By Sara Mitrano
January 30, 2020
Before we get down to the work of 2020, let’s take a moment to celebrate all we accomplished in 2019!
Last year, the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest partnered with practitioners, policymakers, and others to tackle pressing education issues in our region. Working primarily through collaborative research partnerships, we addressed stakeholders’ priorities through integrated sets of support, including research studies, training and coaching, resource development, and dissemination. Through this work, we advanced our ongoing mission to drive changes in policy and practice that will lead to improved teacher and student outcomes.
> View our infographic for a snapshot of our achievements in 2019.
Published five research reports to address our partnerships’ key research questions
In 2019, REL Midwest published the results of five research studies that we conducted in collaboration with our partnerships. These reports, along with four related infographics and a video, are helping to strengthen our partners’ understanding of critical education issues they have identified and to inform efforts to improve education for students across the region.
- In Illinois, we analyzed the results of the first statewide administration of the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS), including the challenges that teachers and principals experienced and their suggestions for improvements, as part of the Midwest Early Childhood Education Research Alliance’s focus on supporting school readiness.
- In Iowa, we looked at technology use in instruction and teachers’ perceptions of school support for technology use in rural high schools as part of the Iowa Learning and Technology Networked Improvement Community’s focus on improving the integration of education technology.
- In Michigan, we examined state trends in teacher supply and demand over the past five years and then projected those trends over the next five years to help the Midwest Alliance to Improve Teacher Preparation understand where potential teacher shortages might occur.
- In Minnesota, we examined the differences in high school graduates’ postsecondary pathways one year and six years after graduation as part of the Midwest Career Readiness Research Alliance’s focus on learning more about opportunity gaps among student subgroups.
- In Ohio, we partnered with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to examine student and school characteristics associated with English language proficiency and academic performance among English learner students in grades 3–8 to help the district better understand how best to serve its rapidly growing English learner student population.
REL Midwest also began or continued work on nine additional research studies.
Conducted 14 training and 28 coaching sessions to support evidence-based policy and practice
Drawing on our studies, the research literature, and best practices, REL Midwest worked with our partners to develop 14 training and 28 coaching sessions in 2019. These sessions helped build stakeholder capacity to understand and use research to guide policy and practice and to improve teaching and learning. Here are some highlights:
- To support evidence-based decision making in Illinois, we facilitated a five-part training series with the Illinois State Board of Education on research methods, best practices for collecting high-quality data, and strategies for using research and data to support decision making.
- To promote the use of evidence-based practices in Michigan, we hosted a training session for Michigan Data Hub staff on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) evidence tiers and how those tiers align to the What Works Clearinghouse and other relevant clearinghouses.
- To support the rollout of recently released statewide social and emotional competencies in Indiana, we facilitated five coaching sessions (in-person and virtual) for the Indiana Department of Education on how to implement these competencies.
- To support Black student achievement in Wisconsin, we collaborated with the Midwest Achievement Gap Research Alliance to deliver two training sessions for school board members on strategies and resources to promote equity and Black students’ educational opportunities.
The archived materials from training and coaching sessions are available for your use.
Produced three public television documentaries to explore topics of interest to our partnerships
REL Midwest produces documentaries in collaboration with public television stations and our research partnerships to delve into education topics related to our partners’ ongoing work. These half-hour programs examine relevant research, highlight evidence-based practices being implemented in our region, and amplify different voices and perspectives to support changes in practice. In 2019, we produced three documentaries:
- Heartbeat of the Community: Recruiting and Retaining Teachers in Rural Schools, developed with the Midwest Alliance to Improve Teacher Preparation, examines research, trends, and challenges in teacher preparation and recruitment in Michigan and highlights actions that state and local education leaders are taking to recruit and retain teachers in rural areas.
- Healthy Students = Strong Learners, developed with the Ohio Department of Education, looks at the research on school-based health care and how it relates to real-world solutions and innovations taking place in Ohio.
- High Hopes and Higher Education: Honoring Black Students’ Aspirations, developed with the Midwest Achievement Gap Research Alliance, explores evidence-based programs designed to support Wisconsin’s Black students on their journey to postsecondary education.
In addition, we hosted four public screenings of our documentaries to spark discussion around the strategies depicted and to help promote changes in practice. After each screening, a panel of subject matter experts discussed the documentary and engaged in conversation with the audience.
Created three videos to build stakeholders’ capacity and inform policy and practice
In addition to documentaries, REL Midwest created three shorter videos in 2019 to support our partnerships’ goals, highlight key findings from our research studies, and assist educators in our region in identifying and implementing evidence-based practices.
- Postsecondary Education and Employment Pathways of Minnesota Public High School Graduates, produced with our Midwest Career Readiness Research Alliance, explains the key findings from REL Midwest’s study of the education and employment pathways taken by Minnesota public high school graduates.
- Supporting Students with Disabilities to Become College- and Career-Ready: Lessons Learned, also produced with our Midwest Career Readiness Research Alliance, presents effective strategies for helping students in special education prepare for college and a career, with examples from Minnesota educators.
- Understanding the Every Student Succeeds Act Tiers of Evidence, produced with our Midwest Knowledge Utilization Research Alliance, explains the four ESSA tiers of evidence and how educators can use the tiers to rate an intervention’s potential effectiveness.
Hosted four events to bridge research and practice
To further support our research partnerships, we hosted one in-person event and three webinars in 2019 to help educators and policymakers both across our region and nationally learn about and apply the most up-to-date research to improve student outcomes.
Our in-person event, cohosted by the Midwest Career Readiness Research Alliance and the Minnesota Department of Education, explored effective strategies to prepare students with disabilities to become college and career ready. Our webinars focused on the following topics:
- Promoting equity and social emotional learning
- Providing teacher professional development on using technology to promote 21st century skills
- Supporting English learner student achievement
Developed 40 Ask A REL research scans in response to requests from the field
Through the Ask A REL service, REL Midwest provided references, referrals, and brief responses in the form of citations to 40 research-based education questions submitted from the field. The REL Program provides this collaborative reference desk service free of charge.
Our three most popular Ask A REL research scans in 2019 addressed the following topics:
- K–12 school-based practices or programs on social and emotional learning, positive behavioral interventions and supports, and mental health
- K–12 executive function interventions
- Duration required for effective teacher professional development
To see more responses, browse REL Midwest’s Ask A REL archive. We also encourage you to submit a research question of your own.
Thank you for your interest and support. We’re excited to see what we can accomplish together in 2020!
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