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Connecting Research,Policy and Practice

Kristen Rhoads, Ph.D.National Center for Special Education Research

Presentation to Single-Case Intervention Design and Analysis InstituteMadison, WI

Kristen.Rhoads@ed.gov

Single Case Designs and IES

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Organizational Structure of IES

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National Board for Education Sciences

Standards & Review Office

Office of the Director

National Center for Education

Evaluation

National Center for Education

Statistics

National Center for Education

Research

National Center for Special Education Research

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IES Grant Programs: Research Objectives

• Develop or identify education interventions (practices, programs, policies, and approaches)– that enhance academic achievement– that can be widely deployed

• Identify what does not work and thereby encourage innovation and further research

• Understand the processes that underlie the effectiveness of education interventions and the variation in their effectiveness

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Recent SCD Efforts at IES

• What Works Clearinghouse SCD Study Design Standards (http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/)

• Methodological research grants focused on SCD• Technical Work Group on SCD• Increased focus on SCD in recent Request for

Applications• Technical papers on SCD (in progress)• SCD Summer Training Institute

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IES Goals for SCD Summer Training Institute

• Build national capacity for conducting SCD

• Improve the quality and scientific credibility of SCD

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FY 2015 Research Grant Programs

• Education Research Programs (84.305A)

• Special Education Research Programs (84.324A)

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Education Research Topics (84.305A)

• Cognition and Student Learning• Early Learning Programs and Policies• Education Technology• Effective Teachers & Effective Teaching• English Learners• Improving Education Systems: Policies, Organization,

Management, and Leadership• Mathematics and Science Education• Postsecondary and Adult Education• Reading and Writing• Social and Behavioral Context for Academic Learning

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Special Education Research Topics (84.324A)

• Autism Spectrum Disorders• Cognition and Student Learning in Special Education• Early Intervention and Early Learning in Special Education• Families of Children with Disabilities• Mathematics and Science Education• Professional Development for Teachers and Related Service Providers• Reading, Writing, and Language Development• Social and Behavioral Outcomes to Support Learning• Special Education Policy, Finance, and Systems• Technology for Special Education• Transition Outcomes for Secondary Students with Disabilities

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Research Goals

• Exploration • Development & Innovation• Efficacy & Replication• Effectiveness• Measurement

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IES Grant Programs: Research Objectives

• Develop or identify education interventions (practices, programs, policies, and approaches)– that enhance academic achievement– that can be widely deployed

Development (Iterative development process, promise evaluation)

Efficacy (Efficacy testing, Complement group design)Effectiveness (Complement group design)

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IES Grant Programs: Research Objectives

• Identify what does not work and thereby encourage innovation and further research

Efficacy (Efficacy testing, Complement group design)Effectiveness (Complement group design)

Development (Iterative development process, promise evaluation)

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IES Grant Programs: Research Objectives

• Understand the processes that underlie the effectiveness of education interventions and the variation in their effectiveness

Efficacy (Efficacy testing, Complement group design)Effectiveness (Complement group design)Exploration (Complement research design, meta-analytic work that includes SCDs)

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Research Training Program in Special Education: Early Career Development and Mentoring (84.324B)

• Develop and maintain a strong cadre of independent researchers addressing the needs of infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities, and their families and teachers

• Support for an integrated research and career development plan for investigators in the early stages of their academic careers

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Statistical & Research Methodology in Education (84.305D)

• Research projects intended to expand and improve the methodological and statistical tools available for education researchers

• These tools will be used to improve the design of research studies, analysis of research data, and interpretation of research findings

• The topic has an early career option.

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Reviewer Comments:The Good

• The combined use of SCD and group design is innovative and arguably will provide richer information on the response of students as they progress through the intervention.

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Reviewer Comments:The Bad

• There are insufficient details to determine if the study meets the WWC standards.

• Lack of information about:– Sample identification, selection, and number of cases– Settings– Number of data points per phase– Establishing baseline– Measures, data collection, and analysis, including

coding and determining inter-rater reliability

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Reviewer Comments:The Ugly

• Further justification for the design is needed.• The link between the design and research

questions needs to be clearer. It’s not clear how the design will answer the research questions.

• The design does not match the intervention or proposed hypotheses.

• There appears to be little expertise in single-case design on the research team.

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Questions?

Kristen.Rhoads@ed.gov