WHY SCIENCE SHOULD GUIDE
EDUCATION PRACTICES AND POLICIES
AND WHY HAS THIS BEEN SO
DIFFICULT
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The Profession Through the Ages
“The history of the profession has never been a particularly
attractive subject in professional education, and one
reason for this is that it is so deplorable a story.
For century after century all the way into the remote
millennia of its origins, the profession got along by sheer
guesswork and the crudest sort of empiricism. It is hard to
conceive of a less scientific enterprise among human
endeavors.
Lewis Thomas (1983)
Cont.
The Profession Through the Ages
Virtually anything that could be thought up for
treatment was tried out at one time or another,
and once tried, lasted decades or even
centuries before giving it up.
It was, in retrospect, the most frivolous and
irresponsible kind of human experimentation,
based on nothing but trial and error, and
usually resulting in precisely that sequence.”
Lewis Thomas (1983)
Why Scientific Research
Is Critical To Instruction
Essential for identifying effective
instructional practices
Provides reliable information about
what works and why and how it works
Essential for designing new effective
teaching methods
Alternatives To
Research-Based Instruction
ANECDOTES
UNTESTED BELIEFS ABOUT
TEACHING AND LEARNING
FADS, QUICK FIXES, AND APPEALS
TO AUTHORITY
STUDENT FAILURE
EXAMPLES OF FLAWED
ASSUMPTIONS
•
Learning to Read is a Natural Process (Goodman,
1967; Smith, 1973; 1977)
• Basic Reading Skills (PA, Alphabetic Principle,
Spelling,) Should be Taught Only On An “As
Needed” Basis
• Reading Is the Construction of Meaning Where the
Emphasis Should Be Placed on Comprehension
• Teachers Should Guide Rather Than Teach Directly
• Phonics Instruction Can Be Harmful
WHY DO FLAWED ASSUMPTIONS
REMAIN POPULAR DESPITE READING
FAILURE?
• Related to Perceptions of Teacher Empowerment
• Beliefs In Child-Centered Approaches to Learning
Where Students Construct Knowledge Individually
• The Belief That Instructional Effectiveness Linked to
Objective Measurement of Reading Outcomes Was
“Unauthentic” and Irrelevant
• The Goal of Reading Instruction Is to Promote a Love
of Reading, Not the Ability to Read
What does the Scientific Evidence tell us
about these assumptions?
• Learning To Read Is Not a Natural Process
• Learning To Read Requires the Development of
An Integrated Array of Complex Skills
• Reading Instruction Must be Provided
Systematically, Particularly For Students Who
Are At-Risk For Reading Failure
• Teacher Knowledge of Reading Development and
Reading Instruction is Essential
Scientific Quality & Rigor
-
A STUDY IS DEEMED TO BE “SCIENTIFIC”
WHEN:
• There is a clear set of testable questions underlying the
design;
• The research design and methods are appropriate to
answer the questions and falsify competing hypotheses
and answers;
• The study is explicitly linked to theory and previous
research;
• The data are analyzed systematically and with the
appropriate tools;
• The data are made available for review and criticism.
NICHD Multidisciplinary Research
Program:
Fundamental Scientific Questions
1. How Do Children and Adults Learn Language,
Reading, and Mathematics?
2. Why do Some Children and Adults Have
Difficulties Learning Language, Reading, and
Mathematics?
3. Which Instructional Interactions, Methods, and
Strategies Are Most Beneficial For Which
Students Within Which Content Domain ?
WHAT DO KIDS NEED TO
KNOW TO READ?
A HECK OF A
LOT!
Life Experience
Content Knowledge
Oral Language Skills
Activation of
Prior Knowledge
Knowledge of Language
Structures
Language
Vocabulary
Knowledge about Texts
Cultural Influences
Knowledge
Reading
Comprehension
Fluency
Motivation & Engagement
Prosody
Active Reading Strategies
Monitoring Strategies
Metacognition
Fix-Up Strategies
Automaticity / Rate
Accuracy
Decoding
Florida Reading Initiative
Phonemic Awareness
Major Sources of Reading Failure
• Socioeconomic Factors – Poverty
• Biological Factors – Genetics and Neurobiology
• Program and Instructional Factors
What Can WE Do To
Help Our Kids Learn to
Read?
Early Intervention is Effective
 Prevention studies in
reading (and behavior)
commonly show that
70- 90% of at risk
children (bottom 20%)
in K- 2 can learn to read
in average range.
(Fletcher et al., 2006)
Systematic Instruction
Concepts to teach with an organized logical
sequence:
- Instruction is intentional – not catch as catch
can
– Prerequisite skills mastered before
introducing new concepts
– Progress monitoring is used to guide
differentiated instruction and ensure mastery
– All concepts and skills are integrated and
practiced to ensure comprehensive
understanding and generalization
What Science Tells Us About
Effective Instruction
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
Percentage Point
Gains
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
16%
Individualization
Application
13%
15%
Computerized
Instruction
Tutoring
19%
19%
12%
Mastery Learning
Instructional Media
Creating Effective Schools by Preparing
Effective Instructional Leaders
An instructional leader must ensure the following:
• Evidence-Based Curriculum
• Continuous Evaluation and Accountability
• Challenging Goals for Both Students and
Teachers
• Opportunity to Learn and Sufficient Time for
Instruction
• Parental Involvement
• Safe and Orderly Environment
• Collegiality and Collaboration
Effective Teachers Requires:
• Deep Knowledge of Content and Instructional Skills
• Ability to Plan and Set Specific Goals and Objectives
• Knowledge of Scientifically-Based Curriculum Design
• Knowledge of Research-Based Instructional Methods
• Knowledge of Formative and Summative Assessment
Cont. Effective Teachers
Requires:
• Customizing Instruction for Individual Students
• Classroom Management and Organization
• Motivating and Engaging Students
• A Positive Attitude Towards Teaching
• Ability to Implement and Sustain Programs
Why Effective Leaders and Teachers
are Essential
Avg. Principal
School & Avg.
Teacher
Least Effective
Principal & Least
Effective Teacher
Most Effective
Principal & Least
Effective Teacher
Least Effective
Principal & Most
Effective Teacher
100
90
80
70
60
50
50th percentile
40
30
20
Most Effective
Principal & Avg.
Teacher
Most Effective
Principal & Most
Effective Teacher
10
50%
3%
37%
63%
78%
96%
So if we know all of this, why
is it so darn hard to translate
the research into practice and
policy?
EDUCATION AS ANTI-SCIENCE
• Historical Resistance to a Research-Driven Field
• Teaching as a Low Status Occupation
• “Women’s Work” – Nurturing More Important
than Teaching Skills
• Teaching was a “genetically Endowed Affective
Ability”
Cont. EDUCATION AS ANTI-SCIENCE
• The Influence of Postmodernism – “Truth is in
the Eye of the Beholder”
• Cause and Effect Principles do not Exist
• Scientific Methods to Determine Cause and
Effect were Useless
• Many Colleges of Education Remain Wedded to
Anti-Scientific Perspectives
• Experience Valued Above Use of Scientific
Research
Uneven Quality of Educational
Research
• SUPERFICIAL
• LACKING IN RIGOR
• EMPHASIZES BREADTH OVER DEPTH
• BASED ON IDEOLOGY RATHER THAN
• SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES
• INACCURATE (WRONG DESIGN AND
METHODS)
Levine (2005, 2006)
UNEVEN QUALITY IS HISTORICAL,
PERSISTENT, AND INTERNATIONAL
• “Much educational research is badly done, amateurish,
gimmicky….” (Nisbet, 1974) – President of the British
Educational research Association
• “Schools of education chronically allow graduate students
tom matriculate with weak research skills – it seems that
any student who persists long enough can get a degree as
a researcher” (Cohen, 2004 – U. of Michigan)
• “I haven’t seen any movement in our field to deal with it…It
troubles me deeply that so few of my colleagues seem to
take it seriously (Cohen, 2004)
LIMITED DEMAND FOR SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH IN EDUCATION
• Limited Trustworthiness – Practitioners have
little confidence in research because of fads,
inconsistent results, “magic bullets”etc.
• Limited Usability – Research frequently reported
to be irrelevant to practice, too theoretical, and
presented in an incomprehensible manner
• Limited Accessibility – Difficulty obtaining
research findings that are relevant and
comprehensible.
• Limited Respect – Trivial - “Research can say
anything you want it to say”;
TEACHERS AS MARGINALIZED
CONSUMERS
• Teachers (and administrators) provided little
background in what constitutes valid research
• Less than one third of instructional practices in
reading based on scientific findings (Kennedy)
• Only 56% of administrators at the doctoral level
found their research courses to be valuable
LIMITATIONS IN DISSEMINATION OF
VALID RESEARCH FINDINGS
• National Diffusion Network – No requirement for
formal peer-reviewed and externally validated
“promising practices”
• ERIC - Until recently, “promising practices” selected
through a nominating process without regard for
scientific effectiveness studies
• No common criteria for evaluating the quality of
evidence
• Information Overload – 334,647 abstracts entered
into ERIC between 1991 and 2001.
THE IMPLEMENTATION PROBLEM:
We ignore the necessary but not sufficient
Rule!
NO MATTER HOW EVIDENCE-BASED A
PROGRAM, METHOD OR STRATEGY IS, IT WILL
FAIL UNLESS:
• Teachers know their stuff
• Building level instructional leadership is strong
• Professional Development is systematic and
sustained
• A common assessment and instructional
language is used
• Teachers have time to collaborate
THE IMPLEMENTATION PROBLEM
CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH EVIDENCE-BASED
PRACTICES ARE IMPLEMENTED WITH
FIDELITY:
• Realistic expectations of time involved in
implementation
• Sufficient scaffolding so teachers understand steps
• Sufficient professional development
• Commitment of support for and by school
administration and instructional leadership
• Commitment to form and function of the innovation
As little as 25% of teachers are interested in successful
implementation.
THE POLICY TAIL WAGGING THE
RESEARCH DOG
Our strategy to change that:
• Elevate critical importance of reading proficiency
(1991-2005)
• Stress negative consequences of reading failure
(1996-2005)
• “Reading Failure is not only an educational problem
it is a public health problem”
(1996 0 2005)
• Congressional testimony to gain support for SBR
(1997-2005)
Cont. THE POLICY TAIL WAGGING THE
RESEARCH DOG
• Development and funding for the Reading
Excellence Act (1998)
• Development and funding for NRC and NRP
• Reading First legislation (2001)
• Partnership for Reading(2001)
• What Works Clearing House (2001)
• NRC Report on Scientific Research in
Education (2002)
• Education Sciences Reform Act – IES (2002)
Ideological & Political Pushback
• Ad hominem attacks against individuals
• Concerted attacks against policy and evidencebased practice
• Federal politicization of Reading First
• Unsubstantiated allegations
• Greed
• A faltering of grass roots support for SBRR
Can Research Ever Guide Policy &
Practice? THE JURY IS STILL OUT
WHAT WILL IT TAKE?:
• Accountability in teacher and administrator
preparation;
• Instructional leadership;
• Policies to ensure the continued development of
and implementation of research-based programs
and materials;
• Increased research on implementation factors;
• A concerted voice from the educational
community;
• Courage!!
In 1997, United
States
Congress
National Institute of
Child Health and
Human Development &
U.S. Department of
Education
Report of the
National Reading
Panel
Prevent disabilities through effective
instruction
www.guilford.com
www.nasdse.org
jackfletcher@uh.edu
www.guilford.com
Thank you!
www.ReidLyon.com