ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Estimating the Variance of Design Parameters
Author: Hedberg, E. C.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Randomized Controlled Trials,Hierarchical Linear Modeling,Correlation,Computation,Sampling,Models,Research Design,Statistical Analysis

Randomized experiments are generally considered to provide the strongest basis for causal inferences about cause and effect. Consequently randomized field trials have been increasingly used to evaluate the effects of education interventions, products, and services. Populations of interest in education are often hierarchically structured (such as students nested within classrooms, nested within schools, nested within school districts). The sampling designs used in educational experiments often exploit this hierarchical structure by sampling entire intact units (such as schools or classrooms). The two most frequently used designs in education field experiments are variants of two designs: The hierarchical design or the (generalized) randomized block design. The purpose of this paper is to consider estimators of the treatment effect heterogeneity parameters and their sampling distributions. In addition, the estimation and sampling distributions of intraclass correlations are also reviewed. This research should be of interest to investigators who wish to report empirical estimates of treatment effect heterogeneity parameters (and their uncertainties) from individual experiments or larger datasets.
Blended Interaction for Augmented Learning--An Assistive Tool for Cognitive Disability
Author: Deb, Suman
Date: 2015-10-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Intellectual Disability,Computer Assisted Instruction,Assistive Technology,Play,Interactive Video,Cognitive Mapping,Artificial Intelligence,Children

The fundamental right of education and employment for cognitive disable person is recognized in very recent times. With the advent of technology there have been many interactive way to combat with the challenges of disability and provide supplement training for enabling the challenged person with the skill of employability, so that they can individually lead the normal life without depending on others. In this work we try to identify the problem faced by cognitively week people and find appropriate solution by introducing computer aided interaction. We proposed a platform to blend audio and depth vision for augmented learning. The primary goal of this work is to create a play way teaching environment for individuals with learning disability so that the enhanced method help them for elementary education and provide self-confidence and motivation and encourage for continuous learning. While implementing, the system has shown significant improvement on learning by a range of people including learning challenged and normal kinder garden kids. The augmented method proposed here can be added advantage with the concept of visual teaching, live experience and reactive and pro-active mechanism rather than reading static content from book. This will also involve the physical movement with precise control that can lead to motivated control of limbs by any neuro motor disability effected person. [For the full proceedings, see ED562093.]
Evidence Clearinghouses and Registries: Methods for Locating and Including Studies in Evidence Syntheses
Author: Foster, Lisa
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Clearinghouses,Evidence Based Practice,Search Strategies,Identification,Information Retrieval,Research Reports,Synthesis

The purpose of this investigation is to report about study identification practices across evidence-based registries and clearinghouses in social policy fields, which serve as a resource for scientific, evidence-based decision-making about practices about desired outcomes in these social policy fields. The information retrieval procedures of the What Works Clearinghouse will be described in detail. Using the general study identification and search procedures for the WWC and other evidence-based repositories, the presenters will highlight how differences in comprehensiveness and transparency can result in different studies available for review and synthesis. Study identification practices from eight evidence registries will be analyzed and reported. The registries to be included are: (1) Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development, (2) the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse (CEBC), (3) the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, (4) CrimeSolutions.Gov, (5) National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP), (6) the Promising Practices Network (PPN), (7) What Works in ReEntry, and (8) What Works Clearinghouse (WWC). A table provides a summary of the general study identification practices for the evidence-based repositories included in this investigation. It was found that among these eight registries, four use literature reviews, three use nominations, and one uses a combination of literature reviews and nominations for study identification. Four registries conduct searches for studies by topic area or outcome; and four registries conduct searches by programs or interventions, and then apply study appraisal guidelines. Three registries specify that publications must be in English in a peer-reviewed journal or other professional publication, or comprehensive evaluation report (Crimesolutions.gov, National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices, and What Works Clearinghouse). One registry specifies studies must be in peer-reviewed journals (California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse). Unpublished studies may be considered by Blueprints, the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, and the Promising Practices Network (if publicly available).
Collaborative Problem Solving in Shared Space
Author: Lin, Lin
Date: 2015-10-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Cooperation,Problem Solving,Technology Uses in Education,Educational Technology,College Students,Time Management,Performance,Cooperative Learning,Teacher Education Programs,Verbal Ability,Likert Scales,Statistical Analysis,Computer Mediated Communication,Multivariate Analysis

The purpose of this study was to examine collaborative problem solving in a shared virtual space. The main question asked was: How will the performance and processes differ between collaborative problem solvers and independent problem solvers over time? A total of 104 university students (63 female and 41 male) participated in an experimental study. Participants were randomly assigned to four different experimental groups: individual &amp; multi-tasking, collaborative &amp; multi-tasking, individual &amp; single-tasking, and collaborative &amp; single-tasking. Results showed that the participants who collaborated and had multi-tasking activities outperformed the others. Additionally, collaboration helped to improve overall performance over time. The study offers insights for collaborative learning from both theoretical and methodological perspectives. [For the full proceedings, see ED562093.]
Fostering 21st Century Skills through Game Design and Development
Author: Garvey, Gregory P.
Date: 2015-10-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Educational Games,Design,Critical Thinking,Creative Thinking,Problem Solving,Abstract Reasoning,Narration,Story Telling,Mathematics Skills,Interpersonal Competence,Active Learning

This reflection paper argues that the design and development of digital games teach essential 21st century skills. Intrinsic to application and game development is design thinking. Design thinking requires iterative development, which demands creativity, critical thinking and problem solving. Students are engaged through learning by doing in both concrete and at the same time in abstract thinking. Application and game design requires systems thinking that gives context and meaning to narrative and story telling. A deep understanding of information, media (visual, auditory and performative) and technology coupled to mathematical skills is a prerequisite to success in this domain. Application and game development requires social intelligence and interpersonal skills for working in diverse teams where communication and collaboration is essential. Finally game design requires knowing oneself as a designer but also knowing and understanding perception, psychology and cognition of the user and the player. [For the full proceedings, see ED562093.]
A Social Networks in Education
Author: Klimova, Blanka
Date: 2015-10-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Social Networks,Technology Uses in Education,Educational Technology,Social Media,Computer Mediated Communication,Teaching Methods

At present social networks are becoming important in all areas of human activities. They are simply part and parcel of everyday life. They are mostly used for advertising, but they have already found their way into education. The future potential of social networks is high as it can be seen from their statistics on a daily, monthly or yearly increase in the number of their users. The purpose of this article is to provide a short description of the concept of social network and its classification according to the way how they function or their main purpose. In addition, the authors discuss two main approaches to teaching and the educational theories out of which connectivism is the first theory which takes into account the existence of computer networks and considers all knowledge and abilities as a result of mutual interconnection of information and people. Thus, it is the theory which enabled the implementation of ICT into education and has completely changed the traditional teaching and learning. In conclusion, the authors also explore a few already existing educational social network sites and their benefits for education. [For the full proceedings, see ED562093.]
Effects of Interim Assessments on the Achievement Gap: Evidence from an Experiment
Author: Konstantopoulos, Spyros
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Accountability,Academic Achievement,Achievement Gap,Mathematics Achievement,Reading Achievement,Regression (Statistics),School Closing,School Effectiveness,Intervention,Control Groups,Statistical Significance,Program Descriptions,Program Effectiveness,Achievement Tests,Elementary School Students,Middle School Students

Motivated by the passage of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, all states operate accountability systems that measure and report school and student performance annually. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of interim assessments on the achievement gap. The authors examine the impact of interim assessments throughout the distribution of student achievement with a focus on the lower tail of the achievement distribution. Specifically, they investigated the effects of two interim assessment programs (i.e., &quot;mCLASS&quot; and &quot;Acuity&quot;) on mathematics and reading achievement for high- median- and low-achievers. They use data from a large-scale experiment conducted in the state of Indiana in the 2009-2010 school year. Quantile regression is used to analyze student data. The study was a large-scale experiment conducted in Indiana during the 2009-2010 academic year and included K-8 public schools that had volunteered to participate in the intervention in the spring of 2009. From a stratified (by school urbanicity) pool of 116 schools the authors randomly selected 70 schools. Ten of the 70 schools had used one or both assessment programs the prior year and were excluded from the pool. Two other schools closed and another school did not provide any student data. Thus, the final sample included 57 schools, 35 in treatment and 22 in control condition. Overall, nearly 20,000 students participated in the study during the 2009-2010 school year. The design was a two-level cluster randomized design. Students were nested within schools, and schools were nested within treatment and control conditions. Schools were randomly assigned to a treatment (interim assessment) or a control condition. The schools in the treatment condition received &quot;mCLASS&quot; and &quot;Acuity&quot;, and the training associated with each program. The control schools operated under business-as-usual conditions. Overall, the findings suggest that the treatment effect was positive, but not consistently significant across all grades. Significant treatment estimates were observed in the grade 3-8 analysis in mathematics. The estimates were typically larger for low-achievers and in some cases significant. These results are consistent in terms of the sign of the effect (i.e., positive), but inconsistent in terms of statistical significance. The authors observed positive, statistically significant effects for grades 3-8 especially in mathematics. It seems that &quot;Acuity&quot; affected mathematics and reading achievement positively and in some instances considerably in grades 3-6.
Effects of Quality of Instruction on Student Vocabulary and Comprehension during Read Alouds
Author: Baker, Doris Luft
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Instructional Effectiveness,Vocabulary,Reading Aloud to Others,Reading Comprehension,Listening Comprehension,Elementary School Students,Grade 1,Elementary School Teachers,Intervention,Statistical Analysis,Reading Tests,Direct Instruction,Reading Instruction,Observation,Pretests Posttests

Reading aloud to students in preschool and the early grades is ubiquitous in American classrooms and considerable research has been conducted on read aloud practices (Karweit &amp; Wasik, 1996; Morrow &amp; Brittain, 2003; Van Kleeck, Stahl, &amp; Bauer, 2003; Varelas &amp; Pappas, 2006; Wilkinson &amp; Silliman, 2000). Compelling evidence indicates that explicit instruction has a positive impact on a range of student academic outcomes, particularly for students who are at-risk for academic difficulties (Gersten, 1998; Swanson &amp; Hoskyn, 1998; Vaughn, Gersten, &amp; Chard, 2000). The purpose of this study is to examine the interaction effect of the quality of instructional delivery on student vocabulary and reading comprehension. In order to create and sustain gains in comprehension, the intervention focused on teaching students how to use the same sorts of strategies to comprehend text when their teachers read to them in first grade that they could use to read text on their own. A total of 39 first-grade classrooms from 12 schools in the Mid-Atlantic region were randomly assigned to an intervention or comparison condition. The read aloud intervention consisted of 12 narrative books and 12 expository books related to animals and taught over a period of 19 weeks. The findings from the study suggest that the effect of read alouds in first grade depend on the delivery of instruction. Instructional quality in the context of this study was defined as teacher ability to deliver an explicit instruction with fidelity. This finding is important given the current pressure teachers face to improve student outcomes.
City Connects: Building an Argument for Effects on Student Achievement with a Quasi-Experimental Design
Author: Walsh, Mary
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Quasiexperimental Design,Intervention,Elementary School Students,Urban Schools,Low Income Students,Longitudinal Studies,Program Effectiveness,Hierarchical Linear Modeling,Regression (Statistics)

While randomized experimental designs are the gold standard in education research concerned with causal inference, non-experimental designs are ubiquitous. For researchers who work with non-experimental data and are no less concerned for causal inference, the major problem is potential omitted variable bias. In this presentation, the authors provide an overview of a multi-year effort for the evaluation of a large-scale, school-based intervention for which a randomized design has not yet been possible to implement, but for which there are rich, longitudinal data and many opportunities to exploit design features to ask: does the intervention promote the achievement of children in high-poverty, urban schools? City Connects is a student support intervention that has demonstrated positive outcomes for elementary and middle school students. It is designed to address the out-of-school needs that can impact success in school for low-income, urban students. Having observed positive outcomes on academic achievement for students attending City Connects schools via quasi-experimental methods the authors sought to assess whether the findings can be considered a result of the intervention. In conclusion, the authors recommended that other school-based interventions that cannot feasibly use a randomized control design instead employ a range of methods aimed at reducing endogeneity and getting closer to understanding whether a causal relationship might exist between the intervention and its outcomes. Tables and Figures are appended.
Estimating Impacts on Students, Teachers, and Schools of Programs Targeted for Preschool through Transition to College--Lessons for Methodologists from the Designs of 117 Evaluations Being Conducted in the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) Grant Program.
Author: Price, Cristofer
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Intervention,Program Evaluation,Evaluation Methods,Grants,Preschool Education,Elementary Secondary Education,Higher Education,Evaluation Problems

When presenting results from rigorous, field-based evaluations of educational interventions, researchers often reveal methodological barriers they face in designing studies to assessing program effectiveness. The evaluations funded by the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) present a timely opportunity for identifying relevant and pressing issues arising in current education evaluations. With over $1 billion dollars invested in the implementation and evaluation of 117 education interventions, the i3 program represents a major investment by the U.S. Department of Education in educational interventions that will both serve students, teachers and schools, and generate evidence about intervention effectiveness. The breadth and number of i3 evaluations provides a unique opportunity to learn about the features of, and challenges encountered in, the design and implementation of the evaluations. Researchers from the National Evaluation of i3 (NEi3) are in a unique position to describe and summarize the barriers to high quality research the i3 evaluators face. The following research questions are explored in this study: (1) What designs are being used to evaluate the i3 interventions? (2) How has the choice of design varied by: Grant type (development, validation, and scaleup); intervention target ages/grades (e.g., pre-school interventions, elementary, middle, high school, transition to college); intervention target outcome domains (e.g., ELA, math, science, arts achievement, socio-emotional; behavior regulation; GPA, credits, attendance, course taking, FAFSA completion)? and (3) What are the threats to causal inference that most commonly arise in the design and implementation of the i3 evaluations?
Evaluation of the Teacher Incentive Fund: Implementation and Early Impacts of Pay-for-Performance after One Year
Author: Max, Jeffrey
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Merit Pay,Incentives,Grants,Federal Aid,Program Effectiveness,School Districts,Institutional Characteristics,Program Implementation,Principals,Teacher Characteristics,Administrator Characteristics,Teacher Attitudes,Administrator Attitudes,Elementary School Teachers,Science Teachers,Grade 1,Grade 4,Grade 7,Middle School Teachers

Recent efforts to attract and retain effective educators and to improve teaching practices have focused on reforming evaluation and compensation systems for teachers and principals. In 2006, Congress established the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), which provides grants to support performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals in high-need schools. The incentives and support offered through TIF grants aim to improve student achievement by improving educator effectiveness and the quality of the teacher workforce. The number of TIF grants funded by the U.S. Department of Education grew significantly in 2010, with 62 grants awarded that year compared to 16 grants in 2006 and 18 in 2007. As part of the additional funding used to support these grants, Congress required a rigorous evaluation of the 2010 TIF grantees. The purpose of the multiyear study is to describe the program characteristics and implementation experiences of all 2010 TIF grantees and estimate the impact of pay-for-performance bonuses within a well-implemented performance-based compensation system for evaluation grantees. Because educators' understanding of and responses to this policy can change over time, this study plans to follow the grantees for the duration of the five-year grants. This report addresses two research questions: (1) What are the characteristics of all TIF grantee districts and their performance-based compensation systems? What implementation experiences and challenges did TIF districts encounter? and (2) How do teachers and principals in schools that did or did not offer pay-for-performance bonuses compare on key dimensions, including their understanding of TIF program features, exposure to TIF-funded activities, allocation of time, and attitudes toward teaching and the TIF program? Tables and figures are appended.
Development of Critical Thinking Self-Assessment System Using Wearable Device
Author: Gotoh, Yasushi
Date: 2015-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Critical Thinking,Self Evaluation (Individuals),Handheld Devices,Metacognition,Scoring Rubrics,Video Technology,Problem Solving,Computer Uses in Education,Elementary School Students,Junior High School Students,High School Students,College Students,Foreign Countries

In this research the author defines critical thinking as skills and dispositions which enable one to solve problems logically and to attempt to reflect autonomously by means of meta-cognitive activities on one's own problem-solving processes. The author focuses on providing meta-cognitive knowledge to help with self-assessment. To develop students' critical thinking, it is important for students to be able to use critical thinking rubric and assess themselves. Critical thinking self-assessment system has three components, video recording system using a wearable device, critical thinking rubric and meta-cognitive activities. [For the full proceedings, see ED562093.]