What Does SBR Mean for Education Technology

DRIVEN BY BUDGETARY AND accountability pressures, K-12 education decision-makers have increased their demand for evidence of effectiveness and a return on their investment. The scientifically based research (SBR) provisions in No Child Left Behind (NCLB), while somewhat amorphous in meaning, have nonetheless served as a catalyst for educators demanding ever more rigorous research. Even though the SBR requirement is not part of the Enhancing Education Through Technology grant program (Title IID)--to the extent technology applications are included in other NCLB programs like Reading First or Title I--such SBR provisions do apply to technologies purchased with those funds. The SBR provisions apply to the wide range of school interventions--policies, programs, practices and products. But with education technology viewed by some as an unproven, supplemental, yet expensive educational intervention, this new call for a burden of proof has had as much impact on technology as on any other educational area. What, then, does SBR mean for education technology? The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) has had a longstanding interest in education technology research. For instance, the association periodically publishes a "Report on the Effectiveness of Technology in Schools" which has been used to both inform product development, as well as guide policy and classroom implementation. Among the consistent findings in the report is that education technology is neither inherently effective nor inherently ineffective; instead, its degree of effectiveness depends upon the congruence among the goals of instruction, characteristics of the learners, design of the software, and educator training and decision-making, among other factors. In other words, while the technologies themselves certainly have a bearing on educational outcomes, ultimate effectiveness--as with all educational interventions--depends upon the appropriate implementation of that technology in meeting teaching and learning goals. Similarly, technology also presents an added variable whose impact might be difficult to distinguish from the broader intervention. Because technology is a tool used to achieve a variety of purposes and functions, the study of education technology necessarily involves the study of both the education and the technology. For example, an instructional software program includes a pedagogy, an instructional design and a technology design. As another example, learning management and communication systems employ technology to serve an educational function, but at the same time can provide their greatest value indirectly by changing behaviors and systems. For purposes of research, can the educational function and technology delivery be separated? Should they be? If not, how do we isolate the impact of each? Education technology research must consider all these questions in its design, reporting and analysis. With that said, there certainly is a need for more and better research on education technology. This research can help both refine our understanding of the conditions and practices under which a given technology is effective, as well as validate the efficacy of specific applications. Impact of SBR Both educators and publishers/developers are responding to the new research paradigm. Publishers and developers (both for-profit and nonprofit) have long reviewed the research literature to inform product development, as well as conducted product effectiveness evaluations. They are now working to: (1) better document the scientific basis of their products through white papers; and (2) build a more rigorous body of evidence that validates their products' effectiveness. These efforts correspond to NCLB's two applications of the SBR definition. In the first application, most NCLB references simply require that educational decisions be made "based on a review of SBR," meaning that that research demonstrates the efficacy of an intervention's underlying principles. …