By Marguerite Huber
February 14, 2019
Are you curious about a specific education topic? Are you interested in learning what research is out there, but you are not sure where to look? Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest’s Ask A REL reference desk is the perfect place to start. The reference desk provides referrals, references, and brief responses on your research-based education questions.
These responses can be very valuable for the educators, parents, and stakeholders who request them. For instance, REL Midwest recently received positive reactions from a handful of Ask A REL requestors. Here is what a few of them had to say about our resources and what they plan to do with them:
“The information is incredible. We will be using it to assess against our collective impact work. I really appreciate the information.”
“Thanks so very much for these resources. You’ve unearthed some that I hadn’t and there's much cross over. I deeply appreciate your work on this.”
“These will be fantastic to share! Thank you all for your work on the responses.”
“Thank you for the research references in response to my question. I will present this information to our district ELA [English Language Arts] team as we make decisions on best practices to implement in our core literacy instruction.”
Catch up on all our past responses in the Ask A REL archive or browse our most recent questions and answers, listed below. Have a question of your own?Submit it using the Ask A REL request form.
Achievement gap
- What does the research say about the relationship between school board practices and educational outcomes, particularly for students of color? (July 2018)
- What does the research say about effective practices for recruiting and retaining teachers of color? (July 2018)
- What does the research say about the effects of leadership practices, such as classroom observations, on literacy outcomes for secondary school students? (August 2018)
Career readiness
- What does the research say about the initiatives and programs that have the greatest impact on youth employability? (April 2018)
- What research and resources are available on the implementation of work-based learning experiences in STEM fields, particularly for high-need students? (May 2018)
Early childhood
- What does the research say about the developmental appropriateness of the literacy content of the Common Core State Standards for young children (ages 4-8)? (July 2018)
- What does research say about the connections between play-based learning and pedagogies to early literacy, early numeracy, and social-emotional learning in early childhood? (July 2018)
- What does the research say about the use of leveled texts or phonics readers to teach beginning reading, specifically, Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention, Phonics for Reading, REWARDS, and Lexia reading programs? (June 2018)
Educator effectiveness
- What does the research say about the evidence-based practices to best support a K-12 school district’s approach to supporting and enhancing social-emotional well-being of students? (April 2018)
- What does the research say about the evidence-based practices to best support a K-12 school district’s approach to supporting and enhancing social-emotional well-being of staff? (April 2018)
- What does the research say about the evidence-based practices to best support a K-12 school district’s approach to supporting and enhancing social-emotional well-being of families? (April 2018)
Research methods
Teacher preparation
- What does the research say about new teacher academies and impact on first-year teacher retention? (March 2018)
- What does the research say about the relationship of tightening or easing teacher preparation and certification requirements and student achievement? (July 2018)
- What research or resources are available on loan-forgiveness programs for teachers? Is there a relationship between loan-forgiveness programs and teacher retention? (July 2018)
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