IES: Institute of Education Sciences
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The Interagency Education Research Initiative
Archived Information


The Interagency Education Research Initiative (IERI) is a collaborative effort sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health.

The goal of the Interagency Education Research Initiative is to support scientific research that investigates the effectiveness of educational interventions in reading, mathematics, and the sciences as they are implemented in varied school settings with diverse student populations. From an empirical perspective, the aim of IERI is to identify conditions under which effective evidence-based interventions to improve preK-12 student learning and achievement succeed when applied on a large scale. Research of this kind requires investigators to integrate an understanding of the predictors of learning outcomes related to specific educational interventions with a rigorous analysis of the logistical, organizational, political, and economic factors that facilitate or impede the implementation of the interventions in varied school settings. Research on scaling up also requires that collaborative arrangements with significant numbers of schools, school districts, and or states support the intent to execute and study the wide-scale implementation of a given intervention. Recognizing that particular areas of research will differ in their readiness for scaling up, IERI invites prospective grantees to submit proposals in one of two categories. Phase I awards provide investigators with an opportunity to prepare for broad scale-up. Phase II awards are for projects that are fully prepared to study the effectiveness of an intervention as implemented in significant numbers of varied educational settings. Phase I and Phase II awards must draw on interventions that have already established evidence of effectiveness.

Awards

FY 2003 Grant Awards

Institute of Education Sciences FY 2003 Grant Awards

McLean Hospital
Principal Investigator: Gil Noam
The new 3R's – Reading, Resilience, and Relationships in after-school programs

The purpose of this project is to evaluate a school-based reading program and an adult-child relationship support program in afterschool program settings. The researchers are investigating whether primary school children with reading difficulties who participate in an intensive afterschool reading program strengthen their reading skills. They are also studying the effects of combining this academic emphasis on reading remediation with a social development emphasis on structured and supportive relationships for children. The research team is also analyzing which academic and social characteristics best predict student benefits from participating in the programs.

The researchers are evaluating the efficacy of the RAVE-O Program and the RALLY program. The RAVE-O Program is a structured, research-tested, reading fluency program; the RALLY Program is a supportive relationship-based preventative mental health intervention. The researchers are working with school-based afterschool program staff to select, train, and supervise the teachers delivering the RAVE-O intervention. Trained and supervised social workers are delivering the RALLY program. Using a random assignment experimental design, the researchers are placing 64 children in the RAVE-O program, 64 children in a program with both RAVE-O and RALLY, and 64 children in a no-treatment control group. The research team is analyzing the effects on students' motivation to read, classroom behavior, sense of self-competence, and reading performance, including vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. The children are second and third grade students from school-based afterschool programs in Boston and Phoenix serving students from families of various ethnic, racial and economic backgrounds.

Southern Methodist University
Principal Investigator: Patricia Mathes
Scaling-up effective intervention for preventing reading difficulties in young children

How well children learn to read in the early grades is crucial to their long-term educational success, and research has shown that early literacy interventions can have a large impact on that early learning. The purpose of this project is to examine the effectiveness of two first grade reading intervention programs, Proactive Reading and Responsive Reading, as they are supported with teacher professional development training. These two programs differ greatly in theory and instructional design. However, recent research in six primary schools in Houston indicated that these two programs were equally effective.

The researchers are carrying out a longitudinal study of the implementation of the two programs in 48 schools in three urban areas. Certified teachers are delivering the programs to groups of three students for forty minutes daily. The researchers are evaluating the relative effectiveness of the programs when the teachers receive one of three different models of professional development. The researchers are randomly assigning the schools to one of three different coaching models (on-site, technology-based, or typical practice). They are also randomly assigning struggling readers in the first grade to a program or to the standard regular classroom instruction. Using mixed methods of data collection, the researchers are gauging how well the teachers have to implement the programs to significantly improve student outcomes. They are also studying factors that may influence the implementation of the programs in different school contexts. The study sample consists of four cohorts of 432 first grade students from families with a diversity of ethnic backgrounds and income levels.

FY 2002 Grant Awards

Institute of Education Sciences FY 2002 Grant Awards

University of Texas Health Science Center
Principal Investigator: Susan Landry
Scaling Up a Language and Literacy Development Program at the Pre-kindergarten Level

This proposal argues that basic literacy deficits observed in fourth grade stem from inadequate pre-k school readiness. Teachers' lack of training in early literacy and language development are cited as two key aspects of the problem. The study will use randomized experimental to examine the effectiveness of scaling-up of an on-line early literacy professional development model for pre-k teachers. Case examples, facilitated feedback, and in classroom coaching are administered in varying levels (between experimental and control groups). The project promises to contribute to our knowledge of technologically supported teacher professional development as it may be applied to development of early literacy and language development, both as a set of instructional skills for teachers and as a set of educational outcomes for students.

University of Texas Health Science Center
Principal Investigator: Barbara Foorman
Scaling Up an Assessment-Driven Intervention Using the Internet and Hand-held Computers

The proposal responds to recent legislation that promotes assessment as being an effective means of improving reading achievement. The project investigates the effectiveness of an intervention that uses the internet and hand-held computers to help teachers link results from reading inventories (Texas Primary Reading Inventory and Tejas LEE) to instructional practice. Following final stages of product development and testing in year one, years 2-4 will apply a randomized experimental design to study the effects of the intervention. The investigators hypothesize that the intervention will help teachers make connections between assessment in instruction that will produce significant improvements in student achievement.

Johns Hopkins University
Principal Investigator: James McPartland
Implementation and Impact of Reading, Mathematics, and Science Instructional Interventions for Middle and High School Students

The proposed project focuses on achievement levels in reading, mathematics, and the sciences among middle and high school students. In response to research indicating a need for improvements in secondary instruction in order to reduce the gap between the typical level of student skills and that assumed by standards-based reform, investigators developed the Talent Development model, a multifaceted instructional intervention. The proposed research includes four study designs, including large annual surveys and longitudinal school level case studies to study scale up factors effect on implementation; a randomized experiment to assess learning outcomes; periodic review of state and district test scores; and classroom level analyses. With its focus on the conditions of successful implementation in diverse setting, the proposed research will help improve implementation practices and contribute to the knowledge base about scaling up successful social programs.

National Science Foundation IERI Awards
For information on the NSF IERI awards listed below, individuals should contact Dr. Finbarr Sloane (Phone: 703-292-5146; Email: fsloane@nsf.gov).

Carnegie Mellon University (FY 2003 Award)
Principal Investigator: Jack Mostow
IERI: Scalability of an automated reading tutor that listens

University of Michigan (FY 2003 Award)
Principal Investigator: Annemarie Palincsar
Scaling expert knowledge and practice for teaching elementary school students to comprehend informational text

SRI International (FY 2002 Award)
Principal Investigator: Jeremy Roschelle
Scaling Up SimCalc: Professional Development for Integrating Technology to Teach More Complex Mathematics

SUNY at Buffalo (FY 2002 Award)
Principal Investigator: Douglas Clements
Scaling Up the Implementation of a Pre-Kindergarten Mathematics Curriculum: Teaching for Understanding with Trajectories and Technologies

University of Pittsburgh (FY 2002 Award)
Principal Investigator: Mary Kay Stein
Scaling Up Mathematics: The Interface of Curricula with Human and Social Capital

Rand Corporation (FY 2002 Award)
Principal Investigator: Brian Stecher
Scaling Up Standards-Based Accountability

University of Colorado at Boulder (FY 2002 Award)
Principal Investigator: Ronald Cole
IERI: Helping Disadvantaged Students Succeed by Improving Foundational Language and Reading Skills

Florida Atlantic University (FY 2002 Award)
Principal Investigator: Nancy Romance
Validation of a Multi-Phase Scale-Up Design for a Knowledge-Based Intervention in Science and Reading Comprehension

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development IERI Awards
For information on the NICHD IERI awards listed below, individuals should contact Dr. Daniel Berch (Phone: 301-402-0699; Email: berchd2@mail.nih.gov).

Johns Hopkins University (FY 2003 Award)
Principal Investigator: Joyce Epstein
Implementation and effects of family and community involvement on student achievement in reading, math, and science

Syracuse University (FY 2003 Award)
Principal Investigator: Benita Blachman
Phase I early reading intervention: Getting ready for scale-up

George Washington University (FY 2002 Award)
Principal Investigator: Sharon Lynch
Scaling Up Highly Rated Curriculum Units for Diverse Student Populations: Using Evidence to Close the Achievement Gap

Introduction to FY2003 RFA

To support the mission of IERI, the Institute of Education Sciences invites applications for FY2003 research projects that will investigate the large-scale effectiveness of interventions designed to improve student learning and achievement in reading, mathematics, and the sciences.

Pre-Application Meetings

IERI held two pre-application meetings on January 21, 2003 and February 21, 2003 to discuss IERI's program of research. Potential applicants were invited to participate and to receive technical assistance and information about the competition.

Included below is the agenda for the meetings, with exhibits from various presentations.

Agenda [20K]

The meeting began with an Introduction to IERI by Dr. Mark Constas [52K PowerPoint], including a discussion of the origins and history of the program, and related goals and objectives.

Next, Finbarr Sloane presented a review of the Funding Opportunities in Phase I and Phase II Projects [26K PowerPoint], describing alternatives and requirements for funding in each phase.

Dr. Daniel Berch presented the rationale for each subject-matter content area, including a review of the reasons for selecting each area (Focus Areas: Reading, Mathematics and Science by Dr. Daniel Berch [29K]).

Finally, the meeting included a review of the rationale and basis for selecting specific research designs and analysis techniques (Research Designs that Assess Effectiveness by Dr. Christopher Schatschneider [54K PowerPoint]).

*For information on IERI projects awarded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, please contact agency representatives listed below.

Contact:
Dr. Joe Teresa
Institute of Education Sciences
U.S. Department of Education
Telephone: (202) 219-2046
E-mail: Joe.Teresa@ed.gov
Dr. Daniel Berch
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Telephone: (301) 402-0699
E-mail: berchd2@mail.nih
Dr. Finbarr Sloane
National Science Foundation
Telephone: (703) 292-5146
E-mail: fsloane@nsf.gov

 
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Last Modified: 02/28/2006