Virtual Office Hours
Join IES program officers for drop-in discussions and question/answer sessions.
These office hours are an opportunity for participants to ask questions regarding the FY 2027 Request for Applications (RFA) and the application process. There will not be a formal presentation from the IES program officers hosting the session.
You may join a session at any time and stay as long as you like. Simply log into the meeting using the meeting link or phone number. Please feel free to attend as many office hours as you would like!
Please note, program officers are offering these office hours to provide as much technical assistance as possible given their limited available time. Outside of office hours, program officers have limited capacity to correspond in depth or provide detailed individual feedback.
| Session Topic | Dates/Times | Program Officer Host(s) |
| Early Career Development and Mentoring Program for Education and Special Education Research (ALNs 84.305B and 84.324B) | August 18 (Tue) 3:00 – 4:00pm ET September 2 (Wed) 2:00 – 3:00pm ET September 17 (Thu) 1:00 – 2:00pm ET | Courtney Pollack and Katie Taylor |
| Methods Training for Education and Special Education Research (ALNs 84.305B and 84.324B) | August 17 (Mon) September 3 (Thurs) 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET September 15 (Tue) 3:00 – 4:00pm ET | Katie Taylor and Emily Weaver |
| Using Longitudinal Data to Support State Policymaking in Education and Special Education (ALNs 84.305S and 84.324S) | August 20 (Thu) 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET August 31 (Mon) 3:00 – 4:00 pm September 16 (Wed) 2:00 – 3:00pm ET | Katie Taylor |
| Statistical and Research Methodology in Education (ALN 84.305D) | August 19 (Wed) 2:00 – 3:00 pm ET CANCELLED: September 4 (Fri) 3:00 – 4:00 ET September 14 (Mon) 1:00—2:00pm ET | Emily Weaver |
Zoom: Meeting link
Meeting ID: 165 554 5844
Passcode: 105295
Phone: +1 646-828-7666
Meeting ID: 165 554 5844
Passcode: 105295
Send an email to the program officer(s) hosting the virtual office hour(s) you would like to attend and tell them what accommodation(s) you would like to request (e.g., TTY, ASL, CART) as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the session.
There are several sessions scheduled for each topic. If you are unable to join any of these sessions, we recommend that you email your question(s) to the program officer for the relevant grant program. These sessions are not recorded.
Methodological Resources
Educators must often adapt interventions over time because what works for one student may not work for another and what works now for one student may not work in the future for the same student. Adaptive interventions provide education practitioners with a prespecified, systematic, and replicable way of doing this through a sequence of decision rules for whether, how, and when to modify interventions. The sequential, multiple assignment, randomized trial (SMART) is one type of multistage, experimental design that can help education researchers build high-quality adaptive interventions. Despite the critical role adaptive interventions can play in various domains of education, research about adaptive interventions and the use of SMART designs to develop effective adaptive interventions in education is in its infancy. To help the field move forward in this area, the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) and the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE) commissioned a paper by leading experts in adaptive interventions and SMART designs. This paper aims to provide information on building and evaluating high-quality adaptive interventions and review the components of SMART designs, discuss the key features of the SMART, and introduce common research questions for which SMARTs may be appropriate.
Since the release of the Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development in 2013, there has been increased attention to replication and reproducibility studies and their role in building the evidence base. In response, a joint IES-NSF committee has developed the Companion Guidelines on Replication and Reproducibility in Education Research to supplement the Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development. The Companion Guidelines highlight the importance of replication and reproducibility studies and provides guidance on the steps researchers can take to promote corroboration, ensure the integrity of research, and extend the evidence base. Download a copy of the Companion Guidelines on Replication and Reproducibility in Education Research below:
In August 2013, a Joint Committee of representatives from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) released a report that 1) defines the types of ED- and NSF-funded research that relates to the development and testing of interventions and strategies designed to increase learning, and 2) specifies how the types of research relate to one another, and describe the theoretical and empirical basis needed to justify each research type. The Joint Committee intends this report to be a "living document" that may be adapted by agencies or divisions within agencies in response to their needs and opportunities. Over time, the framework may be elaborated or rearranged according to agency focus and assessments of the needs of education researchers and practitioners. Download a copy of the Common Guidelines for Education Research below: