Research-based

The standard
The rationale
Annotated bibliography

The standard

The rationale

A problem in the use of the term "research-based" is that it is applied equally to practices that vary considerably in the scientific rigor used in their investigation. For instance, a person who reads an article in a professional journal in which the author advocates the use of a particular practice without providing any supporting evidence for that assertion may later carelessly describe that practice to others as "research-based." Other studies may cite only teachers' reports of changes in their own teaching practice and improved student learning as sufficient evidence for the value of the innovation. Still other studies may have methodologies that include pretests and post-tests of students and teachers, classroom observation of teachers' instructional practice, and random assignment of students to control and experimental groups.

To further add to the confusion, popular educational journals frequently publish articles in which a researcher critiques the work of another researcher in a way that often produces more heat than light, perplexity rather than clarity. While widely varied in their scientific and intellectual rigor, these and many other examples add to the confusion teachers and administrators feel when asked to select research-based improvement strategies. Consequently, it is critical that teams of teachers and administrators take the time to study methodically the research that supports the claims made by advocates of a particular approach to instructional improvement or whole-school reform. Such study often extends for several months and includes reading research reports (particularly those that have been published in peerreviewed journals), talking with researchers on the telephone or inviting them to the school, and visiting schools that have adopted this approach. During this review, school leaders compare the students on whom the research was conducted with the students in their school, examine the research methodology, and determine if the researcher's conclusions reflect the evidence that was provided. It may also be helpful for the team to contrast the research with that of others who make competing claims.

Because teachers and administrators often seek improvements in areas in which there is little research or in which researchers present contradictory findings, it is important that they design pilot studies to determine the effectiveness of new approaches before proceeding with large-scale implementation. While such studies (sometimes called action research) do not require the scientific rigor of more formal research, it is critical that they clearly stipulate the program's goals, methods, and the types of evidence that will be accepted as indicators of success. Such evidence often includes student gains on teacher-made tests and improvements on appropriate performance tasks.

Annotated bibliography

Calhoun, E. (1994). How to use action research in the self-renewing school. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Order from ASCD's web site: http://www.ascd.org

Emily F. Calhoun presents her practical definition of action research for organization improvement: "Let's study what's happening at our school (through the collection and utilization of data) and decide how to make it a better place." She outlines a model for a quick start to action research. She then says that action research (1) uses student data to inform us about success, (2) must be focused on student learning as a collective mission, (3) can develop the school as a learning community, (4) can build organizational capacity to solve problems, and (5) can be a form of personal as well as professional development.

Carson, T. (1986). Closing the gap between research and practice: Conversation as a mode of doing research. Phenomenology and Pedagogy, 4(2), 73-85.
Order by contacting Dr. Max van Manen, Department of Secondary Education, Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB Canada T6G2G5, Fax: (403)492-9402

The conduct of educational research seldom has the explicit goal of improving the practice of study participants, but the language used to report research findings is generally inaccessible to teachers. The author discusses the use of conversation (as opposed to interview) as a mode of doing research. He describes four interpretive studies which adopt a normative stance (the intention of the researchers is to influence the practice of the participants) with specific attention to uses of conversation in which teachers and researchers seek to deepen their understanding of the topic. He concludes, "By engaging in conversation, researchers are helping to create spaces within educational institutions for thoughtful reflection oriented towards improving practice."

Guskey, T. (1992, November). What does it mean to be "research-based"? The Developer, 5.
Request from NSDC office: (513)523-6029 nsdcoffice@aol.com

Thomas Guskey discusses the importance of using educational innovations that have an extensive research foundation. He suggests that many innovations have been subject to only a few studies that fail to meet minimum requirements for inclusion in systematic syntheses of the research. For this reason staff developers must take a critical attitude toward innovations described as "research-based." They must familiarize themselves with a broad range of educational resources in order to ensure that staff development time, money, and energy is spent on innovations with ample evidence showing that they can help improve student learning outcomes.

Guskey, T. (1998). The age of our accountability. Journal of Staff Development, 19(4), 36-44. Read at http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/guskey194.cfm

Thomas Guskey discusses the importance of evaluation of staff development efforts. He claims that educators can no longer operate with the assumptions that all staff development is good and that more staff development is better. He proposes questions that should be asked to determine how effective staff development is in enhancing student learning.

Killion, J. (1999). What works in the middle: Results-based staff development. Oxford, OH: National Staff Development Council.
Download in PDF form at http://www.nsdc.org/midbook/index.cfm
Order hard copy from the NSDC Bookstore.

As project director for Results-Based Staff Development for the Middle Grades, Joellen Killion discusses processes and resources for selecting, designing, and evaluating staff development to improve student achievement. The guide describes 26 successful staff development programs in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and interdisciplinary programs that were studied and evaluated to ascertain their impact on student learning. It offers guidelines for selecting and/or designing initiatives to improve student performance.

Moffett, C. (2000). Sustaining change: The answers are blowing in the wind. Educational Leadership, 57(7), 35-38. Order from ASCD's web site: http://www.ascd.org/

The author contends that the answers to the question how to sustain change are (and have been) "blowing in the wind" via the abundant research on sustaining educational change. She argues that all policy makers and school and district leaders have to do is look to the body of knowledge on sustaining change to keep from enacting futile and counterproductive policies. The author concludes the article with a reminder that "we know enough to act" and "we cannot afford to ignore the research" because "as Bob Dylan sang so many years ago, the answers are blowing in the wind."

Sagor, R. (1992). How to conduct collaborative action research. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Order from ASCD's web site: http://www.ascd.org

The author explains that the isolation of the teacher is the key inhibitor to education improvement and that when teachers are involved in action research, they move out of isolation and into collegial relationships with their fellow teachers. He goes on to say that these new researchers must establish their own focus, but he provides two guiding principles for the work: (1) the phenomena chosen for study must concern the teaching/learning process, and (2) those phenomena must also be within the practitioner's scope of influence.

Slavin, R. & Fashola, O. (1998). Show me the evidence: Proven and promising programs for America's schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
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The authors argue that the daunting task of improving teaching and learning in all schools might be accomplished more effectively if schools choose from rigorously researched and well documented reform designs that provide networks of support for implementation. They also suggest that the adoption of these well evaluated programs by policy makers would lead to more efficient and effective use of professional development funds. This book presents information on widely available programs that the authors feel have been tested against a set of rigorous standards of evidence.

U.S. Department of Education Professional Development Team. (1994). Building bridges: The mission and principles of professional development. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Read at http://www.ed.gov/G2K/bridge.html

The Professional Development Team used available research to create a set of principles for staff development. According to their study, high quality professional development: (1) focuses on teachers as central to student learning; (2) focuses on individual, collegial, and organizational improvement; (3) respects and nurtures the intellectual and leadership capacity of individuals within the school community; (4) reflects best available research and practice in teaching, learning, and leadership; (5) enables teachers to develop further expertise in subject content, teaching strategies, and technology; (6) promotes continuous inquiry and improvement; (7) involves collaborative planning; (8) requires substantial time and other resources; (9) is driven by a coherent long-term plan; and (10) is assessed by its impact on teacher effectiveness and student learning.

Zemelman, S., Daniels, H., & Hyde, A. (1998). Best practice: New standards for teaching and learning in America's schools, Second edition. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Order from Heinemann's web site: http://www.heinemann.com

Steven Zemelman, Harvey Daniels, and Arthur Hyde encourage everyone involved in school reform to recognize, understand, appreciate, and start exploiting the remarkably coherent models for across-the-curriculum school reform that already have been built. They analyze a rich base of research and exemplary practice that points the way to school renewal through curriculum reform. They provide a compact and accurate summary of current "best practice" research in each of six teaching fields: reading, writing, mathematics, science, social studies, and fine arts. After describing each field's research base, they provide at least one example that shows how some teachers are implementing key content and processes in their classrooms.