Research-based Instruction Research Articles

Exploring the role of evidence-based educational resources and brokering in the wake of political trauma

Background The research-practice gap has not been explored within civics education, and in particular the role of evidence-based civics curriculum in times of political trauma. Such research is critical in equipping educators with evidence-based resources to help mitigate political trauma experienced by students. Here, we explore the types of resources teachers access as well as the role of Brokers, Intermediaries and Boundary Spanners (BIBS) in connecting teachers to such sources after the historic 6 January 2021 US Capitol insurrection. Aims and objectives This study poses the following research questions: (1) what resources did teachers utilise to support their students following the 6 January 2021 Capitol insurrection; and (2) who were key BIBS in connecting teachers to such information and what role did research evidence have in the generation of such materials? Methods Using cross-sectional survey data, we analyse the open-ended text-based responses from educators reflecting on the days after 6 January 2021. Findings The study illuminates’ trends in: (1) the type of resources teachers utilise to address students’ needs (educational curricula, social media, news outlets); and (2) the role of BIBS in connecting them to such information (media platforms, mass media, educational non-profit organisations). Discussion and conclusion In the face of political trauma, educators present civics crises as ‘open issues’ and struggle to access frameworks to support research-based pedagogy. Findings illuminate the potential of a BIBS framework that works to further support educators in facilitating conversations and evidence-based pedagogies with their students that rebuke such injustices.

Collaborative Research-Based Instruction to Enhance University Students’ EFL Analytical Writing Skills

Collaborative Research-Based Instruction to Enhance University Students’ EFL Analytical Writing Skills

Implementing CLIL in a Japanese prefectural university: Reflecting on research-based pedagogy

This study investigated the beliefs and practices of two English language teachers - an English as an Additional Language (EAL) speaker and an Anglophone speaker - towards Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) at a regional Japanese university offering English medium instruction (EMI). Established in 2009, the university offers students EMI in the fields of international studies and regional development and international economy and prepares 1st grade students in a compulsory English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programme adopting a CLIL approach. This study examined how the two teachers conceptualized and implemented their CLIL syllabi and what limitations and opportunities CLIL offered. Qualitative data elicited from a collaborative autoethnography (CAE) revealed CLIL as both a bridge into EMI and post-university life. For this purpose, both teachers scaffolded language and content materials, especially with general cultural and social science themes. Translanguaging was important in developing pragmatic integration of students' Japanese in classes. Difficulties were noted in teaching higher cognitive skills due to the test focus of secondary education. Pedagogically, both shifted along a CLIL continuum between language and content foci according to student needs. The perceived limitations stressed the problematic balance between content and language and a lack of a language threshold before embarking on CLIL. Further issues raised were the paucity of teacher development in CLIL and tension between content and language teachers in syllabus design. Finally, opportunities were mentioned in the knowledge transfer between content and language classes and the development of autonomous collaboration. Of final note, the teachers' linguistic backgrounds were seen as important for students. Overall, implications for this study suggested that teaching practitioners can reinforce their classroom instructions with research knowledge.

Exploring Individual Changes in Disability Status and Their Relations to Reading Comprehension Development

This study used data from Michigan schools participating in the Reading First program to examine the stability of students’ disability status in Grades 1 to 3. Reading First aimed to improve at-risk students’ reading comprehension through research-based instruction. We analyzed how changes in students’ disability status were related to reading comprehension growth. The sample consisted of n = 10,196 students from 191 schools who took the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) Reading Comprehension subtest. Data were collected from 2003 through 2008. We observed considerable changes in disability status for students with speech–language disorders or a specific learning disability ( n = 1,193). These students had lower achievement levels and made less progress than students without disabilities. Overall, achievement gains did not differ between students with different stability and change patterns in their disability status. However, students changing from speech–language disorders to a specific learning disability demonstrated the smallest achievement gains.

Collaboration and Ethics in Distance Learning Design

Ethical education practices require that all students have access to quality learning resources, necessary learning supports, diverse learning strategies, and deep learning opportunities. When it comes to learning strategies and opportunities, collaborative learning practices foster deep learning through socio-cultural interactions, asserting that individual learning is limited compared to what can be learned as a community. Education systems have an ethical obligation to ensure that what is advocated for in curricula can be achieved and will be supported. Although K–12 curricula are typically rooted in collaborative approaches, many asynchronous secondary online learning courses continue to be associated with individual learning approaches. This research used insights gleaned from 35 survey responses and 18 semi-structured interviews with secondary asynchronous distance learning teachers to analyze how collaborative learning is actualized and examine barriers to its implementation. Collaborative online learning opportunities were increasingly prevalent when communities outside of the school were leveraged for experiential learning and when students were paced as a cohort. The data indicated that an increase in collaborative learning was not likely to occur unless the learning ecosystem valued online learning as equitably as face-to-face learning in terms of investment in research-based pedagogy, student support, teacher support, and teaching and learning resources. Until such time, distance learning students will be disadvantaged concerning building collaborative competence that can lead to deeper learning opportunities.

Improving Vulnerable Populations’ Emergent Reading Outcomes by Training Preservice Teachers in an Evidence-Based Program

ABSTRACT This article details a large-scale tutor-to-teacher pipeline created in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program addressed two vital needs: 1) improving outcomes for striving readers in high-needs communities, and 2) improving teacher training in both evidence- and research-based instruction. Across school year (SY) 2020–2021 and 2021–2022, 608 preservice teachers delivered an evidence-based (Reading Rescue) or research-based (Reading Ready) early literacy intervention. Through a coordinated effort between the City University of New York (CUNY) and the NYC Department of Education (NYC DOE), 857 NYC DOE students received one-on-one, interactive, remote tutoring three to five days a week, for an average of 21 sessions. Results demonstrated that students who received the emergent word reading program, Reading Ready, improved in their phoneme segmentation and nonword reading skills by 31–47%, and students who received the follow-up evidence-based program, Reading Rescue, consistently improved by one intervention reading level per 10 sessions, and showed age equivalent reading gains of one-half to almost a full year of growth as measured by a standardized, nationally normed assessment. Discussion focuses on the value of this high-quality training and tutoring experience for preservice teachers and on the critical support provided to striving readers in underserved communities in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Examining the Impact of a Cognitive Strategies Approach on the Argument Writing of Mainstreamed English Learners in Secondary School

The stagnation of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Writing scores demonstrates the need for research-based instruction that improves writing for all students, especially English learners. In this article, we synthesize the literature on effective instructional practices for this diverse group of learners and describe how these strategies are leveraged in a teacher professional development program that has been previously shown to improve students’ argument writing. Then, we share results of a study that focuses on distinct subgroups of secondary English learners students to (a) determine their needs and challenges and (b) examine the impact of a cognitive strategies approach on rhetorical and linguistic aspects of writing at posttest. Results show English learners have considerable challenges with higher-order tasks involved in writing literary arguments and with the linguistic demands of academic writing before receiving the intervention. However, after receiving the intervention, using descriptive statistics and multiple hierarchical linear regression, we show that these students grew in the areas of presentation of ideas, organization, evidence use, and language use. For example, students designated as reclassified English learners (RFEP [Reclassified Fluent English Proficient]) and students who have even more limited English proficiency (designated as EL [English learner] here) show improvements in many aspects of writing, especially in their ability to write claims and use evidence. In contrast, improvements in language use components were more limited for both groups of learners. Moreover, some of the gains due to being in the treatment were significant enough to bring the average EL student close to parity or beyond their EO (English Only) / IFEP (Initial Fluent English Proficient) peers in the control condition at posttest. We conclude by discussing pedagogical implications for English learners.

Investigating the efficacy of attending to reflexive cognitive processes in the context of Newton’s second law

Even after research-based instruction, students who demonstrate the ability to assemble relevant conceptual knowledge on one physics question may have difficulty assembling that same knowledge on a closely related problem. Recent research has suggested that reflexive, bottom-up reasoning processes seemingly unrelated to the physics concepts themselves may be responsible for these difficulties. Research has also suggested that attending to these reflexive processes during instruction may improve performance to a greater degree than attending solely to top-down, reflective thinking. Leveraging these findings to meaningfully improve instruction is important. We have, therefore, investigated the impact of training focused on Newton’s second law targeted at reflexive reasoning processes and compared results to a more standard reflective approach to the same topic. We find that an approach targeted toward reflexive reasoning processes improves performance on a difficult physics question to the same or greater degree as a typical reflective approach. Furthermore, we find that many students whose performance on a difficult physics question increased after the reflexive training also explained correct conceptual reasoning on that question, suggesting that conceptual understanding was bolstered by the bottom-up, reflexive training.Received 30 August 2022Accepted 3 January 2023DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.19.010108Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasConcepts & principlesInstructional strategiesScientific reasoning & problem solvingPhysics Education Research

A Transformative Architectural Pedagogy and Tool for a Time of Converging Crises

The institutional frameworks within which we conceive, design, construct, inhabit and manage our built environments are widely acknowledged to be key factors contributing to converging ecological crises: climate change, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, and social inequity at a global scale. Yet, our ability to respond to these emergencies remains largely circumscribed by educational and professional agendas inherited from 20th-century Western paradigms. As the crises intensify, there is a compelling case for radical change in the educational and professional structures of the built environment disciplines. This paper presents a work-in-progress examination of an emergent architecture programme at Te Wānanga Aronui O Tāmaki Makau Rau/Auckland University of Technology (AUT), Aotearoa New Zealand. The program is within Huri Te Ao/the School of Future Environments, a transdisciplinary entity formed in 2020 to integrate research and teaching across Architecture, Built Environment Engineering, and Creative Technologies. The school itself is conceived as a collaborative project to co-create an outward-facing civic research platform for sharing ecologically positive design thinking across diverse communities of practice. The programme foregrounds mātauranga Māori (Indigenous ways of knowing), transdisciplinary systems, and regenerative design as regional place-oriented contributions to planetary-scaled transformation. We illustrate and evaluate a specific curriculum change tool, the Living Systems Wellbeing (LSW) Compass. Grounded in Te Ao Māori (Māori cosmology and context), the Compass offers a graphic means for students to navigate and integrate ecological relationships at different scales and levels of complexity, as well as affords insights into alternative foundational narratives, positive values, design strategies, and professional practices. This paper identifies four foundational factors for transformative pedagogies. The first factor is the value of a collectively held and clearly articulated vision and focus. The second factor is the capacity and commitment of an academic team that supports and values the vision. Thirdly, the vision needs to meet and acknowledge place-specific knowledges and values. Finally, the pedagogy should have an action research component founded in real-world interactions. While this research-based pedagogy is place-based and specific, we argue that these four factors are transferable to other learning institutions and can support critical pedagogies for social, cultural, and ecological wellbeing.

Toward equity innovations: lower tracked students and classroom digital media use in Singapore

ABSTRACT This article overviews the realities of so-called “low achieving” students in Singapore, efforts to support them better, and the place of educational technology in this support. We undertook a comparative case study of lower tracked Normal Technical (NT) secondary school students and their teachers in two schools in Singapore. We found a diversity of student backgrounds and struggles, with many students facing barriers to academic success and social mobility despite purported government efforts to support them. Findings also revealed a variety of approaches taken by their teachers, influenced by teacher ideologies of student backgrounds and abilities, pedagogy, and learning. Using the lens of selective digital technology integration, we highlight the promises and potentials of these efforts to improve NT student outcomes, along with the corresponding tensions and dilemmas. We conclude by arguing that a focus on innovation should mean pulling away from standard ideas of novel technological innovation and a move to collaborative, expansive, research-based pedagogy and systemic equity innovations.

Digital Learning & Media

The University School (pseudonym) is a teacher training lab which provides real world learning experiences with research-based instruction for K-5 (ages 5-12) students. The two research questions were: In what ways does professional development centered on the NC Digital Learning Competencies for Educators influence teacher/staff/student knowledge of NCWiseOwl? In what ways does professional development centered on the NC Digital Learning Competencies for Educators influence essential digital literacy skills? The researcher conducted a survey in April 2021 of University School faculty and staff to define current levels of knowledge as a first step. Several themes immediately arose from the results of the focus group interviews which include intentional professional development, awareness of digital content offerings, adding to teacher toolkit, use of credible resources, self-reliance/weaning off support from non-classroom educators, and the after effects of COVID-19 pandemic/resistance to online learning.

Thematic Analysis of Indonesian Physics Education Research Literature Using Machine Learning

Abundant physics education research (PER) literature has been disseminated through academic publications. Over the years, the growing body of literature challenges Indonesian PER scholars to understand how the research community has progressed and possible future work that should be encouraged. Nevertheless, the previous traditional method of thematic analysis possesses limitations when the amount of PER literature exponentially increases. In order to deal with this plethora of publications, one of the machine learning (ML) algorithms from natural language processing (NLP) studies was employed in this paper to automate a thematic analysis of Indonesian PER literature that still needs to be explored within the community. One of the well-known NLP algorithms, latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), was used in this study to extract Indonesian PER topics and their evolution between 2014 and 2021. A total of 852 papers (~4 to 8 pages each) were collectively downloaded from five international conference proceedings organized, peer reviewed, and published by Indonesian PER researchers. Before their topics were modeled through the LDA algorithm, our data corpus was preprocessed through several common procedures of established NLP studies. The findings revealed that LDA had thematically quantified Indonesian PER topics and described their distinct development over a certain period. The identified topics from this study recommended that the Indonesian PER community establish robust development in eight distinct topics to the present. Here, we commenced with an initial interest focusing on research on physics laboratories and followed the research-based instruction in late 2015. For the past few years, the Indonesian PER scholars have mostly studied 21st century skills which have given way to a focus on developing relevant educational technologies and promoting the interdisciplinary aspects of physics education. We suggest an open room for Indonesian PER scholars to address the qualitative aspects of physics teaching and learning that is still scant within the literature.

Aligning multiple choice assessments with active learning instruction: More accurate and equitable ways to measure student learning

In response to geoscience education research and calls for the need to reform STEM teaching in higher education, many geoscience faculty are adopting research-based pedagogies to improve student learning in their courses. Our own effort to reform our introductory geology course included daily student-centered activities and other reforms we expected would result in improved student performance, but did not. This paper describes our evaluation of student performance on multiple choice questions (MCQs), which are the largest component of student grades in the course. Student scores were highest on MCQs that were aligned with the style in which students learned material and that required students to interact with the question (active questions) rather than just regurgitating information (passive questions). We also examined whether the style of MCQs impacted student scores equitably and found that the grades of all students would have improved if we had asked MCQs that were aligned and active, and the improvements were equitable, but final grades remain biased.

Recoding Landscape Education: Research-Based Studio Approach

The landscapes and the memory of the landscapes are evolving with natural and human-centered activities. In some places, landscapes continue to reveal their memory ecologically, socially, and culturally. On the other hand, in some places, landscapes lose their ecologic and socio-cultural archive as a result of globalization. This issue causes to emerge fragile landscapes according to lack of water resources, global warming, a decrease in biodiversity. Preserving the memory of landscapes and using it in the practice of landscape is a deeply crucial issue. The paper tries to answer two questions: How can landscape memory be used in design education? How can a research-based design studio pedagogy be conducted on this approach? This paper focuses on the research-based design approach in landscape architecture education to decode and recode the memory of the landscapes in the design process. ITU Landscape Architecture Department 2019-2020 Fall Semester Landscape Design Studio I-II, which is the case study of the research, worked in Savur, Mardin. The study area provides unexpected landscape carpet including browns and greens together in the valleys of the region that have a rich social and ecological structure. The methodological process of the studio was based on the three approaches which are integrated into each other: The Landscape Memory Model, Action-based Design Studio, and Research-based Design Studio. The model provides a guide for reading the memory of the landscape with various memory codes hidden under the visible and invisible values of it. This core process is used by the students for understanding the cultural and ecological values of the study area and implementing them into the design process. The action-based studio approach allows the tutors to find the problematic points in the design process of each student and resolve them in a positive way. Covering these two approaches, the research-based design studio expresses the discovery of the knowledge through a strong research process. The results are as followed: Implementing a research-based process ensured a place-based and innovative perspective to shape a design concept. Using the pre-specified landscape memory model empowered the research phase and helped students to analyze and discern the place with their own perceptions. Action-based flow allowed the instructors to leave the conventional studio performing and helped to use in-situ (special to the studio) instructing techniques within the semester. This paper may be influential for especially landscape design studios and relocate conventional studio approaches with more flexible and progressive techniques to understand the place and beyond.

Impact of Research- and Assessment-based Instructional Modes on the Achievement of Senior High School Students in Selected Chemistry Topics

This research focused on the impact of research- and assessment-based instruction on senior high school students’ achievement in selected chemistry topics. A 3 × 2 × 2 pre-test and post-test control group in a quasi-experimental research design was used on a population of Grade 11 chemistry students in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos state. Two schools (one public and one private) were randomly assigned to each of the treatments. A sample of 240 chemistry students was used. Three research questions were answered and five hypotheses were tested. The reliability coefficient of the “Chemistry achievement test” was found to be 0.770 using the Kuder–Richardson Formula 20. Research-based, assessment-based, and conventional instruction manuals were also developed. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance. It was found that the impact of assessment- and research-based instruction on senior high school students’ achievement in the selected topics was significant (F (2,227) = 49.214, p < 0.050). It was also found that the students exposed to the assessment-based instructional mode had a higher achievement than those in the research-based and conventional groups. Male chemistry students were found to benefit more than the female students after being exposed to research- and assessment-based instructional modes. It is, therefore, recommended that assessment- and research-based instructional modes be used to teach the selected chemistry topics to enhance effective learning.

Applying Research-Based Teaching Strategies in a Biomedical Engineering Programming Course: Introduction to Computer Aided Diagnosis.

There are increasing calls for the use of research-based teaching strategies to improve engagement and learning in engineering. In this innovation paper, we detail the application of research-based teaching strategies in a computer programming focused biomedical engineering module. This four-week, one-credit undergraduate biomedical engineering (BME) programming-based image processing module consisted of a blend of lectures, active learning exercises, guided labs, and a final project. Students completed surveys and generated concept maps at three time points in the module (pre, mid, and post) to document the impact of integrating research-based teaching strategies. Students demonstrated a significant (p < 0.05) increase in conceptual knowledge, confidence with material, and belief in the usefulness of material from the beginning to end of the module. Students also had high (> 4 out of 5) perceptions of gains in knowledge and attitudes toward instructor support. Overall, the novel design utilized multiple research-based pedagogies and increased students’ conceptual knowledge, self-efficacy, and perceived usefulness of material. The proposed design is an example of how multiple research-based instructional strategies can be integrated into an undergraduate biomedical engineering course.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43683-021-00057-w.

Mathematics Teachers’ Practices of STEM Education: A Systematic Literature Review

&lt;p style="text-align:justify"&gt;Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education is regarded as one of the formulas to embracing many of our imminent challenges. STEM education benefits the learners by encouraging interest in STEM disciplines. This daunting task needs everyone’s concerted efforts in creating and innovating mathematics teachers’ classroom practices Therefore, a systematic review was conducted to identify best practices for STEM education following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) by Moher et al. (2015). The reviewed articles were published from 2016 to 2020 and accessed using the Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases. Three themes for best practices were identified namely (a) core competencies encompassing 21st-century teaching skills; (b) instructional designs; and (c) requisite STEM execution. Results of PRISMA determined the dominant STEM practices were critical thinking, communication, collaboration, problem-solving, research-based pedagogy, problem-based learning and project-based learning, technological integration, accessibility, professional development and learning support, evidence of effectiveness, access to materials and practitioner support, and scalability. Mathematics teachers should determine the best STEM practices to employ even though there is a lack of studies on integrated STEM domains. When more students are interested in venturing and exploring into the field of STEM, the high demand for STEM related careers could be met by the younger generation.&lt;/p&gt;

Validation of a survey to measure pre-service teachers’ sense of agency

Dissemination of reformed curriculum requires teachers to feel that they have the freedom to implement the curriculum in the classroom. Even instructors who are trained in research-based instruction and are convinced of its value might fail to implement the curriculum in the classroom if, for example, they feel a lack of support from their school or colleagues. In this talk, we will report on the validation process of a survey designed to measure a “teacher’s or pre-service teacher’s perceived agency“, which we define as “a feeling of being in control over what is taught and of how it is taught.”

Analyzing a faculty online learning community as a mechanism for supporting faculty implementation of a guided-inquiry curriculum

BackgroundAdoption and use of effective, research-based instructional strategies (RBISs) for STEM education is less widespread than hoped. To promote further use of RBISs, the propagation paradigm suggests that developers work with potential adopters during the development process, and provide ongoing support after adoption. This article investigates the impact of a faculty online learning community (FOLC) as a professional development mechanism for supporting faculty adopting a research-based curriculum. A FOLC uses video conference technology and online platforms to connect geographically dispersed faculty with similar backgrounds (e.g., physics faculty) and supports their teaching development. In the context of a specific FOLC, this article seeks to determine the outcomes the FOLC achieves, and how.ResultsAnalysis of a FOLC meeting identified opportunities for rich, complex social interaction centered on the research-based curriculum. By functioning as a sounding board for ideas, a space to share experiences, a source of affective support, and a venue for troubleshooting, the FOLC mediates the achievement of a range of outcomes related to implementation of the curriculum. Survey results indicate that members feel a sense of community in the FOLC and that it provides encouragement through teaching challenges. Further results indicate participants’ increased confidence in using the curriculum; familiarity with the curriculum structure and content; increased knowledge of pedagogical techniques; reflection on teaching practices in the curriculum; and use of pedagogical techniques aligned with the curriculum’s core principles. Emerging evidence supports more distal outcomes, including student learning, persistence in using the curriculum, reflection in teaching practice across courses taught, and use of research-based pedagogy in other courses.ConclusionsThe propagation paradigm emphasizes the need for ongoing support for adopters of RBISs. The FOLC model provides participating faculty with ongoing support through participation in a community and is an effective support mechanism for adopters of a research-based curriculum. In this study, FOLC members are increasing their knowledge and use of pedagogical techniques in the curriculum-specific course and beyond. This is facilitated by the opportunities in the FOLC for troubleshooting, idea sharing, and receiving encouragement through challenges. This model has the potential to support adopters of additional educational innovations.

Reading Instruction for Students with and At Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: A Synthesis of Observation Research

Observation research can shed light on the degree to which students have access to research-based instruction and intervention. In this systematic review of reading observation research for students with and at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders, we sought to identify trends in the settings and student populations investigated and research methods used, as well as to determine the degree to which this student population has access to research-based reading instruction. Eleven studies meeting selection criteria were identified and coded to extract information that was salient to research questions. Although the extant observation research is limited, findings suggest that concerns raised by (Vaughn et al., Journal of Special Education 36:2–13, 2002) approximately 18 years ago remain. Study limitations, implications for school practice, and areas for future research are discussed.