By Cora Goldston
February 14, 2019
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The team at Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest is working hard to conduct education research, host training and coaching sessions to support evidence-based practices, and share research and products with the broader education field. As we continue to meet the needs of state, local, and school-level practitioners, we wanted to take a look back at all REL Midwest accomplished in 2018. |
Download our infographic [233 KB
 |
A new research-practice partnership
Last year, we expanded our list of research alliances with the addition of the Midwest Alliance to Improve Knowledge Utilization (MAIKU). This partnership, which includes state education agency staff from four Midwest states, focuses on sharing strategies to increase evidence-based practices and decisionmaking at the state and local education levels. During 2018, MAIKU hosted training and coaching sessions to increase evidence use, including coaching sessions on determining Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) tiers of evidence and trainings on the fundamentals of conducting and analyzing research.
Two published research reports and seven studies in progress
In 2018, REL Midwest published two “just in time” research reports and accompanying
infographics in response to state education agency requests. One report, along with
its related infographic [289 KB
], examines how academic and financial supports correlate
to early college success for Indiana public high school graduates. The other report
and infographic [347 KB
] highlight findings from a literature review on evidence-based practices
associated with Black students’ academic success.
REL Midwest also began or continued work on seven additional research studies:
- Academic outcomes for English learner students in Cleveland
- Illinois kindergarten students’ school readiness
- Postsecondary outcomes after attending different types of Indiana high schools
- Iowa rural high schools’ instructional technology practices
- Implementation of the Iowa Learning and Technology Networked Improvement Community
- Michigan teacher shortages
- Minnesota students’ postsecondary pathways
Ten trainings and 24 coaching sessions
REL Midwest conducted 10 trainings to support research use in 2018. Staff delivered workshops on using data from the Illinois Kindergarten Individual Developmental Survey (KIDS) observation tool to kindergarten teachers and district staff who train teachers on KIDS. In addition, staff provided research methods trainings to state education staff in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
We also hosted 24 coaching sessions for state education agency staff and partnership members, including four sessions for the Iowa Learning and Technology Networked Improvement Community. Other coaching sessions focused on implementing effective state agency leadership practices, reporting outcomes, conducting teacher exit surveys, and gathering information about the teacher workforce.
Forty-one Ask A REL responses
One of our goals is to connect educators to research that can support their school, district, or state needs. In 2018, REL Midwest posted 41 Ask A REL reference desk responses to answer education research questions submitted from the field. The responses cover a variety of topics, from secondary leadership practices and literacy to school readiness to STEM work-based learning. You can browse REL Midwest’s archived Ask A REL responses or submit a research question of your own.
Four bridge events and three public TV documentaries
REL Midwest hosted seven public events to bridge research and practice in 2018, including three webinars, one in-person event, and three public TV documentary screenings. Our webinars highlighted financial and academic supports for college-bound students, strategies to increase the use of evidence-based practices, and the fundamentals of networked improvement community research. In October, we hosted an in-person event in Michigan to help teacher preparation program staff and K-12 district staff align their expectations for the knowledge and skills that new teachers need to succeed.
In addition, REL Midwest screened three public TV documentaries that we produced in 2018. The first program highlights career readiness initiatives in rural Minnesota and was a co-production with Twin Cities Public Television. The second program, a co-production with Detroit Public Television, focuses on supports for Latino students in Detroit schools. The final program explores play-based learning in Illinois kindergarten classrooms and was a co-production with Chicago Public Television.
We look forward to sharing more resources in the year to come.
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