Latest News

Can formative assessment increase students’ use of self-regulation strategies?

December 4, 2020

The Association between Teachers’ Use of Formative Assessment Practices and Students’ Use of Self-Regulated Learning Strategies. Three Arizona school districts surveyed teachers and students in grades 3–12 in spring 2019 to understand the teachers’ use of formative assessment practices and students’ use of self-regulated learning strategies. The study found only a small positive association between the frequency of teachers’ formative assessment practices and the average number of self-regulated learning strategies that their students use. The correlation was more robust in elementary school than in secondary school and stronger in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) classrooms than in non-STEM classrooms. The research identified the more frequently teachers reported using these practices, the more self-regulated learning strategies their students reported using.

Citation: Makkonen, R., and Jaquet, K. (2020). The Association between Teachers’ Use of Formative Assessment Practices and Students’ Use of Self-Regulated Learning Strategies. San Francisco, CA: Regional Educational Laboratory West. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/west/pdf/REL_2021041.pdf

Linkhttps://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/west/pdf/REL_2021041.pdf

 


 

Can teachers leverage the use of smart phones to assess student performance?

December 4, 2020

Using smartphones for formative assessment in the flipped classrooms. This paper describes different strategies used to incorporate smartphones to enhance teaching and learning effectively. The authors offer ways to integrate formative assessment with the use of smartphones. The paper provides innovative teaching practices to improve student understanding and performance using a classroom response system app. Results suggest that using this technology enhances student understanding of course concepts.

Citation. Onodipe, G., & Ayadi, M. F. (2020). Using smartphones for formative assessment in the flipped classroom. Journal of Instructional Pedagogies23.

Link: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1241944.pdf

 


 

Fidelity of Implementation in Educational Research and Practice

December 2, 2020

Fidelity of implementation is a critical but often neglected component of any new system, practice, or intervention in educational research and practice. Fidelity is a multidimensional construct focused on providing evidence of adherence, quality, dosage, differentiation, and responsiveness following implementation. Unfortunately, fidelity has not always been prioritized, although evidence suggests that is changing, at least in published research. Further, although there are myriad methods for measuring fidelity, psychometric evaluations of fidelity tools have been limited, except in the SWPBIS literature. Calls for a science of fidelity have been made (Gresham, 2017) and are beginning to be answered. Overall, there appears to be more research focused exclusively on fidelity, including measurement approaches, psychometric evaluations, and relation to outcomes. As this research expands, we hope that the broad use and integration of fidelity in practice follows. We believe that the days of neglecting fidelity are behind us in education and see fidelity playing a central role in education moving forward. Through reliable and valid measurement of fidelity, scalable evidence-based practices can be developed and proliferated, positively impacting students’ academic and behavioral outcomes. 

Citation: Gage, N., MacSuga-Gage, A., and Detrich, R. (2020). Fidelity of Implementation in Educational Research and Practice. Oakland, CA: The Wing Institute. https://www.winginstitute.org/systems-program-fidelity

Link: https://www.winginstitute.org/systems-program-fidelity

 


 

Covid-19 Dashboard

November 20, 2020

SCHOOLS:  Covid-19 Data and K-12 Education

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, States are struggling to reopen and keep open, most, if not all, of their 138,000 K-12 schools.  This will have an impact on 55 million students, 6 million teachers and education staff, and all of the families of those involved.  It is being done despite significant uncertainty as to the impact Covid-19 will have on the health of students and education staff.  And ultimately, there is the question of how effective education will be in the context of different schedules, models, distractions, potential school closures, and remote learning. 

Given this level of uncertainty, it is critical to track data that will help schools identify problems quickly, assess their nature, and respond in timely and effective ways to safeguard the health of students and education staff while providing a quality education. This Wing Institute dashboard will on track issues regarding the reopening of schools under the Covid-19 pandemic.  It will provide relevant, up-to-date research and data on in the following areas:

       I.   Student health (recent research, data on exposure, infections, intensive care use, and deaths)

      II.   Staff health (recent research, data on exposure, infections, intensive ward, deaths

    III.   School health (recent research, models, school openings, school closings)

     IV.   Student performance (student absenteeism, academic performance, social behavioral issues)

Table of Contents

•   Student Health:  Total Number of Child Covid-19 Cases

•   Student Health:  Growth Rate in Covid-19 Total Cases Over Recent Weeks

•   Student Health:  Number and Growth Rate of Covid-19 Cases per 100,000 Children

•   Student Health:  Total Number of Children Hospitalized for Covid-19

•   Student Health:  Percent of Children Requiring Hospitalization

•   Student Health:  Total Number of Child Covid-19 Deaths 

•   Student Health:  Percent of Child Covid-19 Cases Resulting in Death

Figure 1.  Student Health: Total Number of Child Covid-19 Cases

As of November 12, 2020, there are over one million children who have been identified as having, or having had, the Covid-19 virus. 

Figure 2.  Student Health:  Growth Rate in Covid-19 Total Cases Over Recent Weeks

The percent growth in the number of children with Covid-19  had accelerated every week since April 16, 2020, rising from a 2.2% weekly increase to a 11.9% weekly growth.

Figure 3.  Student Health:  Number of Covid-19 Cases per 100,000 Children

The number of Covid-19 cases per children is an even more important number because it is a metric of infection that is irrespective of the number of children tested.  This data shows a growth rate of 20% over the last two weeks alone, and a doubling over the past ten weeks

Figure 4.  Student Health:  Total Number of Children Hospitalized for Covid-19

The total number of children who have been hospitalized due to Covid-19 continues to increase.

Figure 5.   Student Health:  Percent of Children Requiring Hospitalization

But the percent of children who require hospitalization due to Covid-19 remains very low and steady.

Figure 6.   Student Health:  Total Number of Child Covid-19 Deaths

The number of children who have died from the Covid-19 virus has been very small.

Figure 7.  Student Health:  Percent of Child Covid-19 Cases Resulting in Death

The percent of children who have died is extremely small, and has actually dropped steadily over the past four months. 

Link: https://www.winginstitute.org/covid-19-impact

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11KIU8sK8yPzelC9GN1zdz553VYZktZCl/view

 


 

Wing Institute Hiring Research Writers

November 19, 2020

The Wing Institute is recruiting contract-based content writers in the field of evidence-based education. 
 
We are looking for professionals who can:
1. conduct literature reviews;
2. analyze the relevant data, research, and policies; and 
3. write succinct overviews for publication on our web site.

Positions to be filled by January 1, 2020.
Please send resume to Randy Keyworth at the Wing Institute: Rkeyworth@winginstitute.org
 

Research topics will focus on the eight education drivers associated with student achievement and success in school. These drivers encompass essential practices, procedures, resources, and management strategies. Specific topics include but are not limited to:  skills for effective teaching, effective teacher training, quality of leadership, and external influences affecting student outcomes.

Those interested must be able to analyze both the quality and quantity of evidence studies to determine if current research meets a threshold of evidence for providing information to support the work of educators.
Criteria for inclusion is based on:

1. Quality: A continua of evidence prioritizing well designed randomized trials and single subject designed studies.
2. Quantity: A continua of evidence spotlighting meta-analyses and replications of single subject designed studies.

Each overview consists of a summary of the research, graphics as needed, and citations, and supporting conclusions.

Compensation
1. $2,100 for each overview (2,500-5,000 words)
2. Authors name on the publication
3. Working with other professional is the field of evidence-based education

Expectations
1. Work with internal teams to obtain an in-depth understanding of evidence-based research.
2. Work remotely and supply your own equipment (computer)
3. Plan, develop, organize, write the above documents.
4. Analyze documents to maintain continuity of style of content and consistency with prior Wing Institute documents.
5. Recommend updates and revisions derived from updates in research.

Education
Master’s degree in Education, Behavior Analysis, English, Psychology, Communication, or related degrees, is required.

Skills
Ability to deliver high quality documentationAbility to communicate complex or technical information easilyExcellent written and verbal communication skills in EnglishAbility to write from the perspective of education policy makers, school administrators, teachers, and parents

 


 

What do teacher preparation programs and school principals need to get right to train new teachers during covid-19?

November 17, 2020

Sustaining Teacher Training in a Shifting Environment. Brief No. 7. This brief is a part of a series of briefs that address critical issues schools face because of the coronavirus. This paper provides K-12 education policymakers and school administrators with an evidence base about how best to provide teacher practicum experience and professional development during the coronavirus. Evidence supports student teaching placements are a critical training opportunity for new teachers. The covid-19 pandemic has constrained student teaching experiences. Acknowledging this fact, educators need to develop new ways of providing alternative clinical training during certification training and when these new teachers enter the workforce. This summary examines what we know about training, offers strategies to overcome the obstacles to be confronted by covid-19, and warns professional development planners to avoided specific practices unsupported by evidence.

Citation: Goldhaber, D., & Ronfeldt, M. (2020). Sustaining Teacher Training in a Shifting Environment. Brief No. 7. EdResearch for Recovery Project.

Linkhttps://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED607712.pdf

 


 

What is implementation fidelity and why is it important to student success?

November 16, 2020

Fidelity of implementation is a critical but often neglected component of any new system, practice, or intervention in educational research and practice. Fidelity is a multidimensional construct focused on providing evidence of adherence, quality, dosage, differentiation, and responsiveness following implementation. Unfortunately, fidelity has not always been prioritized, although evidence suggests that is changing, at least in published research. Further, although there are myriad methods for measuring fidelity, psychometric evaluations of fidelity tools have been limited, except in the SWPBIS literature. Calls for a science of fidelity have been made (Gresham, 2017) and are beginning to be answered. Overall, there appears to be more research focused exclusively on fidelity, including measurement approaches, psychometric evaluations, and relation to outcomes. As this research expands, we hope that the broad use and integration of fidelity in practice follows. We believe that the days of neglecting fidelity are behind us in education and see fidelity playing a central role in education moving forward. Through reliable and valid measurement of fidelity, scalable evidence-based practices can be developed and proliferated, positively impacting students’ academic and behavioral outcomes. 

Citation: Gage, N., MacSuga-Gage, A., and Detrich, R. (2020). Fidelity of Implementation in Educational Research and Practice. Oakland, CA: The Wing Institute. https://www.winginstitute.org/systems-program-fidelity

Link: https://www.winginstitute.org/systems-program-fidelity

 


 

What innovations are being researched for reducing the cost of coaching?

November 13, 2020

Toward Automated Feedback on Teacher Discourse to Enhance Teacher LearningResearch supports coaching as critical for effective teacher professional development. A key element of coaching is observing teachers in classrooms implementing newly trained skills. Unfortunately, one of the obstacles to providing coaching to teachers is the cost of delivering the service. Educators are on the lookout for any innovations that promise to reduce this cost of coaching while sustaining the impact of coaching. Research has found the use of video and remote viewing coaching to show much promise (Scheeler, Congdon, & Stansbery, 2010; Suhrheinrich, 2017). This study examines the use of an automated recording of high-quality audio using speech recognition and machine learning to develop teacher-generalizable computer-scored estimates of crucial features of teacher’s performance. 

The study found that computerized models were moderately accurate compared to human coders and that speech recognition errors did not influence performance. The authors conclude that teacher discourse can be recorded and analyzed for timely feedback. The next step is to incorporate the automatic models into an interactive visualization tool that will provide teachers with objective feedback on student instruction quality.

Citation: Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development.

Linkhttps://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3313831.3376418 (This paper may also be requested on Researchgate)

https://eric.ed.gov/?q=use+of+video+in+coaching&id=EJ1129933

 


 

What practices are the core practice elements of teacher professional development?

November 13, 2020

Effective teacher professional development. For the past 20 years, school systems have heavily relied on professional development as the primary means for improving student performance, as evidenced by the massive allocation of funds for in-service training. Few educators or policymakers challenge the importance of teacher training that ensures teachers have the knowledge and skills required to be effective in the classroom. Despite the overwhelming support for teacher professional development, research has shown that most teacher training is ineffective in changing how teachers teach and students perform. This paper analyzed 35 studies that found a link between professional development and positive teacher and student outcomes.

The authors identified the following features significant if professional development is to produce meaningful results;

  1. They are content focused. 
  2. They incorporate active learning strategies. 
  3. They engage teachers in collaboration. 
  4. They use models and/or modeling. 
  5. They provide coaching and expert support. 
  6. They include time for feedback and reflection. 
  7. They are of sustained duration. 

The authors conclude that professional development should incorporate the identified features and training needs to link to teachers’ experiences in preparation, induction, and teaching standards and evaluation. 

Citation: Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development.

Link: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56b90cb101dbae64ff707585/t/5ade348e70a6ad624d417339/1524511888739/NO_LIF%7E1.PDF

 


 

How can schools best provide teacher inservice training?

November 12, 2020

Teacher Inservice Professional Development. he American education system values in-service training to improve teacher performance, spending an average of $18,000 annually per teacher. Like many promising practices, it has failed to produce as promised. Schools invest extensively in teacher induction in the early years of a teacher, supplemented with in-service training throughout the teacher’s career. Unfortunately, this training is often delivered in unproductive ways, for example, workshop sessions that commonly rely on passive didactic techniques, such as lecturing or reading, shown to have minimal or no impact on the teacher’s use of the practices in the classroom. This is especially true when the outcome, using the practices in the classroom, is assessed. Coaching-based clinical training, with the teacher practicing skills on students in a classroom setting and receiving feedback from the coach, has been found to produce the best results. Sustained professional development with scope and sequence curriculum, accompanied by manuals for interventions in which the teacher is being trained, is superior to single events. Computer-assisted instruction as a companion to systematic training techniques identified above has been found to be a cost-effective adjunct staff development tool.

Citation: Cleaver, S., Detrich, R., States, J. & Keyworth, R. (2020). Overview of Teacher Inservice. Oakland, CA: The Wing Institute. https://www.winginstitute.org/in-service-professional-development

Link: https://www.winginstitute.org/in-service-professional-development