U.S. Department of Education: Source of Research

But, First, a Little Background.

Remember when people talked about the "3-Rs," reading, writing, and 'rithmetic, as the basic ingredients of a sound education? Well, there's every reason to add a fourth "R" to this list an 8-letter word that is frequently the focus of controversy, confusion, and even anxiety, for educators, as well as for parents. That word is research!

By itself, and without mention of how it is being used, this "R" word commands a sense of authority, and causes us to stop and think and listen. After all, what could be better than making decisions based on the systematic investigation of a particular question and getting at the truth about a particular problem? Indeed, we live in a society that is driven by all kinds of data, from the nutritional data on food packages to financial data to data derived from medical tests that report on such things as levels of cholesterol. And we have all come to expect that experts around us are making recommendations and decisions based on factual information that has been organized for analysis so that meaningful conclusions may be drawn.

Even though most of us are not intimately familiar with the types of research done by the biomedical community (tissue samples, test tubes, microscopes, and such), we trust (or at least hope) that it is "cutting edge" and that it translates directly into results that are used by our doctors. Research-based practices in medicine are the best offense and defense when it comes to staying healthy. The same argument can be made for research in the educational community. After all, don't we want colleges of education to prepare teachers who are versed in the most effective, research-based practices? Shouldn't we depend upon classroom educators to be experts in the delivery of instruction that is based upon carefully researched, tested and proven strategies?

There is much that we still do not know about how best to teach and support children, adolescents, and adults with (and without) learning disabilities. And unfortunately, less than 0.01% of our nation's overall annual education budget is spent on research, compared with 5-15% typically spent by corporations. The good news, however, is that there is much that we do know that has not yet found its way into the hands of parents and educators.

We are confident that this column will help teachers to expand their repertoire of research-based practices. And we are sure that parents will use this column to arm themselves with information about proven practices, so they can be powerful and successful advocates and partners with school personnel.
 

Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is dedicated to improving results for infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities, ages birth through 21, by providing leadership and financial support to assist states and local districts.

Visit their website to learn more about:

• Formula grants to states
• discretionary grants to institutions of higher education and other nonprofit organizations to support research, demonstrations
• technical assistance and dissemination
• parent-training and information centers
• a sample of OSEP program-funded activities in FY 2001

OSEP Research Institutes

• The Center on Accelerating Student Learning (CASL) is designed to accelerate learning for students with disabilities in the early grades. CASL is a five-year collaborative research effort supported by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Participating institutions are the University of Maryland, Teachers College of Columbia University, and Vanderbilt University.
  
• Over five years, the Research Institute to Accelerate Content Learning through High Support for Students with Disabilities in Grades 4-8 (REACH) is developing and studying instructional approaches that support all students as they engage in challenging content learning in language arts (EDC), mathematics (University of Puget Sound), science (University of Michigan), and social studies (University of Delaware). The project has a special focus on the discourse practices that students use in learning rigorous content.
  
• The Institute for Academic Success (AII) is conducting research to develop instructional methods and materials to provide students with authentic access to the HS curriculum. Researchers are exploring how the use of Content Enhancement Routines (verbal interactions that occur between students and teachers in general education classrooms), developed by the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning, increases student achievement.
• National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD)
  The mission of the NRCLD is to conduct research on the identification of learning disabilities, formulate implementation recommendations, disseminate findings, and provide technical assistance on national, state and local levels.
• Department of Education Resource Directory
  The Education Resource Organizations Directory (EROD) is a listing of thousands of organizations that provide services on a state, regional, or national level. The Directory is intended to help you identify and contact organizations that provide information and assistance on a broad range of education-related topics.
  

Institute of Education Sciences

• U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences
  Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is a national information system funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to provide access to education literature and resources. A restructuring of the ERIC database was begun in January 2004, but it will continue to serve as a centralized bibliographic database of journal articles and other published and unpublished education materials. Some new features will include: free full text, electronic links to commercial sources, and a user-friendly interface for ease of use.
  

• The What Works Clearinghouse
  The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) was established in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to provide educators, policymakers, researchers, and the public with a central, independent, and trusted source of scientific evidence of 'what works' in education. The WWC is committed to producing high-quality reviews of scientific evidence of the effectiveness of replicable educational interventions (for example, programs, practices, products, or policies) that promise to improve student outcomes in areas such as reading, math, and behavior. Administered by the Department of Education through and contracted via a joint venture of the American Institutes for Research and the Campbell Collaboration, it also publishes standards for reviewing research, evidence reports, and a registry of evaluators.
• Scientifically Based Research
  In the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, there are 111 references to "scientifically based research!" To assist educators in finding and using strategies that have been validated through rigorous study, the Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) recently released the user-friendly guide Identifying and Implementing Educational Practices Supported by Rigorous Evidence. The 19-page publication offers ways to judge the effectiveness of an educational intervention (such as a reading or mathematics curriculum, school-wide reform programs, after-school programs and new educational technologies) that claim to be able to improve educational outcomes and be supported by evidence.

Sheldon H. Horowitz, Ed.D. is the Director of LD Resources & Essential Information at the National Center for Learning Disabilities.