Research Into Practice: The Push for Usability
Abstract
This four-part series examines the movement to make education research more "usable" and explores current efforts to connect the worlds of research and practice. The series highlights a number of reform efforts going on throughout the country including those of some LSCs.Part one of the series, "Scholars Aim to Connect Studies to Schools' Needs," looks at why this "disconnect" between research and practice exists, what the efforts are being made to bridge them, and how compatible these efforts are with national efforts pushing to make studies more "scientific." The second part, entitled "Physics Studies Yield Teaching Benefits," addresses how research in this field has produced "usable" information for classroom teachers. Part three, "R.I. District Focuses on Research-Based 'Common Language,'" discusses the efforts of researcher Lauren B. Resnick and her colleagues to weave years of cognitive science research into the Providence city schools and classrooms. Next week, look for the fourth and concluding part in this series which will focus on reform efforts in Chicago.
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