Can Scientific Research From the Laboratory be of Any Use to Teachers?

Abstract

Behavior in a psychology laboratory—constrained by the need to efficiently replicate tasks, record individual responses, and avoid contamination from external factors—is different in systematic ways from behavior within an everyday environment where similar tasks are undertaken and problems solved. This article describes a program of research that identified the sources of this "ecological invalidity" of laboratory settings. The authors connect these insights to current attempts to apply laboratory controls in field research in schools where measures of the effectiveness of instructional programs can be based on high-stakes testing. While recognizing important applications of controlled experimentation both in the laboratory and in the educational policy research, they also find potential for the experimental controls themselves to lead researchers and decision makers to the wrong conclusion.