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The Student Achievement Institute awarded 5 grants, totaling almost $1 million. Recipients included two research organizations and 3 universities. Projects addressed topics related to: implementation of standards-based reform in urban schools, redesign of classroom instruction in core curriculum areas, the impact of trained substitute teachers on student achievement, the effects of class size reduction on instructional practices, and use of model-centered instruction to improve middle-school science education.
The Effects of Class Size Reduction on Students' Opportunities to Learn
This project examines the effects of reductions in class size on curriculum and instructional practices in California elementary schools. Case studies of teaching practices will be conducted in sixteen classrooms with data collected through interviews and videotaping. A sample survey of 200 schools will also be administered to compare classroom practices in third grade classes reduced to 20 or fewer students with regular classrooms of 30 or more students.
Contact: Dr. Brian Stecher
RAND
1700 Main Street
P.O. Box 2138
Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138
310-393-0411
Year 1 funding: $211,255
Project Period: 3 years
Serious School Reform - The Redesign of Classroom Instruction
This three-year study will involve six northern Ohio school districts (East Cleveland City Schools, Elyria City Schools, Mayfield City Schools, Madison Local Schools, Woodridge Local Schools, and Berlin-Milan Local Schools) in the redesign of classroom instruction in one or more core curriculum areas. The materials and procedures developed will be piloted in participant classrooms, and the impact on student achievement assessed. Using the ‘best practices’ criteria derived from the research on school reform, the districts will implement a K-12 need’s assessment. Each school districts will devise three-year plans to involve teachers in the curriculum redesign projects. These plans will include procedures for determining the impact of the redesigned instruction on student achievement and for integrating project outcomes into the district’s daily operation. Project communications between these urban, suburban, and rural school districts will be enhanced by use of the distance learning network established among Ohio school districts.
Contact: Dr. Judith K. March
Kent State University
Center for Educational Leadership Services
418 White Hall
Kent, OH 44242
330-672-2280
Year 1 Funding: $184,321
Project Period: 3 years
The Role of Teacher-leaders in "Scaling Up" Standard-based Reform in Urban Schools
This three-year study combines qualitative case study methods with action research to explore what it takes for teachers to learn, implement, and help other teachers learn the content and skills needed to translate standards into classroom practices that focus on raising student achievement. The study will address four research questions: 1) What essential knowledge, skills, and orientations do teachers need to implement curricular and instruction practices that are believed to promote high levels of student learning? 2) What are the significant experiences or events in each teacher-leaders’ professional journeys that have shaped their careers and their philosophy of teaching? 3) What essential knowledge and skills do teachers need to effectively share their knowledge with peers to help others improve their classroom practice? 4) What organizational policies and conditions either support or inhibit teacher development?
Contact: Dr. Judy Swanson
Education Matters, Inc.
P.O. Box 1656
Cambridge, MA 02338
617-234-4352
Year 1 funding: $123,711
Project Period: 3 years
Model-Assisted Reasoning in Science
This three-year study seeks to investigate and promote model-centered instruction as a means of improving middle-school science education. It coordinates hands-on experiment with interactive computer programs in which students manipulate visible models of abstract concepts to depict and test their own ideas about those concepts. The project aims to develop and evaluate an extended sequence of instructional modules for the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, enabling middle school teachers to establish a model-centered context within which students can appreciate and appropriate the use of models to represent and reason about science concepts.
Contact: Dr. Kalyani Raghavan
University of Pittsburgh
733 LRDC
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
412-624-9580
Year 1 funding: $222,241
Project Period: 3 years
Assessment, Training, Evaluation, and Documentation of Substitute Teacher Effectiveness in a Multiple Case Study
This three-year study will assess the current situation in 300 school districts nationwide, identifying elements that affect the effectiveness of substitute teachers, the amount of training provided by districts for substitute teachers, and successful training programs already in existence. It will train 6,000 substitute teachers in district and permanent teacher expectation, classroom management strategies, and educational instruction techniques, allowing them to present the permanent teacher’s lesson plans in an effective manner as well as preparing them to teach additional enrichment material as is appropriate. The project will evaluate the impact of trained vs. untrained substitute teachers in the classroom with regard to student learning from instructional lesson presentations, and activities, and effective use of classroom time, and appropriate student behavior.
Contact: Dr. Geoffrey G. Smith
Substitute Teacher Training Institute
UMC 8200
Utah State University
Logan, UT 84322-8200
801-797-3232
Year 1 funding: $240,437
Project Period: 3 years
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