NCER What's New

NCER Announces FY 2008 Awards

3/26/2008

NCER made a series of new research program grant awards in March. This list of awards is for cycle I only and is as follows:

COGNITION & STUDENT LEARNING
Guided Cognition for Unsupervised Learning of Mathematics
Fordham University, William Whitten

Improving Children's Numerical Understanding
Carnegie Mellon University, Robert Siegler

Efficacy of Earobics Step I in English Language Learners and Low SES Minority Children
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Jason Anthony

The Diagnostic Geometry Assessment Project
Boston College, Michael Russell

EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS AND PRACTICES
Closing the SES Related Gap in Young Children's Mathematical Knowledge
University of California, Prentice Starkey

Increasing the Efficacy of an Early Mathematics Curriculum with Scaffolding Designed to Promote Self-Regulation
State University of New York at Buffalo, Doug Clements

EDUCATION POLICY, FINANCE, AND SYSTEMS
Catholic School Prices, Private School Attendance, and Student Outcomes
National Bureau of Economic Research, Susan Dynarsky

Creating an Integrated Resource Information System to Assess Student, Teacher, Classroom, and School Effects on Value-Added Student Learning Gains and to Support More Cost-Effective Budgeting
University of Wisconsin, Robert Meyer

EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Studying the Potential of Virtual Performance Assessments for Measuring Student Achievement in Science
Harvard University, Christopher Dede

HIGH SCHOOL REFORM
The Consequences for High School Students of Failing State Exit Exams: Evidence from Massachussetts
Harvard University, Richard Murnane

A Curriculum Engagement: Micro-process Interventions in Middle and High School to Improve Attendance, Behavior, Achievement and Grade Promotion for At-Risk Ninth Graders
Johns Hopkins University, Nettie Legters

MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE EDUCATION
A Longitudinal Study of Gender and Mathematics Using ECLS-K Data
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Sarah Lubienski

Bringing Cognitive Tutors to the Internet: A Website that Helps Middle-School Students Learn Math
Carnegie Mellon University, Vincent Aleven

A Randomized Controlled Study of the Effects of Intelligent Online Chemistry Tutors in Urban California School Districts
WestEd, Steven Schneider

Early Learning in Mathematics: Efficacy in Kindergarten Classrooms
Pacific Institutes for Research, Scott Baker

Multilevel Assessments of Science Standards (MASS)
WestEd, E

IES releases RFAs for two NCER FY 2009 research and research training grant competitions: Education Research Training Grants (84.305B) and Education Research and Development Center Grants (84.305C)

3/20/2008

IES has released funding announcements for two NCER FY 2009 research and research training grant competitions: Education Research Training Grants (84.305B) and Education Research and Development Center Grants (84.305C).

New NCER FY2009 Competition on Evaluating State and Local Education Programs and Policies

3/12/2008

Through its new research program in Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs and Policies (84.305E), the Institute will provide support for rigorous evaluations of state or local education programs or policies implemented by State or local education agencies. The deadline for this program is October 2, 2008. The Requests for Applications are available at http://ies.ed.gov/ncer/funding/ .

IES Workshop on Evaluating State and District Level Interventions

3/12/2008

The Institute of Education Sciences will sponsor a one-day workshop on evaluating state- and district-level interventions. The purpose of the workshop is to help states and districts plan and design rigorous evaluations of their policies and programs. The workshop will provide an overview of quasi-experimental and experimental evaluation designs, with a focus on state-level and district-level design issues.

IES releases RFAs for three NCER FY 2009 research grant competitions: Education Research program (84.305A), Statistical and Research Methodology in Education (84.305D), and Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs and Policies (84.305E)

2/29/2008

IES has released funding announcements for three NCER FY 2009 research grant competitions: Education Research program (84.305A), Statistical and Research Methodology in Education (84.305D), and Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs and Policies (84.305E). The Requests for Applications are available at http://ies.ed.gov/ncer/funding/.

The Education Research program (84.305A) covers a broad range of topics and the application deadlines are: June 26, 2008 and October 2, 2008. New this year are the research programs in Statistical and Research Methodology in Education (84.305D) and Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs and Policies (84.305E). Through the grant program on Statistical and Research Methodology in Education, IES will provide support for research to advance education research methodologies and statistical analyses. The deadline for this program is June 26, 2008. Through the research program in Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs and Policies, the Institute will provide support for rigorous evaluations of state or local education programs or policies implemented by State or local education agencies. The deadline for this program is October 2, 2008.

Summer Research Training Institute: Cluster-Randomized Trials

1/30/2008

Information on the Research Training Institute on Cluster-Randomized Trials is now available. The Training Institute is sponsored by Northwestern University, with grant support from the Institute of Education Sciences. The purpose of the Training Institute is to increase the national capacity of researchers to develop and conduct rigorous evaluations of the effectiveness of education interventions.

IES 2007 Research Training Institute On Cluster Randomized Trials Presentations Available Online

1/24/2008

The National Center for Education Research, one of four Centers within the Institute of Education Sciences, organized and provided financial support for the first IES Summer Research Training Institute. The 2007 Training Institute was held at the Wyatt Center at Peabody College on the campus of Vanderbilt University. The faculty consisted of leading researchers, with extensive experience in statistical analysis and implementation of cluster randomized trials. The course sessions provided intensive training on planning, implementing and analyzing data from a cluster randomized trial in education. The course sessions were videotaped and a subset of the presentations are now available online. Interested researchers can access the PowerPoint presentations, and the videotaped sessions using the link provided here.

Save the Date--IES Research Training Institute: Cluster-Randomized Trials

1/22/2008

The National Center for Education Research (NCER) in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U. S. Department of Education announces its second Research Training Institute on Cluster-Randomized Trials to increase the national capacity of researchers to develop and conduct rigorous evaluations of the effectiveness of education interventions. The training will be held July 6 – 18, 2008 at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. Application information will be available on the IES website by late January.

IES releases two RFPs for developing and evaluating education technology through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program

12/14/2007

IES has released two solicitations for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, one for Phase I proposals and another for Fast-Track (Phase I and II) proposals. The submission deadline for all proposals is January 22, 2008. The Phase I period is for: 1) the development of a prototype of an education technology product that contributes to improved student learning and academic achievement, and 2) research to determine the feasibility of the prototype in a school or other formal education delivery setting. Phase I awards are for 6-months, and up to $100,000. Through the Fast-Track option, IES plans to fund meritorious proposals for activities that cover both the Phase I and Phase II periods, including the: 1) full scale development of an education technology product that contributes to improved student learning and academic achievement in the field of education, 2) evaluation of the product in a school or other formal education delivery settings, and 3) private sector commercialization of the product. By providing funds for the Phase I period (6 months, up to $100,000) and an option for Phase II (2 years, up to $750,000), which will commence as soon as Phase I ends, the Fast-Track mechanism has the potential to eliminate a funding gap between the phases. NOTE: In order to apply for Fast-Track funding, offerors must submit both 1) a full Phase I proposal and 2) a Fast-Track proposal. Fast-Track proposals that are submitted without a Phase I proposal will not be evaluated. Both The Phase I RFP and the Fast-Track RFP are available on the SBIR funding homepage.

NCER Grantee Receives 2007 Purves Award

11/15/2007

Carol Booth Olson, one of NCER's Teacher Quality grantees, has been awarded the 2007 Alan C. Purves Award by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Olson, director of the University of California-Irvine Writing Project, was selected for her article with Robert Land titled "A Cognitive Strategies Approach to Reading and Writing Instruction for English Language Learners in Secondary School," which was published in the journal Research in the Teaching of English. The Purves Award recognized Olson's article as "most likely to have a significant impact on teachers' understanding of literacy learning and/or teaching." Olson and Land's research was funded by the U.S Department of Education Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA). With a new 2.9 million dollar grant from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), they are currently implementing a randomized field trial designed to test the efficacy of the cognitive strategies approach. The award will be presented Saturday in New York City.

IES grantee Carol McDonald Connor has received a 2006 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)

11/5/2007

IES grantee Carol McDonald Connor has received a 2006 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), "the nation’s highest honor for professionals at the outset of their independent scientific research careers."

NCER Releases Two New Practice Guides: Encouraging Girls in Math and Science and Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning

9/28/2007

Encouraging Girls in Math and Science is the second in a series of IES guides in education; Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning is the third IES Practice Guide. Developed by a panel of experts, Encouraging Girls in Math and Science brings together the best available evidence and expertise to provide educators with specific and coherent evidence-based recommendations on how to encourage girls in the fields of math and science. is the third IES Practice Guide. Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning reflects an expert panel's consensus on some of the most important principles to emerge from research on learning and memory.

The FY2008 IES Education Research Request for Applications for the National Research and Development Center Grants Program is Now Available

5/15/2007

NCER is now releasing the FY 2008 Request for Applications for its National Research and Development Center grant program. The submission deadline is November 1, 2007. For FY2008, the Institute invites applications for Research and Development Center grants that will contribute to its education research programs. For FY 2008, two National Research and Development Centers are being competed: (a) the National Research and Development Center on Cognition and Science Instruction, and (b) the National Research and Development Center on Instructional Technology.

The FY 2008 IES Education Research Requests for Applications Are Now Available

4/6/2007

The FY 2008 IES Education Research Requests for Applications are now available. The National Center for Education Research is accepting applications on topics as wide ranging as Reading and Writing; Education Leadership; Interventions for Struggling Adolescent and Adult Readers; Cognition and Student Learning; Social and Behavioral Context for Academic Learning; and Early Intervention; The submission deadlines are July 26, 2007 and November 1, 2007.

SBIR Contractor Receives Prestigious Global Technology Award

3/12/2007

IES Small Business Innovation Research Phase II awardee, Daniel K. Davies of Ablelink Technologies, was selected as the winner of the prestigious 2006 Katherine M. Swanson Equality Award for using technology to benefit humanity in the area of advancing equality. Mr. Davies and his colleagues at Ablelink were recognized at The Tech Museum of Innovation Laureates ceremony in September 2006 for their work in developing technologies for people with cognitive disabilities.