ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Fostering First-Graders' Reasoning Strategies with the Most Basic Sums
Author: Purpura, David J.
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Discovery Learning,Reading Instruction,Feedback (Response),Beginning Reading,Grade 1,Elementary School Students,Teaching Methods,Conventional Instruction,Intervention,Comparative Analysis,Transfer of Training,Logical Thinking,Thinking Skills,Mathematics Skills,Mathematics Achievement,Arithmetic,Program Effectiveness

In a meta-analysis of 164 studies, Alfieri, Brooks, Aldrich, and Tenenbaum (2010) found that assisted discovery learning was more effective than explicit instruction or unassisted discovery learning and that explicit instruction resulted in more favorable outcomes than unassisted discovery learning. In other words, &quot;unassisted discovery does not benefit learners, whereas feedback, worked examples, scaffolding, and elicited explanations do.&quot; The primary aim of the present research was to compare structured discovery, unstructured discovery (haphazard practice), and business-as-usual in fostering fluency with add-1 and doubles combinations. Interventions were conducted during the school day as pullout, 1-on-1, training sessions at five elementary schools in two school districts serving a medium-size Mid-western city. Participants in the unstructured add-1 training achieved comparable gains in fluency with n+1/1+n items as those in the structured add-1, and children in these groups achieved greater fluency with n+1/1+n items than did peers with active-control group (cf. Alfieri et al., 2011). In contrast, the structured doubles condition was more effective than the unstructured practice group in promoting transfer to unpracticed doubles. (Contains 4 figures and 5 tables.)
Does the Level of Alignment between Student College Expectations and Preparation Mediate the Influence of Parent Resources on College Enrollment among Latino and Non-Latino White Students?
Author: Ryan, Sarah
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: College Choice,Enrollment,Evidence,Educational Attainment,Student Attitudes,White Students,Structural Equation Models,Expectation,College Preparation,Hispanic American Students,Social Capital,Knowledge Level,Longitudinal Studies,Databases,High School Students,Parent Role

Inasmuch as current U.S. population projections indicate that Latino students will comprise over half the growth in the college-age population during the coming decades, the puzzle of Latino educational attainment presents perhaps one of the most critical policy concerns relevant to any efforts targeted at increasing U.S. levels of educational attainment. Yet rates of access to, enrollment in, and completion of higher education among Latino youth have remained at levels lower than non-Latino Whites, Blacks, and Asians since at least the 1970s. Recently, some scholars have encountered evidence suggesting that one less-recognized source of observed enrollment and attainment disparities between Latino students and their White counterparts is that at least some of the resources that parents can use to the benefit of their children during the college choice process are less convertible into successful outcomes among Latino youth. Expanding upon the work of Schneider and Stevenson (1999) and their notion of aligned ambitions, in this research the author investigates the possibility that lower rates of resource transmission among Latino parents and children during the college choice process might reflect a lack of knowledge, accessed in part through parents' social ties, about the necessary steps students must take to enroll in a four-year institution (Tienda, 2011). Specifically, the author uses a national longitudinal database and structural equation modeling techniques to investigate the possibility that the degree of alignment between high school students' postsecondary expectations and their actions taken toward fulfilling those ambitions mediates intergenerational resource transmission. (Contains 1 figure, 7 tables and 5 endnotes.)
What Works in Gifted Education-Documenting the Model-Based Curriculum for Gifted Students
Author: Oh, Sarah
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Academically Gifted,Outcomes of Education,Program Effectiveness,Language Arts,Fidelity,Grade 3,Academic Achievement,Comparative Analysis,Integrated Curriculum,Curriculum Development,Models,Research Design,Pretests Posttests

The heart of effective programming for gifted services lies in the development of curricula that will challenge and enhance learning outcomes for gifted students. Educators have voiced concerns about the lack of differentiated curricula and instruction in gifted classrooms and the paucity of empirical evidence to support their effectiveness for gifted learners. Concerning the need to gather further data on the effectiveness of model-based curricula on student learning in gifted classrooms, critical components of three highly regarded curricular models in gifted education were integrated into a single curriculum model and two language arts units for third grade gifted students were developed. The review of the related literature illustrates the need for a study investigating the extent to which model-based curricular units are accountable for observable and measurable outcomes in gifted classrooms using an experimental paradigm. The current study investigated effectiveness of the integrated curricular model through assessing student outcomes from two language arts units. The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of the CLEAR curriculum, specifically: Do gifted learners exposed to an integrated model-based curriculum outperform equally able learners not exposed to the integrated model-based curriculum in the comparison group on standards-referenced post-tests after controlling for their prior achievement? The results suggest that the CLEAR curriculum model which establishes the context of rich curriculum and responsive instruction driven by key components of three existing curricular models in gifted education is a viable option to enhance student learning. The effect of the CLEAR curriculum units were also supported through rigorous methodologies such as a cluster-randomized experimental design and multilevel analyses of student outcome data over two years. The current study also collected data with regards to the fidelity of implementation and found that teachers implemented the lessons with moderate to high fidelity (Foster, Oh, Azano, & Callahan, 2012). Further discussion on fidelity of implementation in the study can be found in Azano et al. (2011) and Foster et al. (2012). (Contains 16 tables.)
A Quest for Increasing Student Math Achievement and Promoting Rigorous Evaluation in Italy: Evidence from the M@t.abel Teacher Professional Development Program
Author: Argentin, Gianluca
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Mathematics Achievement,Teacher Effectiveness,Teaching Methods,Foreign Countries,Professional Development,Expertise,Mathematics Teachers,Attitude Change,Questionnaires,Comparative Analysis,Program Evaluation

Research has proven that teachers have a fundamental influence on student results. Moreover, effective teacher professional development is one of the key mechanisms for improving student achievement. By the most recent OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) definition, &quot;Professional development is defined as activities that develop an individual's skills, knowledge, expertise and other characteristics as a teacher.&quot; The M@t.abel program suits this definition both in terms of increasing teacher subject knowledge and in terms of providing math teachers with alternative solutions and methods for presenting usual contents. Given that the effects of any professional development program on student achievement are mediated by teacher actual practices in the classroom, it is necessary to verify whether teachers enrolled in the M@t.abel program do follow the training, whether they apply the acquired knowledge in the classroom, and whether they change their attitudes and teaching methods. The study will address these issues by collecting information through specific questionnaires and the teacher's M@t.abel log-book. The difficulty in measuring the effectiveness of teaching is that &quot;teachers have powerful effects on reading and mathematics achievement, though little of the variance in teacher quality is explained by observable variables, such as education or experience&quot;. The study rules out issues resulting from hidden heterogeneity by designing ex ante a randomized experiment, which allows the authors to compare the results of two statistically equivalent groups of participants in the most objective way possible. (Contains 2 figures and 2 tables.)
Fostering First-Graders' Fluency with Basic Subtraction Combinations
Author: Baroody, Arthur J.
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Instructional Effectiveness,Evidence,Subtraction,Effect Size,Grade 1,Elementary School Students,Elementary School Mathematics,Arithmetic,Mathematical Concepts,Teaching Methods,Experimental Groups,Control Groups,Mathematical Logic

Subtraction combinations are particularly challenging for children to learn (Kraner, 1980; Smith, 1921; see Cowan, 2003, for a review). This study examines whether the group of children receiving the &quot;experimental subtraction-as-addition&quot; training outperform the &quot;control&quot; group, which received training on a different reasoning strategy involving 8s or 9s, on both practiced and unpracticed subtraction combinations and (2) a group that receiving &quot;unstructured subtraction practice&quot; on at least the unpracticed subtraction items. A total of 75 first graders (6.1 to 7.6 years old, mean = 6.6) from five schools in two school districts serving a mid-sized mid-western community participated in the study. Regarding the delayed posttest results with the &quot;practiced subtraction&quot; combinations, the structured subtraction-as-addition group, which received supplemental subtraction instruction/practice, significantly outperformed the use-a-ten group, which received regular classroom subtraction instruction/practice. Moreover, as indicated by a small, but appreciable, effect size (Cohen, 1992), the structured subtraction group outgained the unstructured-practice group, which received supplemental subtraction practice but not training on how subtraction is related to addition. The unstructured practice group also significantly out performed the use-ten group. For the &quot;subtraction combinations not practiced&quot; by any group, the structured subtraction out gained the other groups at a marginally significant level and with a medium effect size indicative of instructional effectiveness (IES, 2011). The other groups did not differ on the unpracticed subtraction items. The pattern of these results provides evidence of the efficacy of the structured subtraction intervention. Although either structured &quot;or&quot; unstructured supplemental practice is more effective than typical classroom training in promoting fluency with practiced subtraction items, the structured training provided additional benefit over haphazard supplemental practice with such items. (Contains 3 tables.)
Building a Common Research Agenda across Jurisdictions
Author: Riordan, Julie
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Educational Research,Research Projects,Information Dissemination,Research Utilization,Federal Programs,Educational Policy,Theory Practice Relationship,School Districts,Partnerships in Education,Educational Cooperation,Program Descriptions,Trust Responsibility (Government),Regional Programs,Laboratories,Technical Assistance

In an effort to bring more knowledge about &quot;what works&quot; to educational practitioners, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has made significant investments in developing and disseminating focused, rigorous research projects in order to increase the supply of and demand for this research in educational decision making. These efforts built on decades of earlier work by the U.S. Department of Education. Despite this investment, practitioners and policymakers continue to make little use of research findings to drive state, district, school, and classroom decision making. Increasingly, education researchers are voicing concern over the structural division between researchers and practitioners and are looking for new ways to integrate practitioners into the research process. Against this backdrop, IES has developed a new scope of work and awarded contracts in January for its ten Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs). The RELs are now required to engage in long-term research alliances with states, districts, and jurisdictions around a coherent research agenda. While there is significant overlap among RELs in the content areas identified as priorities for their alliances, the RELs have adopted a variety of models for research alliances--multi-district, multi-state, single jurisdiction, and cross-level (state and district combined). The proposed panel will discuss the work of three RELs under the new contract. Each REL will provide a short overview of their alliances and the first year of work underway.
Effects of the Tennessee Voluntary Prekindergarten Program on School Readiness
Author: Lipsey, Mark W.
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Program Effectiveness,School Readiness,Preschool Education,Economically Disadvantaged,Educational Policy,State Policy,Public Education,Longitudinal Studies,Cohort Analysis,Comparative Analysis,Statistical Analysis,Preschool Children,Outcomes of Education,Kindergarten,Interviews,Parent Surveys,Quasiexperimental Design

Relatively few rigorous studies of the effectiveness of contemporary public prekindergarten programs have been conducted despite the growing number of programs and large monetary investments they require. The study on which this presentation is based was launched in partnership with the Tennessee State Department of Education's Division of School Readiness and Early Learning to provide an assessment of the effects of the statewide Tennessee Voluntary Prekindergarten (TN-VPK) program on the readiness for kindergarten of the economically disadvantaged population it serves. Research studies have reported the rapid neurological, cognitive, and social-emotional growth that takes place during the first five years of life and the positive effects of high-quality early childhood educational programs. In recent years, however, TN-VPK has become a controversial program in Tennessee, with some legislators expressing doubts about its value in the context of severe budget shortfalls and still others referring to it even more skeptically as expensive babysitting. This study interleaves a longitudinal randomized control trial (RCT) and an age-cutoff regression discontinuity (RD) design to evaluate the effectiveness of the TN-VPK program. Though the project is still underway, this presentation will summarize results for two cohorts of RCT participants.
Establishing and Sustaining an Effective Pre-Kindergarten Math Intervention at Scale
Author: Klein, Alice
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Mathematics Achievement,Achievement Gap,State Standards,Intervention,Kindergarten,Control Groups,Longitudinal Studies,Emergent Literacy,Academic Standards,Program Effectiveness,Instructional Effectiveness,Mathematics Instruction,Low Income Groups,Minority Group Students,Low Achievement,Student Evaluation,Socioeconomic Background,Socioeconomic Influences,Preschool Education,Public Schools

Educators are increasingly concerned about the low level of mathematics performance of U.S. students on the TIMSS and other international assessments of mathematics (National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008) as well as their insufficient preparation for mathematics standards, such as the Common Core State Standards. Students from low-income and minority backgrounds demonstrate lower levels of mathematics achievement than their peers from more advantaged backgrounds, and there is compelling evidence that this SES-related achievement gap in mathematics emerges prior to school entry. It is also known from a recent meta-analysis of several large longitudinal studies that children's mathematics knowledge in kindergarten is the strongest predictor of their later school achievement--stronger than early literacy knowledge, attention skills, or socioemotional development. If this gap is not addressed early, it persists and increases over time. Thus, it is clear that the acquisition of early mathematics knowledge by all children must be a major educational priority. To address this educational priority, the authors' research group has developed an early mathematics intervention, &quot;Pre-K Mathematics.&quot; With collaborators, the authors have rigorously evaluated it over multiple studies and have found it to be highly effective at improving mathematical knowledge in economically disadvantaged pre-kindergarten children relative to a control group.
Comparing Beginning Teachers' Instructional Quality Growth on Subject-Specific and Global Measures
Author: Neergaard, Laura
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Teacher Effectiveness,Teaching Methods,Classroom Environment,Observation,Educational Change,Beginning Teachers,Classroom Techniques,Comparative Analysis,Pedagogical Content Knowledge,Intellectual Disciplines,Evaluation Methods,Teacher Improvement,Teacher Evaluation,Scoring Rubrics,Standardized Tests,Middle School Teachers,Mathematics Teachers,Teacher Student Relationship,Mathematics Instruction,Lesson Observation Criteria,Measures (Individuals),Federal Programs,Longitudinal Studies,Data Analysis,Evaluation Criteria

Observation measures of instructional quality tend to fall into two broad categories--those for use across subject areas and those intended for use in specific subject areas. The move toward content-specific measures is a result of research suggesting that effective teaching looks different across subject areas and that both content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge are critical for effective teaching. Choosing either across-subject and subject-specific observational evaluation measures has interesting implications for beginning teachers who often struggle with global instructional practices like establishing a positive classroom climate and classroom management, while concurrently implementing rigorous content-area instruction. Despite these challenges, evidence has found that beginning teachers' effectiveness at increasing student achievement improves during the first few years on the job. Yet, no research has examined whether beginning teachers are more likely to show improvement on a content-focused measure or a more general measure or whether improvements on one type of measure are associated with improvements on the other. These questions are important given the emphasis placed on evaluation of teachers' instructional practices as means for improving overall teacher quality. This study will answer the following research questions: (a) To what extent do beginning teachers improve their instructional quality during their first three years of teaching, as measured by a standardized observation measure of global classroom quality, the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), and a subject-specific rubric in mathematics, the Instructional Quality Assessment (IQA)?, and (b) Do teacher instructional quality ratings from the IQA and the CLASS, similarly identify high quality and low quality middle school mathematics teachers during their first three years of teaching? While the teachers' IQA ratings did not change over time, teachers improved on the emotional support and classroom organization dimensions of the CLASS. Findings also show that teachers who exhibit higher levels of emotional support and classroom organization during also rate at higher levels of the math-specific IQA, indicating that teachers with stronger relationship with students and classroom management may be more be likely to employ reform math ideals (Contains 3 figures and 5 tables.)
Teacher Diversity Matters: A State-by-State Analysis of Teachers of Color
Author: Boser, Ulrich
Date: 2011-11-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Race,Alternative Teacher Certification,Whites,Racial Differences,Minority Group Teachers,Diversity (Faculty),Minority Group Students,National Surveys,Job Satisfaction,Teacher Recruitment

At some point over the next 10 to 12 years, the nation's public school student body will have no one clear racial or ethnic majority. In other words, students of color--students who are not classified as non-Hispanic whites, for purposes of this analysis--will constitute more than half of our primary and secondary students. This demographic trend is already manifest in some of the nation's most populous states, including California and Texas, where the majority of students are students of color. Policymakers are increasingly concerned about the relatively low percentages of teachers of color working in the nation's schools. So researchers at the Center for American Progress set out to study this issue, conducting an analysis of the 2008 Schools and Staffing Survey, or SASS, a nationally representative survey of teachers and principals administered every four years by the National Center for Education Statistics. Part of the issue is that teachers of color are more likely to teach in public schools in urban, high-poverty communities, which often receive less than their fair share of school dollars. Teachers of color also are far less satisfied than white teachers with the way in which their school is run. Findings suggest that the nation needs a two-pronged approach to improving teacher diversity. The nation needs to expand high-quality recruitment programs, for starters, with some of this being done through the alternative certification programs mentioned in this article. There is also a need to do more to improve the professional experience of teachers of color. Teacher workforce by state and race is appended. (Contains 1 table and 12 endnotes.)
Data Combination and Instrumental Variables in Linear Models
Author: Khawand, Christopher
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Least Squares Statistics,Labor Supply,Measurement Techniques,Error of Measurement,Data Analysis,Simulation,Economics,Regression (Statistics),Predictor Variables,Quasiexperimental Design,Educational Policy,Policy Analysis

Instrumental variables (IV) methods allow for consistent estimation of causal effects, but suffer from poor finite-sample properties and data availability constraints. IV estimates also tend to have relatively large standard errors, often inhibiting the interpretability of differences between IV and non-IV point estimates. Lastly, instrumental variables' idiosyncratic nature reduces their availability in data sets alongside outcome and other variables of interest. Most prior work on two-sample IV has exploited multiple data sets with the goal of attaining identification. Arellano and Meghir (1992) correspondingly propose a method equivalent to two-sample two-stage least squares (TS2SLS) to identify a model of labor supply. Under the assumption that the different samples utilized are drawn from the same population, these estimators identify parameters of interest consistently. Given its computational convenience and favorable asymptotic properties, the TS2SLS estimator is a natural choice for instrumental variables estimation under data combination. This paper aims to explore the properties and potential applications of data combination, specifically through the lens of the TS2SLS estimator. The paper, in its final form, will demonstrate the finite sample properties of the TS2SLS estimator and provide guidelines to empirical researchers to identify when using auxiliary data through the TS2SLS estimator results in preferable estimates. This will be done analytically in a basic framework where feasible, but more general propositions will be argued through simulation evidence. (Contains 1 table.)