Learning and Instruction A SERP Research Agenda (2004) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 9-29
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From page 9... ...
The SERP mission is to develop a well-organized and powerful knowledge base, derived from both research and the study of practice, that supports the efforts of teachers, school administrators, colleges of education, and policy officials to improve student learning. The proposed initiative is fully described in Strategic Education Research Partnership (National Research Council, 2003~.
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From page 10... ...
The panel reached a critical decision at the outset that gives structure to a learning and instruction research agenda that will further that goal: to focus on practice. How effectively students learn in school is in large part a function of the effectiveness of educational opportunities teachers provide to students, as well as the transactions between the teacher and the students that make those experiences productive.
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From page 11... ...
Broadly speaking, its task would entail research and development on the questions at the core of classroom practice: on the generation of knowledge of how students learn (both generically and in the contexts of particular content areas) , the elaboration of that knowledge at the level of detail required for classroom practice, and the incorporation of that knowledge into tested curricula and assessments, educational tools, teaching protocols, and teacher education programs.
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Teaching, like many other professional practices, is a highly complex, multidimensional enterprise. It draws on standards of practice, professional education, background knowledge, tradition, and the personal characteristics and intuitions of the teacher.
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· What instructional interventions (curricula, instructional activities, etc.) can support the desired student learning?
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And individual student differences in understanding are often overlooked entirely because textbooks rarely provide the tools for formative assessment and guidance on instructional responses to student difficulties. But as accumulating evidence points to the complexity of the underlying learning processes, the need for researchbased knowledge to support professional practice becomes ever more apparent.
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Checkpoints/course How can individual student How can progress be monitored corrections progress be monitored and and instructional activities instructional activities matched to current matched to current understanding? understanding?
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That resilience highlights the importance of a carefully designed research program to inform and support teaching to achieve conceptual change. Research of this sort is generally done by cognitive scientists and education researchers, although the knowledge may emerge from the experience of expert teachers and the observation of exemplary practice.
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that on student learning. These various knowledge bases are not adequately developed to support teaching practice.
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conducted a study in which he compared the performance of college physics students at a top technological university with the performance of elementary schoolchildren on a task involving momentum. He instructed both sets of students to play a computerized game that required them to apply a force (using a job stick)
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From page 19... ...
Furthermore, only the most inefficient profession would require the design of individual solutions to a general problem. To effectively "bridge" research and practice, then, a research and development program must generate and draw on existing robust, relevant knowledge from a variety of disciplines, elaborate that knowledge so that it is usable in instructional practice, and then incorporate it into carefully tested tools and programs, directed both at student learning and at teacher learning.
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From page 20... ...
INTERDEPENDENCE: STUDENT LEARNING, TEACHER KNOWLEDGE, AND ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT Whether in teaching or in medicine, practice is not embodied solely in the tools and protocols of the trade. Rather, these work in tandem with both the practitioner's knowledge and skill and the organizational environment.
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From page 21... ...
The SERP focus on practice, then, requires coordination not only of the knowledge from different fields on effective instructional programs to promote student learning, but also research on the knowledge requirements for teachers to carry out instruction effectively, and requirements of the environment to support effective instruction. Teacher knowledge and skill matters a great deal in student learning.
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From page 22... ...
If the conception of teaching as telling is to be replaced by a more variegated model, powerful experiences that facilitate conceptual change on the part of the teacher about how students learn will be required. The typical learning trajectory for teachers, and how it changes with learning opportunities, also requires empirical investigation.
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Because the success of each component (instructional program, teacher knowledge, and organizational structure) in contributing to improving student learning depends on the success of the others, all three must be integrated in a SERP research program.
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Furthermore, many of the cross-cutting issues are best illuminated with subject-specific examples. While the productive role that high-quality assessments can play in supporting effective instructional practice crosses topics, a deep understanding of the issues can be seen clearly in looking at a specific case, like the Force Concept Inventory described in Chapter 4.
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From page 25... ...
The schematic questions posed in Table 1.1 provide a starting point for evaluating what is known currently that can support effective practice and where the research and development foundation is weak. We portray learning as a journey, using a travel metaphor to illuminate certain features of the schematic questions.
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From page 26... ...
Are there examples of rigorous research and development efforts that already show impressive gains in student achievement in research trials? These would provide the starting point for R&D that is intended as one of the hallmarks of SERF: following promising program outcomes with research on the circumstances under which the results are obtained, the feasibility of the intervention in the classroom and the school context, the teacher knowledge and support required for success, and the organizational factors that influence outcomes.
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As we worked through agenda development, the upstreamdownstream distinction became somewhat blurred. The downstream examples often involve unanswered questions about teacher learning or taking practice to scale that are likely to require a sustained research effort.
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"The study probed beyond the usual superficial alignment by topic heading and examined each text's quality of instruction aimed specifically at the key ideas, using criteria drawn from the best available research about how students learn" (Roseman et al., 1999~. Not one of the middle school science texts evaluated by the project was rated as satisfactory.
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From page 29... ...
At a time when the quality of education research is a matter of heated debate not only among researchers, but also in the halls of Congress, careful consideration of methodological rigor and quality control are critical elements of a research agenda. The final chapter discusses how the proposed agenda addresses contemporary concerns about education research quality and impact.
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