WHY SCIENCE SHOULD GUIDE EDUCATION PRACTICES AND POLICIES

AND WHY HAS THIS BEEN SO DIFFICULT

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The Profession Through the Ages

“The history of the profession has never been a particularly attractive subject in professional education, and one reason for this is that it is so deplorable a story.

For century after century all the way into the remote millennia of its origins, the profession got along by sheer guesswork and the crudest sort of empiricism. It is hard to conceive of a less scientific enterprise among human endeavors.

Lewis Thomas (1983)

Cont. The Profession Through the Ages

Virtually anything that could be thought up for treatment was tried out at one time or another, and once tried, lasted decades or even centuries before giving it up.

It was, in retrospect, the most frivolous and irresponsible kind of human experimentation, based on nothing but trial and error, and usually resulting in precisely that sequence.”

Lewis Thomas (1983)

Essential for identifying effective instructional practices

Essential for identifying effective instructional practices

Provides reliable information about what works and why and how it worksProvides reliable information about

what works and why and how it works

Essential for designing new effective teaching methods

Essential for designing new effective teaching methods

Why Scientific ResearchIs Critical To Instruction

Alternatives To Research-Based Instruction

ANECDOTESANECDOTES

UNTESTED BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING AND LEARNING

UNTESTED BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING AND LEARNING

FADS, QUICK FIXES, AND APPEALS TO AUTHORITY

FADS, QUICK FIXES, AND APPEALS TO AUTHORITY

STUDENT FAILURESTUDENT FAILURE

EXAMPLES OF FLAWED ASSUMPTIONS

• Learning to Read is a Natural Process (Goodman, 1967; Smith, 1973; 1977)

• Basic Reading Skills (PA, Alphabetic Principle, Spelling,) Should be Taught Only On An “As Needed” Basis

• Reading Is the Construction of Meaning Where the Emphasis Should Be Placed on Comprehension

• Teachers Should Guide Rather Than Teach Directly

• Phonics Instruction Can Be Harmful

WHY DO FLAWED ASSUMPTIONS REMAIN POPULAR DESPITE READING FAILURE?

• Related to Perceptions of Teacher Empowerment

• Beliefs In Child-Centered Approaches to Learning Where Students Construct Knowledge Individually

• The Belief That Instructional Effectiveness Linked to Objective Measurement of Reading Outcomes Was “Unauthentic” and Irrelevant

• The Goal of Reading Instruction Is to Promote a Love of Reading, Not the Ability to Read

What does the Scientific Evidence tell us about these assumptions?

• Learning To Read Is Not a Natural Process

• Learning To Read Requires the Development of An Integrated Array of Complex Skills

• Reading Instruction Must be Provided Systematically, Particularly For Students Who Are At-Risk For Reading Failure

• Teacher Knowledge of Reading Development and Reading Instruction is Essential

Scientific Quality & Rigor -

A STUDY IS DEEMED TO BE “SCIENTIFIC” WHEN:

• There is a clear set of testable questions underlying the design;

• The research design and methods are appropriate to answer the questions and falsify competing hypotheses and answers;

• The study is explicitly linked to theory and previous research;

• The data are analyzed systematically and with the appropriate tools;

• The data are made available for review and criticism.

NICHD Multidisciplinary Research Program:

Fundamental Scientific Questions

1. How Do Children and Adults Learn Language, Reading, and Mathematics?

2. Why do Some Children and Adults Have Difficulties Learning Language, Reading, and Mathematics?

3. Which Instructional Interactions, Methods, and

Strategies Are Most Beneficial For Which

Students Within Which Content Domain ?

WHAT DO KIDS NEED TO KNOW TO READ?

A HECK OF A LOT!

Reading ComprehensionKnowledge Fluency

Metacognition

Language

Prosody

Automaticity / Rate

Accuracy

Decoding

Phonemic Awareness

Oral Language Skills

Knowledge of Language Structures

Vocabulary

Cultural Influences

Life Experience

Content Knowledge

Activation of Prior Knowledge

Knowledge about Texts

Motivation & Engagement

Active Reading Strategies

Monitoring Strategies

Fix-Up Strategies

Florida Reading Initiative

Major Sources of Reading Failure

• Socioeconomic Factors – Poverty

• Biological Factors – Genetics and Neurobiology

• Program and Instructional Factors

What Can WE Do To Help Our Kids Learn

to Read?

Early Intervention is Effective

Prevention studies in reading (and behavior) commonly show that 70- 90% of at risk children (bottom 20%) in K- 2 can learn to read in average range.

(Fletcher et al., 2006)

- Instruction is intentional – not catch as catch can

– Prerequisite skills mastered before introducing new concepts

– Progress monitoring is used to guide differentiated instruction and ensure mastery

– All concepts and skills are integrated and practiced to ensure comprehensive understanding and generalization

Systematic InstructionConcepts to teach with an organized logical sequence:

16% 13% 15% 19% 19% 12%

What Science Tells Us About Effective Instruction

Individualization

Application

Computerized Instruction

Tutoring

Mastery Learning

Instructional Media

20

19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Percentage Point Gains

Creating Effective Schools by Preparing Effective Instructional

Leaders

An instructional leader must ensure the following:• Evidence-Based Curriculum

• Continuous Evaluation and Accountability

• Challenging Goals for Both Students and Teachers

• Opportunity to Learn and Sufficient Time for Instruction

• Parental Involvement

• Safe and Orderly Environment

• Collegiality and Collaboration

Effective Teachers Requires:

• Deep Knowledge of Content and Instructional Skills

• Ability to Plan and Set Specific Goals and Objectives

• Knowledge of Scientifically-Based Curriculum Design

• Knowledge of Research-Based Instructional Methods

• Knowledge of Formative and Summative Assessment

Cont. Effective Teachers Requires:

• Customizing Instruction for Individual Students

• Classroom Management and Organization

• Motivating and Engaging Students

• A Positive Attitude Towards Teaching

• Ability to Implement and Sustain Programs

Why Effective Leaders and Teachers are Essential

Avg. Principal School & Avg. Teacher

Least Effective Principal & Least Effective Teacher

Most Effective Principal & Least Effective Teacher

Least Effective Principal & Most Effective Teacher

Most Effective Principal & Avg. Teacher

Most Effective Principal & Most Effective Teacher

50% 3% 37% 63% 78% 96%

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

50th percentile

So if we know all of this, why is it so darn hard to translate the research into practice and

policy?

EDUCATION AS ANTI-SCIENCE

• Historical Resistance to a Research-Driven Field

• Teaching as a Low Status Occupation

• “Women’s Work” – Nurturing More Important than Teaching Skills

• Teaching was a “genetically Endowed Affective Ability”

Cont. EDUCATION AS ANTI-SCIENCE

• The Influence of Postmodernism – “Truth is in the Eye of the Beholder”

• Cause and Effect Principles do not Exist

• Scientific Methods to Determine Cause and Effect were Useless

• Many Colleges of Education Remain Wedded to Anti-Scientific Perspectives

• Experience Valued Above Use of Scientific Research

Uneven Quality of Educational Research

• SUPERFICIAL

• LACKING IN RIGOR

• EMPHASIZES BREADTH OVER DEPTH

• BASED ON IDEOLOGY RATHER THAN • SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES

• INACCURATE (WRONG DESIGN AND METHODS)

Levine (2005, 2006)

UNEVEN QUALITY IS HISTORICAL, PERSISTENT, AND INTERNATIONAL

• “Much educational research is badly done, amateurish, gimmicky….” (Nisbet, 1974) – President of the British Educational research Association

• “Schools of education chronically allow graduate students tom matriculate with weak research skills – it seems that any student who persists long enough can get a degree as a researcher” (Cohen, 2004 – U. of Michigan)

• “I haven’t seen any movement in our field to deal with it…It troubles me deeply that so few of my colleagues seem to take it seriously (Cohen, 2004)

LIMITED DEMAND FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN EDUCATION

• Limited Trustworthiness – Practitioners have little confidence in research because of fads, inconsistent results, “magic bullets”etc.

• Limited Usability – Research frequently reported to be irrelevant to practice, too theoretical, and presented in an incomprehensible manner

• Limited Accessibility – Difficulty obtaining research findings that are relevant and comprehensible.

• Limited Respect – Trivial - “Research can say anything you want it to say”;

TEACHERS AS MARGINALIZED CONSUMERS

• Teachers (and administrators) provided little background in what constitutes valid research

• Less than one third of instructional practices in reading based on scientific findings (Kennedy)

• Only 56% of administrators at the doctoral level found their research courses to be valuable

LIMITATIONS IN DISSEMINATION OF VALID RESEARCH FINDINGS

• National Diffusion Network – No requirement for formal peer-reviewed and externally validated “promising practices”

• ERIC - Until recently, “promising practices” selected through a nominating process without regard for scientific effectiveness studies

• No common criteria for evaluating the quality of evidence

• Information Overload – 334,647 abstracts entered into ERIC between 1991 and 2001.

THE IMPLEMENTATION PROBLEM: We ignore the necessary but not sufficient

Rule!

NO MATTER HOW EVIDENCE-BASED A PROGRAM, METHOD OR STRATEGY IS, IT WILL FAIL UNLESS:

• Teachers know their stuff• Building level instructional leadership is strong• Professional Development is systematic and

sustained• A common assessment and instructional

language is used • Teachers have time to collaborate

THE IMPLEMENTATION PROBLEM

CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES ARE IMPLEMENTED WITH FIDELITY:

• Realistic expectations of time involved in implementation

• Sufficient scaffolding so teachers understand steps• Sufficient professional development• Commitment of support for and by school

administration and instructional leadership• Commitment to form and function of the innovation

As little as 25% of teachers are interested in successful implementation.

THE POLICY TAIL WAGGING THE RESEARCH DOG

Our strategy to change that:

• Elevate critical importance of reading proficiency(1991-2005)

• Stress negative consequences of reading failure (1996-2005)

• “Reading Failure is not only an educational problem it is a public health problem” (1996 0 2005)

• Congressional testimony to gain support for SBR (1997-2005)

Cont. THE POLICY TAIL WAGGING THE RESEARCH DOG

• Development and funding for the Reading Excellence Act (1998)

• Development and funding for NRC and NRP

• Reading First legislation (2001)

• Partnership for Reading(2001)

• What Works Clearing House (2001)

• NRC Report on Scientific Research in Education (2002)

• Education Sciences Reform Act – IES (2002)

Ideological & Political Pushback

• Ad hominem attacks against individuals

• Concerted attacks against policy and evidence-based practice

• Federal politicization of Reading First

• Unsubstantiated allegations

• Greed

• A faltering of grass roots support for SBRR

Can Research Ever Guide Policy & Practice? THE JURY IS STILL OUT

WHAT WILL IT TAKE?:

• Accountability in teacher and administrator preparation;

• Instructional leadership;• Policies to ensure the continued development of

and implementation of research-based programs and materials;

• Increased research on implementation factors;• A concerted voice from the educational

community;• Courage!!

In 1997, United States

Congress

National Institute of Child Health and

Human Development & U.S. Department of

Education

Report of the National Reading

Panel

Prevent disabilities through effective instruction

www.guilford.comwww.nasdse.orgwww.guilford.com

jackfletcher@uh.edu

Thank you!

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