health professions, education, management, law, public policy, architecture, and other fields. In light of studies showing problems in scientific research, there is also a movement to apply evidence-based practices in scientific research itself. Research into the evidence-based practice of science is called metascience.

In education, Response to Intervention is an approach to academic intervention used to provide early, systematic, and appropriately intensive assistance to children who are at risk for or already underperforming as compared to appropriate grade- or age-level standards. RTI seeks to promote academic success through universal screening, early intervention, frequent progress monitoring, and increasingly intensive research-based instruction or interventions for children who continue to have difficulty. RTI is a multileveled approach for aiding students that is adjusted and modified as needed if they are failing.

Fast ForWord is a computer-based reading program intended to help students develop and strengthen the cognitive skills necessary for successful reading and learning by Scientific Learning Corporation.

The Orton-Gillingham approach is a multisensory phonics technique for remedial reading instruction developed in the early-20th century. It is practiced as a direct, explicit, cognitive, cumulative, and multi-sensory approach. While it is most commonly associated with teaching individuals with dyslexia, it is highly effective for all individuals learning to read, spell, and write. In the US, it is promoted by more than 15 commercial programs as well as several private schools for students with dyslexia and related learning disabilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Core-Plus Mathematics Project</span>

Core-Plus Mathematics is a high school mathematics program consisting of a four-year series of print and digital student textbooks and supporting materials for teachers, developed by the Core-Plus Mathematics Project (CPMP) at Western Michigan University, with funding from the National Science Foundation. Development of the program started in 1992. The first edition, entitled Contemporary Mathematics in Context: A Unified Approach, was completed in 1995. The third edition, entitled Core-Plus Mathematics: Contemporary Mathematics in Context, was published by McGraw-Hill Education in 2015.

Reform mathematics is an approach to mathematics education, particularly in North America. It is based on principles explained in 1989 by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). The NCTM document Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (CESSM) set forth a vision for K–12 mathematics education in the United States and Canada. The CESSM recommendations were adopted by many local- and federal-level education agencies during the 1990s. In 2000, the NCTM revised its CESSM with the publication of Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (PSSM). Like those in the first publication, the updated recommendations became the basis for many states' mathematics standards, and the method in textbooks developed by many federally-funded projects. The CESSM de-emphasised manual arithmetic in favor of students developing their own conceptual thinking and problem solving. The PSSM presents a more balanced view, but still has the same emphases.

In design of experiments, single-subject curriculum or single-case research design is a research design most often used in applied fields of psychology, education, and human behaviour in which the subject serves as his/her own control, rather than using another individual/group. Researchers use single-subject design because these designs are sensitive to individual organism differences vs group designs which are sensitive to averages of groups. The logic behind single subject designs is 1) Prediction, 2) Verification, and 3) Replication. The baseline data predicts behaviour by affirming the consequent. Verification refers to demonstrating that the baseline responding would have continued had no intervention been implemented. Replication occurs when a previously observed behaviour changed is reproduced. There can be large numbers of subjects in a research study using single-subject design, however—because the subject serves as their own control, this is still a single-subject design. These designs are used primarily to evaluate the effect of a variety of interventions in applied research.

Remedial education is assigned to assist students in order to achieve expected competencies in core academic skills such as literacy and numeracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evidence-based education</span> Paradigm of the education field

Evidence-based education (EBE) is the principle that education practices should be based on the best available scientific evidence, rather than tradition, personal judgement, or other influences. Evidence-based education is related to evidence-based teaching, evidence-based learning, and school effectiveness research. For example, research has shown that spaced repetition "leads to more robust memory formation than massed training does, which involves short or no intervals".

Jay P. Greene is a Senior Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation. He was previously Distinguished Professor and head of the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas. Greene’s current areas of research interest include school choice and the effects of education on character formation and civic values. He is also known for his work studying culturally enriching field trips to art museums and theaters, his efforts to improve the accurate reporting of high school graduation rates, address financial incentives in special education, and the use of standardized tests to curb social promotion.

Teacher quality assessment commonly includes reviews of qualifications, tests of teacher knowledge, observations of practice, and measurements of student learning gains. Assessments of teacher quality are currently used for policymaking, employment and tenure decisions, teacher evaluations, merit pay awards, and as data to inform the professional growth of teachers.

Classwide Peer Tutoring (CWPT) is a variation of peer-mediated instruction that has been used in elementary, middle school, and high school classrooms. In CWPT students form pairs and take turns in the roles of tutor and student. Students earn points for their teams by participating in the tutoring and the winning team is recognized. Researchers have investigated CWPT's effectiveness in several different academic areas.

Facing History and Ourselves is a global non-profit organization founded in 1976. The organization's mission is to "use lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate." The organization is based in Boston, Massachusetts, with 180 staff members in the main office and in other U.S. states.

Teacher retention is a field of education research that focuses on how factors such as school characteristics and teacher demographics affect whether teachers stay in their schools, move to different schools, or leave the profession before retirement. The field developed in response to a perceived shortage in the education labor market in the 1990s. The most recent meta-analysis establishes that school factors, teacher factors, and external and policy factors are key factors that influence teacher attrition and retention. Teacher attrition is thought to be higher in low income schools and in high need subjects like math, science, and special education. More recent evidence suggests that school organizational characteristics has significant effects on teacher decisions to stay or leave.

Bridget Terry Long is the 12th Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Saris Professor of Education and Economics. She is an economist whose research focuses on college access and success. Long is a Faculty Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a member of the National Academy of Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Picture Exchange Communication System</span> A communication teaching method for people with limited speech

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is an augmentative and alternative communication system developed and produced by Pyramid Educational Consultants, Inc. PECS was developed in 1985 at the Delaware Autism Program by Andy Bondy, PhD, and Lori Frost, MS, CCC-SLP. The developers of PECS noticed that traditional communication techniques, including speech imitation, sign language, and picture point systems, relied on the teacher to initiate social interactions and none focused on teaching students to initiate interactions. Based on these observations, Bondy and Frost created a functional means of communication for individuals with a variety of communication challenges. Although PECS was originally developed for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), its use has become much more widespread. Through the years, PECS has been successfully implemented with individuals with varying diagnoses across the aged span. PECS is an evidence-based practice that has been highly successful with regard to the development of functional communication skills.

Nancy Golden is the first Professor of Practice in the College of Education at the University of Oregon. She has been a leader in education as Oregon's chief education officer, as former education policy advisor to Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber, and as Superintendent of Springfield School District.

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References

  1. 1 2 Schoenfeld, Alan H. (March 2006). "What Doesn't Work: The Challenge and Failure of the What Works Clearinghouse to Conduct Meaningful Reviews of Studies of Mathematics Curricula". Educational Researcher . 35 (2): 13–21. doi:10.3102/0013189X035002013. S2CID   54792929.
  2. ↑ What Works Clearinghouse. "About - Who We Are". What Works Clearinghouse.
  3. ↑ Maggin, Daniel M.; Briesch, Amy M.; Chafouleas, Sandra M. (January 2013). "An Application of the What Works Clearinghouse Standards for Evaluating Single-Subject Research: Synthesis of the Self-Management Literature Base". Remedial and Special Education. 34 (1): 44–58. doi:10.1177/0741932511435176. S2CID   145449670.
  4. ↑ Wolery, Mark (January 2013). "A Commentary: Single-Case Design Technical Document of the What Works Clearinghouse". Remedial and Special Education. 34 (1): 39–43. doi:10.1177/0741932512468038. S2CID   145174228.
  5. ↑ Hitchcock, John H.; Horner, Robert H.; Kratochwill, Thomas R.; Levin, Joel R.; Odom, Samuel L.; Rindskopf, David M.; Shadish, William R. (May 2014). "The What Works Clearinghouse Single-Case Design Pilot Standards: Who Will Guard the Guards?". Remedial and Special Education. 35 (3): 145–152. doi:10.1177/0741932513518979. S2CID   146223804.
  6. ↑ Song, Mengli; Herman, Rebecca (September 2010). "Critical Issues and Common Pitfalls in Designing and Conducting Impact Studies in Education: Lessons Learned From the What Works Clearinghouse (Phase I)". Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. 32 (3): 351–371. doi:10.3102/0162373710373389. S2CID   145680409.
  7. ↑ Confrey, Jere (January 2006). "Comparing and Contrasting the National Research Council Report On Evaluating Curricular Effectiveness With the What Works Clearinghouse Approach". Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. 28 (3): 195–213. doi:10.3102/01623737028003195. S2CID   144849490.
  8. ↑ Kim, Min Kyung; McKenna, John William; Park, Yujeong (July 2017). "The Use of Computer-Assisted Instruction to Improve the Reading Comprehension of Students With Learning Disabilities: An Evaluation of the Evidence Base According to the What Works Clearinghouse Standards". Remedial and Special Education. 38 (4): 233–245. doi:10.1177/0741932517693396. S2CID   151562892.
  9. ↑ "WWC, Robert Slavin's blog, Director of the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University". 9 July 2020.
  10. ↑ "Straight Talk on Evidence, WWC 2018-01-26". 16 January 2018.

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